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ED2022 4/5 Reviews ED2022 Theatre Reviews
Nightlands by Jack MacGregor (Dogstar Theatre Company)
By David Kettle | Published on Sunday 7 August 2022
What was it that invaded Ukraine in February? Competing conceptions of Russia form the central questions behind Jack MacGregor’s tense two-hander for Highland-based Dogstar Theatre, as a duo of caretakers in icy Pyramiden, Svalbard bicker and fight over their country’s history and hopes – and the inevitability of its 1990s chaos spawning a Strong Leader. It’s a slippery show in which motives, even identities, keep you constantly reassessing your position, a shiftiness captured well by Rebecca Wilkie and Matthew Zajac’s strongly defined but supple performances. MacGregor (who also directs) may pose more questions than he answers, but ‘Nightlands’ is nonetheless a thought-provoking exploration of how history and memory – real or imagined – can be transformed into the most potent of weapons.
Summerhall, until 14 Aug.
tw rating 4/5 | [David Kettle]
