The Chooky Brae

Following The Wall and The Ducky, this third and final installment capped off DC Jackson’s critically acclaimed Stewarton Trilogy as Christmas came early in 2010. Kenny Miller directed the conclusion to our Ayrshire small-town rites-of-passage smash hit, Sally Reid completed a trio of terrific performances as Norma and Anita Vettesse returned to us after previously featuring in Accidental Death of an Anarchist and Losing Louis.

It’s Christmas Day in Stewarton and Irene Gordon’s struggling to get in the festive spirit. Her 18 year-old daughter Norma’s just had a baby, her ex-husband Gordon’s just had a stroke and her eldest Barry’s having a break down. Even the Dr. Who Christmas special is disappointing. If this was a wonderful life she would receive some angelic intervention – instead she gets Rab McGuire and an escaped chicken that won’t be stuffed.

A new play about love, duty and free range fowl.

Cast

Norma Gordon // Sally Reid

Rab McGuire // Jordan Young

Barry Gordon // Scott Hoatson

Gordon Gordon // Stewart Porter

Irene Gordon // Anita Vettesse

Creative Team

Writer // DC Jackson

Director // Kenny Miller

Designer // Neil Haynes

In 2010…

2 to 3 Sept // Palace Theatre, Kilmarnock

7 to 11 Sept // Tron Theatre, Glasgow

14 Sept // Ryan Centre, Stanraer

15 Sept // Brunton Theatre, Musselburgh

17 to 18 Sept // Eden Court Theatre, Inverness

21 Sept // macrobert, Stirling

22 Sept // Eastwood Park Theatre, Glasgow

23 Sept // Howden Park Centre, Livingston

24 to 25 Sept // Harbour Arts Centre, Irvine

28 Sept // Byre Theatre, St Andrews

29 Sept // Carnegie Hall, Dunfermline

30 Sept // Rutherglen Town Hall

1 to 2 Oct // Cumbernauld Theatre

Critical Response

★★★★ “The play thrives on a series of brilliant performances … a hugely entertaining night out, full of wit, wisdom, and heart.” // The Scotsman

★★★★ // The Times

“Daniel Jackson has a gift for the kind of knock-‘em-dead speech…that leaves the audience no option but to burst into applause. … Such sparkling writing elevates this bittersweet Christmas comedy.” // The Guardian

“The writing still sparkles and it’s the characteristic wit and acute observations of the lines that will stay with you” // The List

“deadly one liners…priceless verbal riffs … The deadpan comic interplay between Sally Reid’s guilelessly straight-talking Norma and Jordan Young’s flint-eyed Rab possesses an intermittently hilarious chemistry that makes them a double act to cherish.” // The Herald

“There’s observational humour that any stand-up would be proud of, sparky banter between characters and a real sense of heart … a worthy successor” // View From the Stalls

“I said yes to this before it was even written. Daniel just gets better and better…I said to Daniel afterwards that I was really proud of him, and I am. I think the trilogy is the most important thing I’ve done, and it would be great if they could all be done together. That better happen quickly, though, or else I’ll be too old to play a 14-year-old.”

Breath of fresh Ayrshire // Interview in The Herald with Sally Reid discussing her career, the journey of Norma and Jackson’s writing

“My dad was taking an awful risk by taking it on, because I was his son,” he says. “Also, every other theatre in Scotland had turned that play down. It was a real leap into the unknown and it could have killed both of our careers stone dead if it had gone badly. … you have to be insane to think, writing one play, that there’s any chance you’ll get to do the other two parts.

I wanted it to be like the sort of movies you sit and watch with your family at Christmas,” he says. “Because I was fortunate enough to go to the theatre a lot when I was a child, I was exposed to it and I understood the power of live theatre.”

Interview in The Scotsman with DC Jackson reflecting on The Stewarton Trilogy and his rapid progression and ascent as a playwright