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A CINEMA IN SOUTH GEORGIA

Written by Susan Wilson and Jeffrey Mayhew,

Directed by Jeffrey Mayhew

For more information about Actor/Director Jeffrey Mayhew please click on the link below :

http://jeffreymayhewactor.weebly.com/

many were on their feet at the end to applaud both the authors and the actors for their moving and professional portrayal of quite a tricky subject

Share the laughs, the sorrows and the songs as Eyemouth whaling men Jim, Archie, Fraser and wee Robbie emerge from recent history to tell us the moving story that is A Cinema in South Georgia.

This entirely new and original piece of ensemble theatre written by Susan Wilson and Jeffrey Mayhew brings to life the experiences - bitter, hilarious, rueful and heart-warming - of some of the last men to follow the millennia-old tradition of hunting the whale. Driven by dire need, difficult home circumstances or just the desire to break away, men from these islands found their way, by one route or another, to the whaling grounds of the Antarctic. There, from the grim and perilous foothold of the whaling station on South Georgia, they ventured out into the ice and storms in what would seem to us to be tiny whaling ships to hunt the whale. Jeffrey and Susan hope that this play, based entirely on written and oral first-hand accounts and detailed research into the period in and around 1959, the pivotal year for the show, will evoke for contemporary audiences the flavour of those times. Aspects of this subject are contentious and the darker side of the whaling industry is not shied away from but the piece is above all a celebration of four men, who, at differing points in their lives, in different ways and with differing attitudes and outcomes risked their lives amongst the ice floes

The cast were superb, every one of them - Susan and Jeffrey couldn’t have placed their work in safer hands.

"The four actors have a most splendid chemistry, led by the professionally outstanding Euan McIver"

Euan as Jim Gordon

leader and old hand at the whaling game Jim Gordon, played by Euan McIver

The cast

the four of them took their audience on a journey through their lives in South Georgia, boredom being filled with alcohol, films, alcohol, singing, alcohol and nonsense - all of it believable.

Picture credits : Alysoun Sharpe ( Shadowcat Films) Jonathan Combe and Kimberley Powell

One not to be missed.

What the Press Say :

A standing ovation was the perfect curtain call for the first performance of ‘A Cinema in South Georgia’.


clever use of cine photography to graphically show the brutal nature of the job, the audience was left in no doubt about what the men experienced, and many were on their feet at the end to applaud both the authors and the actors for their moving and professional portrayal of quite a tricky subject.


Song, dance, comedy, and pathos kept the play moving along at a brisk pace.


The cast were superb, every one of them - Euan McIver as Jim, Jonathan Combe as Fraser, Frazer Smilez as Robbie and Mark Vevers as Archie - and Susan and Jeffrey couldn’t have placed their work in safer hands.


One not to be missed.

Peter Aitchison, Head of Media and PR at the University of Glasgow, and author of "Children of the Sea", attended our Coldingham preview and wrote....

" A stunning performance from a wonderful cast. The

realism of whaling days in the South Atlantic was truly brought to life in this most remarkable production.


Gritty, humorous, at times poignantly sad yet also heartlifting and thought provoking.


A magnificent script matched by acting of the highest quality. I defy anyone not to be moved to tears by the final scene ."

..."a strong vein of salty humour keeps things buoyant, and the actors—particularly Euan McIver, as as a twinkly-eyed Jim—bond like brothers...."

****

       DONT MISS IT !

"Euan McIver plays Jim Gordon with an easy natural skill that suits this sort of comedy. He is a joy to watch and a rock upon which the show can be propelled along. We empathise most with his character’s cheeky-chappy shenanigans."

"The four actors have a most splendid chemistry, led by the professionally outstanding Euan McIver"

"The effervescence of the actors, particularly Euan McIver, who imbued the show with personable warmth and character throughout, was palpable."

THE SCOTSMAN ****

the show is packed with well-researched information. The four actors infuse it with energy, cheerfulness and good-humour.

**** The Student Newspaper

http://www.studentnewspaper.org/a-cinema-in-south-georgia/

**** The Scotsman

http://www.wow247.co.uk/2015/08/21/theatre-review-a-cinema-in-south-georgia/

**** The British Theatre Guide

http://www.britishtheatreguide.info/reviews/a-cinema-in-sou-pleasance-court-11853

The four actors infuse it with energy, cheerfulness and good-humour. ★ ★ ★ ★

 

"A must see tale... A tricky and unique subject to bring to the stage but it is a braw show from the Braw Buoys." ★ ★ ★ ★

 

The Braw Buoys have brought the sort of bittersweet play to the Fringe that leaves you uplifted, enlightened and really feeling an emotional attachment to a time and place all but lost to us. ★ ★ ★ ★

 

A Cinema in South Georgia is a fantastic piece of working class social history in a little discussed area.. If a more mature Horrible Histories took on the seven seas, this would be the result. ★ ★ ★ ★

 

A Cinema In South Georgia is exquisite, and executed in such a manner that it was deeply respectful to the memory of all those this experience was based on. One of the most refreshing and enjoyable productions at the Fringe – you will only regret not going to see it. ★ ★ ★ ★

 

Based on real-life accounts of that salty old life, & laced with thought-provoking moments concerning the slaughtering of our oceans’ whales, we are transported to Christmas 1959-60... Throughout the play we hear catchy monologues, second-bucket sea-shanties & music-hall songs, & one is left feeling with an inimitable warm glow by the end ★ ★ ★ ★

INDEPENDENT REVIEWS WROTE :

"....this unique show blew me away from start to finish. The effervescence of the actors, particularly Euan McIver, who imbued the show with personable warmth and character throughout, was palpable. Like a whaling ship tossed on the Antarctic waters we lurched from fact to fact via song and dance, good humoured repartee and sparkling wit. Mark Vevers and Jonathan Combe are admirable side kicks for McIver, trailing young Joe Kinnear behind in their wake. Whilst the older actors schmoozed from scene to scene, telling the story and portraying different characters along the way, including some very fine characterised ladies, new recruit mess boy Joe was like a rabbit in the headlights. Vocally and physically he was like a brake to the accelerating production.

Catch this show when you can – it is educational and informative and performed with such zest and passion on the whole that you don’t realise an hour and a half has gone by. Whaling is perhaps not a subject you would expect to have so much humour, but the style and nature in which this grisly subject is dealt with is commendable. Susan Wilson and Jeffrey Mayhew have a first class production on their hands, admirably portrayed by a fine cast.

Rehearsal photographs - March 2015 -                                                                  Photography credit - Alysoun Sharpe

This incredible new ensemble piece will be premiered at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe at the Pleasance (Pleasance Beside Theatre) from 5th -30th August 2015 at 1pm

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