Death on the Clyde
A washing board and a basket of sheets and socks, two chairs to ease the load if not the burden, a small village by the river looking to where smoke rises, a fire on the hill, the next community burning down with only one survivor, Freya, not one of them but given a welcome and a home as would be expected, the reverend who tends to the tiny flock, Murdo, choosing to overlook her pagan ways.
Six months pass and the nights darken as All Saints Day approaches, but first is the night of Samhain, drinking, dancing, singing and stories, Freya telling the tale of the bean-nighe, the “Washer at the Ford,” some believing she can grant wishes, others believing she cleans the garments of those who are doomed to soon die, Freya laughing as she walks into the night towards the river…
The first production from Edinburgh based theatre company Scotch Bonnet mixing folklore and tunes in a traditional style, Death on the Clyde is directed by Heather Linn from a script co-written with Ewan Jardine who also stars as Alistair, identified by his yellow kilt and sturdy legs, alongside Peter Morrison as his brother Murdo (black), David Clarkson as scholarly Dougal (green), Alex Stewart as Angus (blue) and composer Innis Thorborn as Fergus (red).
They are all touched by the presence of and Freya (Eilidh Barn) and her absence, only woman in the settlement, but equally there is no place to hide when suspicions arise followed by inevitable accusations, the brief run time necessitated by an unforgiving Fringe slot allowing little room for the complexity the show clearly wishes to expand into, thundering forward like the river after a heavy rain.
Staging and lighting similarly limited by the venue, a spacious and elegant basement suite undeniably but far from a dedicated and well-equipped performance space, not quite finding its feet in its brief run Death on the Clyde is most comfortable in the musical numbers, aspects of thriller, mystery, folk tales and morality play vying for attention as much as the boys flit around Freya hoping to catch her eye, their sharp appearance more ceilidh band than crofter but presenting an appealing whole with potential to burn bright.
Death on the Clyde has now concluded its 2025 Fringe run but hopes to tour in the future
