Marking the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, the 80th anniversary of the outbreak of World War II, and the 100th anniversary of the birth of Mateusz Zajac, The Tailor of Inverness, the universally acclaimed international hit play, written and performed by Matthew Zajac, is touring Scotland for the sixth time during April and May.
This great cry for refugees, for Europe and for those affected by war everywhere, will open its tour just days after Britain’s supposed exit from the European Union.
The Tailor of Inverness is one of the most widely travelled and highly praised Scottish theatre productions of the last decade. It premiered at Edinburgh’s Assembly Rooms in 2008 and was an instant success. Since then it has been performed worldwide from Australia to New York. Awards for the production include The Stage Award for Best Solo Performer 2008, Scotsman Fringe First, Holden Street Theatres Award and Critics’ Awards for Theatre in Scotland Best Actor 2009 (Matthew Zajac).
Wherever it has been seen, the play has evoked extraordinarily enthusiastic reactions, touring Scotland five times, Ukraine, Sweden and Ireland twice, Denmark, Wales, Poland, Germany, Australia and the USA, including selling out for three weeks at Manhattan’s 59E59 Theatres’ Brits Off Broadway Festival.
Inspired by the life of Matthew’s father, it is the story of a boy who grew up on a farm in Galicia (Eastern Poland, now Western Ukraine) and became a tailor in Inverness, of how a life and an identity can be reconstructed. The tailor’s life spanned most of the 20th century, and the journey he took was made by thousands of Poles during the Second World War. His was a forced migration across many borders, subject to the brutal vagaries of war.
“I come from the Soviets and the Nazis. I come from a farm, from the forests and fields of green Ukraine, from the resettlement camps of Germany, from the beaches of the Adriatic, from the grimy streets of Glasgow and the cool air of Inverness.”
The original team behind the production, director Ben Harrison, designer Ali Maclaurin, lighting designer Kai Fischer, sound designer Tim Brinkhurst and on fiddle Johnny Hardie and Gavin Marwick are reunited for this 2019 Scottish tour.
You can watch The Tailor of Inverness at Webster Memorial Theatre in Arbroath on Saturday, 20th of April. Tickets are available via Ticketsource or throughwww.webstertheatre.co.uk
“…how incredibly impressed I was by The Tailor of Inverness…unbelievably moving and unexpected…” Misha Glenny, author, historian and journalist
The Tailor of Inverness is supported by Creative Scotland
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ANGUSalive (SC046133) is the culture, sport and leisure trust for the county of Angus and has been operating since December 2015.
