Following performances at Under Canvas this summer, Anndra Cuimeanach and Eden Court Connect member Lucy Beth share recent experiences arising from their participation in the commission project Sgrìobh | Scrieve.

Anndra Cuimeanach: A’ Sgrìobhadh mu Iain Gunnach

Sgrìobh Anndra Cuimeanach òran ùr airson am proiseact Sgrìobh | Scrieve, a bha a’ coimhead air beatha neach às a’ bhaile, a bha beò anns an 20mh linn. Rannsaich Anndra an seòrsa dòigh-beatha a bha cumanta anns an àm sin, na h-obraichean a bha aig daoine, agus ciamair a bhitheadh muinntir o shean a cumail beò.

Mar phairt den phrògram seo chaidh faighneachd dhomh pìos a’ sgrìobhadh a’ cleachdadh beachdan bho làrach-lin Tobar an Dualchais | Kist O Riches. Thagh mi a bhith sgrìobhadh òran mu bheatha òg neach a b’ àbhaist a bhith fuireach suas an rathad bhuam mu cheud bliadhna air ais. Lorg mi clàradh bho Iain Gunnach (John Gunn) air an làrach-linn is e ag innse mun sgìre is an doigh-beatha nuair a dh’fhàs e an àrd. Tha mi eòlach air a mhac agus feadhainn de na ban-oghaichean aig Iain Gunnach, is thug sin brosnachadh dhomh a bhith cleachdadh an clàradh seo airson òran a chruthachadh mu dheidhinn.

Sgrìobh mi an t-òran bhon shealladh aig Iain Gunnach fhèin, is e coimhead air nàdar, cultar agus comhstridhean mar na cogaidhean agus staid an àite a’ toirt air mòran an àite fhàgail is teicheadh gu duthchanann eile fad às (mar Canada). Chan e beatha furasta a bha aige, is e toirt dìreach beagan airgead a-steach - gu leòr airson cumail a theaghlach beò.

Thug an proiseact seo cothrom dhomh a bhith gabhail pairt aig Fèill Under Canvas aig Eden Court. Chòrd an cuirm rium gu mòr; sheinn mi dà òran - am fear a sgrìobh mi agus tè eile, agus chluich mi dha neo tri puirt air a’ bhogsa. Chluich Cailean McKerron comhla rium air an latha.

Fhuair mi an uair sin cuireadh a bhith cluich aig àite neo dhà agus cothrom clàradh an t-òran agam airson Radio nan Gàidheal. Choir am proiseact rium gu mòr, is mi cho toilichte gun do chur mi a-steach air a shon is tha mi taingeil airson an cothrom a thug Eden Court agus Tobar an Dualchais dhomh.

Lucy Beth: Scrieving Ma Name Is Isabelle

Ma Name Is Isabelle is a spoken werd performance aat I scrieved aifter bein commissioned bi Eden Court and Tobar an Dualchais | Kist O Riches fur ih Scrieve project at Under Canvas. Ess performance reimagines ih story ahin ih bothy ballad, Bogie’s Bonnie Belle. Ih original ballad tells ih story o a male ferming loon fa impregnates ih fermer’s dother, Isabelle, afore bein expelled athoot a fee. In some versions, the labourer boasts aboot their forceful encoonter wi Isabelle (Russell, 1971). Ma goal fur ess performance wis tae subvert ess male-dominated narrative bi dramatizing Isabelle’s experiences, as her perspective his historically been owwerlookit.

Bothy ballads offer insichts intil ih hardships and victories o rural ferming communities (Elphinstone Institute, 2000). However, through a feminist lens, mony bothy ballads, including Bogie’s Bonnie Belle, glorify sexual conquests an perpetuate misogynistic narratives (Russell, 1971).

Recently, artists like Karine Polwart hiv reexamined Scots sangs an bothy ballads fae a feminist perspective (Polwart, 2021). Ma wark aligns wi ess approach, but instead o using music, I communicated Isabelle's story through drama.

Isabelle bid in Huntly (National Records for Scotland, 1891), nae far fae ma hametoon o Inverurie, Aiberdeenshire. Scrieveing an performing ih piece in Doric—(ih traditional dialect spoken in ih Northeast o Scotland)—allowed me tae capture an authentic representation o Isabelle’s vyce. As baith Isabelle an I share a Mid-Northern, ferming background, using Doric helped tae channel her emotions naturally, capturing the tone, vernacular, an intonation she wid likely o used.

Tae develop the piece, I used a practice-research methodology, stairting wi ih Kist O Riches tae listen tae recordings o Bogie’s Bonnie Belle. I collaborated wi Chris Wright, a Kist O Riches Scots cataloguer, fa provided census records aboot the fowlk aat are featured in ih bothy ballad an fa appeared in ma research. He also provided literature aboot ih historical an social context o ih time. Ess information deepened ma unnerstanding o factors aat wid o shaped Isabelle’s life.

I uncovered aat sex education during Isabelle's lifetime often conveyed through euphemisms due tae societal taboos (Douglas, 1999). Ess ambiguity likely meant aat Isabelle didnae grasp the nature o the abuse she endured or recognise ih early signs o pregnancy. Additionally, societal pressures influenced her faither’s refusal tae let her abuser, James, mairry Isabelle. At ih time, haeing a bairn oot o wedlock wis considered sinful, an her faither hoped tae marry her intil wealth tae achieve upward social mobility. Geein aat neither Isabelle nor James hid ih financial security tae raise their bairn, the bairn wis sent tae bide wi James’ wealthy uncle (Scott, 2019). Ess arrangement was kent as a bastardy bond (Cameron, 2008: 139).

I structured ih piece using iambic pentameter wi rhyming couplets. Ess non-naturalistic form unnerscores aat although ih content his bin weel-researched, it is ultimately speculative. Isabelle's later life wis marked bi her mairrage tae a travelling tin seller fa founded ih Rothieden Lamp and Tin Plate Works (Beattie, 2024). Dramatising ess showcases her upward trajectory an subverts ih traditional narrative aat unmarried mithers war destined fur lives o hardship.

Ih performance aat Under Canvas wis weel-received and his led tae mare opportunities since en. I recently performed ih piece aat WayWord Festival, far it wis praised bi the audience an professionals such as Shane Strachan, Cameron Mowat an Amy Liptrott.

Sgrìobh | Scrieve is a collaborative project with Tobar an Dualchais | Kist O' Riches, supporting artists to create new work in Gaelic and Scots.