Written by Morna Young, after Lewis Grassic Gibbon 

Co-conceived by Finn den Hertog and Morna Young 

Directed by Finn den Hertog, Music by Finn Anderson 

Review by Josie Rose

Tickets from £10.00

‘Nothing endures but the land’.  As audiences follow the seasons of Chris Guthrie’s life, change seems to be the only constant. In some sense, everything remains the same for Chris as she watches her friends and family leave and return, as she stands ever-present on the ground of her homeland. 

A contemporary adaptation of Scotland’s ‘most loved literary heroine’, Sunset Song centres itself around the life of Chris Guthrie, masterfully played by Danielle Jam. From a young age, she experiences intense challenges within the family circle, witnessing the tortured marriage of her mother to her father. The play displays distressing themes of violence and sexual abuse within their relationship delicately through sound rather than visuals, which makes for an ever more harrowing portrayal. The violent challenges of womanhood are laid bare in this production, as Finn den Hertog’s direction and Morna Young’s writing don’t shy away from the truths and realities of life’s darker sides. 

There are sparks of joy however, and not to mention brilliantly placed moments of humour, particularly between Chris’s close relationships with her brother, Will and later her husband, Ewan. Testament to the glowingly talented cast, these complex relationships are what carry the emotions of the play. Jam conveys the innocence of childhood in the play’s earlier scenes while also portraying Chris’ desperation in her love and later hatred of Ewan as the play continues. Her relationship with Will is tearjerking, as Naomi Stirrat also effortlessly captures a character tormented by a lack of fatherly love while never letting this affect his love for Chris.

Kirsten Henderson, together with Stirrat, delivers her lines with perfect comedic timing. Her character Marget still delivers heavy lines such as ‘life comes out of a woman through tunnels of pain’. Ali Craig brings us the very hateable John, who in his ruthless and unjustified fits of violence loses much of himself and the audience with him, yet when he later bursts into tears, we almost feel oddly sorry for him. His wife, Jean, acutely played by Rori Hawthorn, takes the brunt of John’s aggression, as Hawthorn effortlessly conveys the emotional tolls of motherhood and womanhood. Finally, Ann Louise Ross’s character Chae also finds a journey from sternness to sympathy, and Samuel Pashby compliments the cast in his portrayal of Long Rob as we see the effects of war on men too.  

Unmistakeably, a highlight of this production is Emma Bailey’s beautifully striking set. With a colour-changing wall, the character’s moments of light and dark are manifested behind them, while the soil, and therefore the land, never changes. Emma Jones’ lighting is always used to maximum effect, creating silhouettes and shadows and a timeless image for the story to hold. Finally, the music of the production is the note that we must end on. Sometimes soothing, sometimes harrowing, the actor-musicians create a live soundscape that echoes the central sentiment of the play as we hear the melodies changed but repeated. From beginning to end, through war, loss and as all the seasons change, nothing but the land here endures, along with its sunset song.   

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