Some folk are happy tae listen tae themselves speak. A cannae understaun that.
Bonnie’s life has been defined by words: the ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ ones, caught between her bad Scots and worse English, and in Fraser Scott’s compelling one-woman play she tells her story to an audience for the first time since a solo talk in primary school…
In a fast-paced show, Bonnie takes us from the awkward school years where class differences with her friends become very clear, to the liberating time of university where Bonnie broadens her horizons and examines her biases. It’s by turns cringeworthy and highly relatable to much of the audience, judging by the reactions to an accidental ‘f-bomb as punctuation’ at dinner with her boyfriend’s very middle-class family. The way the ‘right’ words matter in different company is a major theme – who would think their friends were posh for calling a dressing gown a housecoat?
Olivia Caw plays a colourful range of characters effectively using the microphones surrounding the set, including her retired poem-writing dad and English flatmates. Bonnie is often ashamed of how she speaks and how it’s judged and at times fetishised; she reminds us of how decades ago the Scottish Education Department declared that Scots ‘is not the language of ‘educated’ people anywhere’. There’s moments where Bonnie feels somewhat unqualified as a Scots speaker, such as being unable to explain Auld Lang Syne to her American student friends, but returning to her small hometown is a more claustrophobic experience than she expects…
There’s a few moments of audience participation, including a very therapeutic swearing session and a festive singalong, and it’s hard not to be caught up by Bonnie’s cheeky charm. We left into the dreich night of Storm Amy feeling as mighty as Bonnie’s imaginary royal statue tribute to her Scots greatness.
Common Tongue is a lively, thought-provoking treat for any Scots-speakers, amateur or otherwise, who feel like ‘outwith’ is an underrated word.
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Common Tongue is touring in Peebles, Greenock, Cumbernauld, St Andrews, Dumfries and Paisley until 18 October. For more information visit the website.