Latest news with #SunsetSong
Scotsman
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
Works and Days: FC Bergman's celebration of rural life at EIF is 'all about the collective'
Lauded Belgian theatre company FC Bergman wordlessly celebrate the lost togetherness of rural life, writes Joyce McMillan Sign up to our Arts and Culture newsletter, get the latest news and reviews from our specialist arts writers Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... There's no human experience more widely shared across the planet than the transition, over the past three centuries, from mainly rural and agrarian societies to urban ones. It was a shift driven, of course, by the eternal human quest for more wealth, comfort, ease and prosperity, as well as for more freedom and excitement; and every country in Europe and beyond has its literature and art reflecting the impact of this profound change in human culture. In Scotland, there is Lewis Grassic Gibbon's Sunset Song, one of the world's great novels about the mighty disruption of rural ways of life around the time of the First World War; theatre lovers may also remember plays like Sue Glover's Bondagers, set among 19th century female farm labourers in the Scottish Borders, and David Harrower's Knives In Hens. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad FC Bergman in Works and Days And now – with the world facing a profound climate crisis caused by the very fuels that drove our industrial revolutions – the subject of the world we lost during that transition, and the wisdom it held despite all its oppressions and hardships, is becoming ever more urgent and telling. It's therefore an ideal moment for the acclaimed Belgian theatre ensemble FC Bergman to step onto the Edinburgh International Festival stage, bringing with them their 2024 show Works And Days, a 70-minute wordless performance partly inspired by the poem of the same name by the Greek writer and thinker Hesiod. FC Bergman (the name refers to the company's football-team-like ensemble ethos, and to visual brilliance of the film and stage director Ingmar Bergman) was founded in Antwerp in 2008 by a group of six actors who had just graduated from theatre school; and the company has won global acclaim, over the years, for its 'intensely visual and poetic' style of theatre, and for shows which – through metaphor, movement, and spectacular, large-scale imagery – seek to understand the huge underlying arcs of human history. 'In Works And Days,' explains FC Bergman co-founder Thomas Verstraeten, 'we are completing what we could call a diptych of transition, between this show and our previous production, Sheep Song. Sheep Song was a kind of hymn to individualism, and to that impulse to escape from an ancient way of life and its limitations; it's about a sheep who feels that it is capable of more, and that it is destined to lead more glorious life than other sheep. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Works and Days 'Works And Days, by contrast, is very much about the collective, the group, and the way they work and move together. It's about the culture of rural societies where everyone knew that they needed everyone else, and the community around them, in order to survive. It's also about the cycles of life with which those traditional communities had to work; about the changing of the seasons, and how those same cycles of birth, life and death are reflected in human life. 'In traditional cultures, those changes are not only accepted but celebrated, in rituals and festivals. But just as we lost community when we lost our close relationship with the land, so we also lost the ability to understand that everything has its season; and that this current phase of human history – and the profound disconnection from nature it brought with it – is also something that must come to an end.' Four of the original founding members of FC Bergman – Thomas Verstraeten, Marie Vinck, Stef Aerts and Joe Agemans – are still with the company; and they have all co-created Works And Days, performing in the show alongside four additional actors, and two jazz musicians who have improvised a score, based on Verdi's Four Seasons, that now provides the show's live onstage soundtrack. 'In this show,' explains Marie Vinck, 'we really wanted to go for something quite 'unplugged', compared with most of our work. Because of the subject, we wanted something that was not driven by technology, but was quite sober, and driven by the ensemble itself, the group of people on stage.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'Yes,' says Thomas Verstraeten, 'and we hold to that very important idea for the first 40 minutes, until some bigger imagery begins to burst in. But in this show, there are fewer references to existing works of art than we usually use; there might be some Brueghel in there, in the visual imagery, but that's it.' One of the most famous of all existing works of art will be to the fore, though, in FC Bergman's next show Guernica, Guernica, set to premier in Germany this September. Based on Picasso's legendary painting of the first-ever large-scale aerial bombardment of a civilian population – at the Basque town of Guernica, in 1937 – the show will reflect on the Spanish Civil War, and on Picasso's life as an artist; and Thomas Verstraeten explains that the company first began to work on the idea in 2022, following the Russian attack on Ukraine. 'That was our first inspiration,' says Thomas Verstraeten, 'the return of that horror of aerial attacks on cities and the people who live in them, after so many decades of peace in most of Europe. But then, at the end of 2023, the current situation in Gaza began to develop; and the image of Guernica, this absolutely devastated place and its people, took on a whole new dimension.' 'One thing that's important to us, though,' adds Verstraeten,' is that – perhaps because we often work without words – we don't create shows with some kind of fixed narrative and final meaning. In fact, the ending of Works And Days has been perceived very differently by different audiences – some see it as bleak, others as very hopeful. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'So when it comes to the meaning of a theatre show, we like to share the responsibility of creating that with our audience. It's not a riddle, not a puzzle that anyone needs to solve. It's something to enjoy, and to experience; and then to add your own response to whatever meaning it may have, in the world we're living in now.'
