Scotland’s history is so rich that it’s not surprising that battles are still being waged among academics. At the center of debate are Scottish ballads, which are poetic accounts of historic events dating as far back as the 13th Century. Should today’s Scots continue to steep themselves in stuffy traditional interpretations, or should they have an unmoored, modern approach to reading the ballads?
Bored yet? You won’t be. The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart, a pub and musical theater experience by the National Theatre of Scotland at the McKittrick Hotel, ensures that there isn’t a dull moment—not even if the subject goes in one American ear and out the other. After successful stagings throughout the U.K., Prudencia is enjoying a run in the rustic music venue The Heath, which is located next door to Sleep No More. Viewers can enjoy whiskey, wine, and light sandwiches while the actors sing and climb all around them, telling a delightful, if at times rocky story in rhyming couplet dialogue. (It also feels pretty good to skirt the massive Sleep No More line in favor of the smaller play.)
Old and new are juxtaposed throughout the show, which follows Prudencia Hart, a stone-cold traditional academic and fierce ballad-phile who lives, unfortunately, in 2010. Her peer, the douchey Kylie Minogue-obsessed Colin Syme, mocks Prudencia for her “librarian” ways. Her resistance to modern life—which includes a handful of funny, overzealous karaoke enthusiasts—leads Prudencia to storm out of a pub into a dangerously snowy night. There, she meets her foretold “strange undoing,” which is strange indeed, consisting of a mysterious apparition and Prudencia’s terrifying captivity in a hell of her own making.
The first act blends together extremely successfully, drifting from lilting reels to sharp comedy, from extreme creepiness to a world unbound by reality or time, making the play worthy of neighboring Sleep No More (although Prudencia is much funnier). Brilliant classic folk accompaniment is performed live by the cast, adding to the raucous pub atmosphere. Actors Jessica Hardwick, Peter Hannah, and Owen Whitelaw play the main characters admirably, while actor/musicians Muireann Bird and George Drennan swirl in and out of the plot between songs. The ensemble demonstrates high chemistry and talent as they slip into various roles and crop up all over the bar, demanding light, playful immersion from the audience.