This is InverFayreSeat is a book length poem and poetry play that tells of the secrets, lies, and environment of the apparently fictional town of InverFayreSeat.
In this immersive work we experience the goings-on within the town through the voices, and from the perspectives, of the people who live, or aspire to live, there. These include those from officialdom, who talk of rules and civic society, and others- like Bruce Wink Wink, who are more subversive and present as telling it like it really is- but do they?
In the middle section of the piece we glimpse into The Locked diary of The Old Bat, and ultimately, we experience how the town deals, or does not deal, with a tragic event.
“Not only has she [Mairi-Claire] created a whole new world, populated with characters and rules, she’s also created a new language for it with hints of Finnegan’s Wake and Under Milk Wood, full of unnerving humour and colour. It will be a strikingly original theatrical experience…”
Caroline Bird, Poet and Playwright.
EXTRACT from The Locked Diary of the Old Bat.
The Problem with Lamp
Lamp was always in the living room.
I did not switch Lamp on very often.
I did not mean to ignore Lamp, but
there has always been something about Lamp
I do not quite understand.
Lamp is unpredictable.
Please understand, I gave Lamp every opportunity.
It is just that over the years I found more reliable methods
of lighting up the living room than with Lamp.
I just wanted a nice quiet lamp.
The problem with Lamp
was that Lamp believed that Lamp was more than a lamp.
So I challenged Lamp, I said
Ok Lamp, make me some toast, Lamp,
do the washing up, Lamp.
But Lamp was just a lamp.
Lamp hid in dark corners of the living room.
Mumbled bleakly of opportunities missed to brighten up my life.
“I’ve come to know Mairi-Claire’s unique theatrical imagination and I believe the poetic voice demonstrated in her work to be unlike anything else being made in Scottish theatre at present…”
Rosie Kellagher, Dramaturg for National Theatre of Scotland.
FILM POEM from The Locked Diary of the Old Bat
PHOTOS from Sharing
“I loved Mairi-Claire’s use of language throughout [This is InverFayreSeat], the way her lines rolled and dipped, constantly re-inventing themselves, the imagery fresh and searching.”
Alan Bissett, Writer and Performer.
FOOTAGE from Sharing
TRAILER for Sharing
This Is InverFayreSeat Sharing took place at Assembly Roxy in Edinburgh on 23rd April 2023.
Written and produced by Mairi-Claire Traynor
Directed by Jen McGregor
Score by Ed Ritchie
Choral arrangements by Caro Overy
Photography by Ryan McGoverne
Filming by Hugh Farrell
Featuring performances from:
Caroline Evens, Alastair Lawless, Jay Whittaker, Rachel Amey, Caro Bridges, Mairi-Claire Traynor, Angie Strachan, Ed Ritchie and Alan Bissett