#EdFringe – Armour – A Herstory of the Scottish Bard
★★★★
The first of Fearless Player’s shows on the Burns family, this stronger show returns to Edinburgh for its second time.
The first part of a multigenerational tale about Robert Burns, known as the Scottish Bard, and the women in his family, this show examines what happens when Burn’s wife and mistress finally meet in the years after he died, and how they sacrifice to protect his legacy and reputation even now.
From the moment it starts, it already feels like a stronger story than Burns – A Lost Legacy (their second show at Fringe, which plays on opposite days to Armour, and which I accidentally saw first). It may be though because it has had an extra year of development, rehearsal and thought. Book, music and lyrics by Shonagh Murray are well developed, and the audience full of older, grey hair Scots all queue up to purchase the cast album after the show.
We meet Sarah Burns again, but this time as a young girl raised by her granny, and if it was possible somehow Nina Gray gives even more energy as the young Sarah, to her performance as Sarah’s daughter in Burns. Her unending energy and beautiful vocals is a wonderful counter to the seriousness, humour and hurt all weaved together in the storyline of Jean Armour and Nancy Maclehose. Played by Lori Flannigan and Lydia Davidson, they portray the women that inspired so much of Robert Burns’ most famous work, and after years of being written about, their stories are finally told.
These two astonishing women navigate all the emotions of this story with skill, beautiful harmonies and in gorgeous song. The set is simple but sets the scene of these women’s parlours well, and the simple music fits perfectly with the intimate story.
Having now seen both shows, I do feel like Burns- A Lost Legacy feels like the second half of the story, and while isn’t as strong as Armour is, with a bit more work and development may as well be the second act to the show – there’s no reason this couldn’t be staged with a larger cast as a full scale musical about the Burns family. A strong story about being a doer, and not someone who sits around, adventure, standing up for what you believe in and what it is to be a woman in a famous man’s life, the show ends with the strong feeling of ‘ my life has been made my women, whose story only I have known’, and the importance of telling those stories.
Armour played on alternating days to Burns at Gilded Balloon’s Rose Theatre basement until August 24. More info.
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