WORLD PREMIERE
Presented by Theatre Gu Leòr in collaboration with WHɎTE
“Dar a thig an t-uisge gu grad, dè chailleas sinn?
/ When the water comes suddenly, what do we lose?”
A raw howl of grief and an act of protest for what has already been lost and what could follow. MAIM is a love song to the land and language of Mull, a burst of panic in the face of extinction, because the time to take action is running out.
This unique collaboration between Scotland’s award-winning Gaelic theatre company Theatre Gu Leòr and the hugely successful contemporary Gaelic band WHYTE was inspired by their latest album Tairm. MAIM will also include newly composed work by Ross Whyte and Gaelic lyrics and text by Alasdair C. Whyte, in collaboration with the cast.
MAIM is a departure for Theatre Gu Leòr from their Gaelic text-based work. Collaborating with award-winning Irish choreographer Jessica Kennedy of Junk Ensemble, the piece will combine movement, live music, spoken word, and video designed by Lewis Den Hertog, with integrated BSL throughout.
MAIM is a call to action, giving voice to the frustrations of the next generation who care deeply about the crisis facing ar tìr agus ar teanga – our land and language.
Across the length and breadth of Scotland, place names created and used in Gaelic-speaking communities are being forgotten and their meanings lost, as land mismanagement, non-native tree planting and the effects of climate change threaten to drown the land and language. Even as the success of Gaelic Medium Education grows and numbers of learners rise in the Central belt, the language is vanishing from the rural heartlands, in danger of becoming extinct.
MAIM /mʌɪm/: panic; terror; consternation; alarm; an outburst.
Raised on Mull, Alasdair C. Whyte of WHYTE was inspired by his post-doctoral research in the Celtic and Gaelic Department of the University of Glasgow into the place names of the Torsay region of Mull, and what is causing their disappearance.
“It’s time for us as Gaelic speakers to realise once and for all that our language and culture are in no way inferior to English language and culture. The way to leave this toxic way of thinking in the past is to celebrate and honour the people who came before us and create new things in our language. I am hugely grateful to Theatre Gu Leòr for giving me a chance to do this in MAIM.” – Alasdair C. Whyte
MAIM is fully accessible to non-Gaelic speakers and has integrated BSL in every performance #MAIM