Æ News – HATS doffed to Alasdair Gray

Jul 22 2010 | By More

Holyrood Amateur Theatre Society stage rare production of Gray’s McGrotty and Ludmilla

Alasdair Gray's poster for the production

By Thom Dibdin

An amateur production of Alasdair Gray’s early play McGrotty and Ludmilla, to be staged this week at the Roxy Arthouse, has benefited from personal input from the playwright.

HATS, the Holyrood Amateur Theatre Society, are staging the production from tonight (Thursday) to Saturday. Loosely based on the Aladdin story, the play follows the adventures of the uncouth and unpolished young Scot Mungo McGrotty amongst the Machiavellian civil service mandarins of 1980s Whitehall.

According to company member Simone Thorn: “HATS were thrilled to accept an invitation from Mr Gray into his Glasgow home to – following contact from director Gregor Shanks, who is a big fan of Mr Gray. We enjoyed and learned from a complete reading, performed by the author himself in the tradition of Bernard Shaw.”

The production has also benefited from the Glasgow writer’s input towards the poster of the play, according to Thorn.

She said: “Mr Gray drew portraits of the lead cast members in order to place them onto the production’s striking poster – which he also designed and which is in itself a work of art.”

Tickets are available through the HATS website

ENDS

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