National Theatre of Scotland

Director's Note

by Dominic Hill

A couple of years ago I happened to be staying in a rundown hotel in a rundown coastal town in north-east Scotland. Kept awake by a raucous wedding reception below my room and the country and western songs played by the local band, I found myself thinking about the wedding scene at Hegstad in Peer Gynt – a play that had always fascinated and infuriated me but which I had been thinking about directing with the permanent acting company at Dundee Rep.

Rereading Peer Gynt soon after, I began to have an idea for a production of the play – a vision of a show that was wild and raw and contemporary, liberated from the often-seen rustic setting and telling the story of an outsider, a poet, a womaniser who doesn’t fit into the local community, who is publicly despised but privately envied for being ‘different’. A guy who longs to escape to make something of himself, who loathes the idea of mediocrity and who in chasing celebrity tramples on and destroys the only people who love him. The play suddenly seemed incredibly modern.

At Dundee Rep we had had some success creating large-scale productions of classic plays that were contemporary and relevant for the broad audience in the city. As I hoped I had found a way to unlock the play for myself and an audience, Peer Gynt seemed a perfect choice for the company of actors at the theatre. Previously I had directed a production of Colin Teevan’s wonderful play Monkey. His interest and success in creating accessible, epic verse drama made him seem the perfect choice to write an adaptation.

The final crucial partner was the National Theatre of Scotland. We had been talking for a while about what might be a suitable play on which to work together. We all shared the desire to create a classic piece of theatre that was urgent and accessible for a wide Scottish audience. Peer Gynt seemed the ideal project.

I was delighted when we were talking about reviving the show that bite became involved, enabling the piece to be seen in London. Dundee Rep Ensemble has twice co-produced with them in the past while the success of Black Watch last year forged a strong partnership between bite and the National Theatre of Scotland. So I very much hope the audience will enjoy the fruits of this unique three-way partnership.

Dominic Hill