As part of the Blue Skies Dundee Festival, Dundee Rep came to Broughty Ferry on Sunday night and performed within the Castle walls.
They entertained an appreciative audience with a rehearsed reading of Little Eagles by Rona Munro. The play celebrates the work of the pioneer head of the Soviet Space Programme, Sergei Pavlovich Korolyov. Before his death he was often referred to only as "Chief Designer", because his name and his pivotal role in the Soviet space program was a state secret. Only after his death was he publicly acknowledged as the lead man behind the early Soviet successes in space.
For those of us who can remember news about the launching of the first Sputnik in 1957 and the first man in space, Yuri Gargarin, this play provided a fascinating set of insights. But as the the play's author admitted, she had to use her imagination to fill in some of the blanks in Korolyov's history which has been shrouded by secrecy.
The Company all played well with a stand out performance from Lewis Howden as Korolyov. The sound engineers also deserve a special mention because they ensured that extraneous noise from the wind did not drown out the dialog.
The Castle was an inspired choice for such a performance; with the Tower as a backdrop silhouetted against the night sky, one could easily be dramatically transported to the launch site of the Sputnik. Thanks to Blue Skies for an entertaining night out on our doorstep.
It was truly some Blue Sky thinking that led to the unique opportunity to attend a performance by Dundee Rep at Broughty Ferry Castle; most probably the first ever performance by Dundee Rep in The Ferry and the first professional outdoor performance of a play at Broughty Castle. I hope it won't be too long before Ferry folk can experience the like of this again.