STV News
29-06-2025
- Entertainment
- STV News
Locals campaign to save historic church featured in Scottish literary classic
A campaign has been launched to save a historic church featured in one of Scotland's most famous novels from being sold. Arbuthnott Church in Aberdeenshire, part of the inspiration for Lewis Grassic Gibbon's Sunset Song. Known as Kinraddie Church in Lewis Grassic Gibbon's 1932 novel, the kirk will close its doors at the end of the year. It is one of over 100 buildings the Church of Scotland is selling in a bid to cut costs. Sunset Song, part of the Scots Quair trilogy, follows the life of young Chris Guthrie as she grows up in a farming family during a time of great social change. The church is a significant location in the heartbreaking story. Local resident Morna Laing told STV News: 'I was stunned, actually. Why would they get rid of such a building? 'It's ancient, pre-Reformation, and one of the few still holding services. It means a lot to people around here. I bring all my visitors down here to see it because it's so special to the locals.' STV News Arbuthnott Church is among 100 churches up for sale Arbuthnott's congregation is determined to raise the funds to buy the building from the Church of Scotland. Nicola Watson, who runs the Lewis Grassic Gibbon Centre, said they hope to turn it into a cultural venue. 'Gibbon wrote a lot about the strength of rural communities and about people being custodians of the land, and I think that feeling still exists here in Arbuthnott. Now that the church is being sold, the community feels it must stand up and ensure the right thing is done for future generations.' Charles Roberts-McIntosh of the Arbuthnott Community Development Group added: 'The Church of Scotland has done a valuation, and we're waiting for their feedback. We hope it won't be a huge amount. We want people to visit. I wouldn't say a pilgrimage to Sunset Song, but if that's what it takes, that's what we'll do.' 'It's a stunning little church in a stunning location. It should be saved for its history and for the Lewis Grassic Gibbon connection,' he said. The local community has commissioned a feasibility study in the hope of keeping the building in use. 'It doesn't bear thinking about that it might not be here,' added Morna. 'Everyone wants it to stay. No one wants to see it fall out of use.' A Church of Scotland spokesperson said the Church has 'identified a need for radical change' against a backdrop of falling minister numbers, a decline in membership and a reduction in income both nationally and locally.' In response, the 2021 General Assembly instructed Presbyteries to develop mission plans by the end of 2022. While no dates have been set, it's hoped Arbuthnott Church will be released by the end of 2025. 'We recognise that Arbuthnott Church, as with many other church buildings across the country, is important and valuable to the local community,' he said. STV News Historic church which features in Sunset Song up for sale 'However, our mission plans take into consideration what is best for the whole of the Presbytery area, making the best use of our resources, both human and financial, and ensuring they are best placed to continuing our mission of sharing the good news of Jesus and serving our communities.'The General Trustees of the Church of Scotland, who own the building, are in discussions with a local community-based charity who are seeking to acquire the building and see it remain available for the community. 'The congregation of Arbuthnott, Bervie and Kinneff Parish Church currently worships at both Arbuthnott Church and Bervie Church. 'Once Arbuthnott Church is released, Bervie Church will serve as the main place of worship, as it is a well-equipped space in the right place for the community. 'The Kirk Session remains committed to serving, in Jesus' name, the people and community of Arbuthnott, even after the church building is sold.' He added: 'The Kirk Session is in the process of deciding what worship may look like in the community of Arbuthnott, including hopefully hiring the church building from the new community trust for special services around important times like Easter, Harvest and Watchnight on Christmas Eve.' Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
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Scotsman
30-05-2025
- General
- Scotsman
Three ancient stone circles go on market — including one of Scotland's finest
The ancient Bronze Age sites in Aberdeenshire are looking for a new owner. Sign up to our History and Heritage newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Ancient, mysterious and revered, the stone circles of Scotland's deep past are not something you expect to come across in an estate agent's brochure. But now, not one, but three Bronze Age stone circles have gone up for sale in Aberdeenshire - including one of the country's finest. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Easter Aquhorthies stone circle near Inverurie is one of the finest examples of its kind. It is now on the market as part of a sale of farmland. Picture: Aberdeenshire Council. | Aberdeenshire Council The scheduled monuments are included in sales of farmland across the area, with the archaeologist for the region describing the three listings as 'remarkable' and a 'rare chance' to acquire a piece of Scotland's pre-history. Among the sales are Easter Aquhorthies near Inverurie, a recumbent stone circle that dates to around 4,000BC. Probably used as a cremation and memorial site, the location has been described as one of the best preserved of its kind. The scheduled monument sits between two fields, which are part of six being sold for a combined price of £530,000 or as two separate lots. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad READ MORE: Campaign to save Sunset Song church in heart of rural community that inspired Lewis Grassic Gibbon Archaeologist Bruce Mann, senior historic environment officer at Aberdeenshire Council, said the name of Aquhorthies hinted at the site's past use and derived from the Gaelic word meaning 'field of prayer'. He said: 'Easter Aquhorthies is one of the best-preserved recumbent stone-circles in the region and, as such, is incredibly important.' Mr Mann added: 'The fact that we have three stone circles for sale at the same time is remarkable as they rarely change hands, being often part of a wider farm or estate. The sales, especially that of Easter Aquhorthies, offers a rare chance for someone to purchase an important example of North East Scotland's prehistory. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'Owing such a site, with its national designation as a scheduled monument, means careful management on behalf of the nation. The new owners will need to expect that people will continue to visit the stone circles, and that as owners they are custodians of part of our regional identity. 'They will also need to carefully consider what they will be able to do with the surrounding land, as the setting of these stone circles, within the land that is being sold, will need to be maintained.' Also for sale is the stone circle and ring cairn of Little Eslie near Banchory, which is being sold as part of 10.5 acres of land suitable for grazing. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The circle is part of an important landscape during the Bronze Age period, with the Nine Stanes and Greater Eslie stone circles found nearby. South Ythsie, near Tarves, completes the stone circle sales. Made up of six upright stones, with the tallest measuring 2.4m high, the monument sits in 151 acres or arable and pastureland, which is being sold for a combined total of £740,000. Mr Mann advised that anyone buying the sites should seek advice both from local authority planners and from Historic Environment Scotland. James Presley, of Aberdeen and Northern Estates, who is handling the sales, said: 'We do have lots of stone circles in Aberdeenshire, but to be selling three properties at once, all which have stone circles, is rare.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad He said there had been 'strong interest' in the three separate land sales, but mainly from those interested in the farmland. 'There probably have been a few inquiries regarding the stone circles,' he said.
The National
26-05-2025
- Business
- The National
Historic Scottish church featured in novel could be saved by locals
The Church of Scotland is selling Arbuthnott Church in Kincardineshire in an effort to plug a £5.9 million deficit. The church was the inspiration for the setting of Lewis Grassic Gibbon's Sunset Song and it is also where the author is buried. Lewis Grassic Gibbon The Church of Scotland said it recognised that the building – the oldest section of which dates back to the late 1200s – as "important and valuable", but that it needed a "significant reduction" in the number of properties it owns. The Arbuthnott Community Development Group is looking to purchase the building and preserve its cultural legacy, while it could also be used as a local hub for events such as concerts. Charles Roberts-McIntosh, chairman of the group, told the BBC that he is determined the building and Gibbon's legacy are protected. READ MORE: Hillwalker dies while climbing mountain in King's Balmoral Estate He said: "We will look to raise money or apply for funds. "People are still interested in this history and rural life - and tourists love Scottish culture. "The value culturally is incalculable. Sunset Song endures because it is a wonderful piece of literature." Alan Riach, National contributor and professor of Scottish literature at the University of Glasgow, said he was "appalled" at the news of the church's closure. He told the BBC: "This is one of the great places of pilgrimage in literary Scotland. "It's not only fixed forever in our cultural history as an essential co-ordinate point in the biography of one of our greatest writers, but it's also a key reference point in his greatest novel." Sunset Song was written in 1932 by Grassic Gibbon, the pen name of James Leslie Mitchell, and is the first novel in the trilogy A Scots Quair. It follows the story of a young woman growing up before and during the First World War and draws on the themes of class, war, religion and female emancipation. READ MORE: The life and death of Scottish author Lewis Grassic Gibbon The kirk, named Kinraddie Church in the novel, is a significant location in the story. Grassic Gibbon is buried in the graveyard, and the inscription on his headstone reads: "for I will give you the morning star'. There is also a sculpture inside the church of the great knight of yesteryear, which features at the start of Sunset Song. A statement from the Church of Scotland said: "We believe a significant reduction in the number of buildings we own is necessary in order to deliver sustainable and realistic new expressions of ministry and church and to ensure all of our buildings are suitable for the needs of mission in the 21st century. "As part of the process, the local presbytery has taken the decision to release Arbuthnott Church. "There are no set dates as yet, but under the current mission plan, Arbuthnott Church would be released by the end of 2025."
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Our church inspired Sunset Song - we want to save it
A historic church that played a central role in one of Scotland's most-loved novels is being put up for sale to plug a gap in Church of Scotland's finances and locals are determined to save it. Arbuthnott Church, nestled in the beautiful countryside of Kincardineshire, was the inspiration for the setting of Sunset Song and the remains of its author, Lewis Grassic Gibbon, are buried in its graveyard. The Church of Scotland recognises the building - the oldest section of which dates back to the late 1200s - as "important and valuable", but says it needs a "significant reduction" in the properties it owns. Charles Roberts-McIntosh, chairman of the Arbuthnott Community Development Group, said he is determined that the building and Grassic Gibbon's cultural legacy are preserved. "We will look to raise money or apply for funds," Mr Roberts-McIntosh said. "People are still interested in this history and rural life - and tourists love Scottish culture. "The value culturally is incalculable. Sunset Song endures because it is a wonderful piece of literature." Sunset Song was written in 1932 by Grassic Gibbon, the pen name of James Leslie Mitchell. It was the first book in the trilogy - A Scots Quair - telling the story of Chris Guthrie, a young woman who lives and works on her family farm in the Mearns, the farming areas south of Aberdeen. The novel is set on the fictional estate of Kinraddie which Grassic Gibbon based on Arbuthnott, where he lived as a child and where his ashes were buried after his death at the age of 33 in 1935. The story told by the trilogy begins just before World War One and follows Chris from the countryside of her childhood to a big city, touching on class, war, religion and female emancipation. In 1971, a six-episode television adaptation of the novel was the first colour drama made by BBC Scotland and was greeted with huge acclaim. It was credited with reigniting interest in Grassic Gibbon, and Sunset Song was put on the Higher English syllabus. In 2016, it was voted Scotland's favourite book in a BBC poll, ahead of the Wasp Factory by Iain Banks and Lanark by Alasdair Gray. In an introduction to the novel, published in 2020, the then First Minister Nicola Sturgeon wrote of her love for the book, which she said is her favourite novel. Alan Riach, professor of Scottish literature at the University of Glasgow, told the BBC he was "appalled" at news of the imminent closure of Arbuthnott Church. "This is one of the great places of pilgrimage in literary Scotland," he said. "It's not only fixed forever in our cultural history as an essential co-ordinate point in the biography of one of our greatest writers, but it's also a key reference point in his greatest novel." Scott Lyall, an associate professor of Modern and Scottish Literature at Edinburgh Napier University, described the church as a site of "genuine importance to Scotland's literary heritage". Prof Lyall said: "The minister at the end of Sunset Song, in tribute to the local fallen war dead of World War One, indicates that we must remember the past and the dead to better understand our present condition and build a better future. "It would be a sad irony then if the church, with its own long history, were to be neglected. "It would be wonderful to see it as a cultural heritage site with Gibbon's life and reputation at its centre." The Church of Scotland said it expected the main church building would go up for sale later this year. Its congregation for Sunday services is small, in what is a quiet rural area of just a few hundred people. The kirk hopes nearby Bervie Church will serve as the main focus of local worship. The Church of Scotland said that, in recent years, it had identified a need for "radical change against a backdrop of falling minister numbers, a decline in membership and a reduction in income". A statement said: "We believe a significant reduction in the number of buildings we own is necessary in order to deliver sustainable and realistic new expressions of ministry and church and to ensure all of our buildings are suitable for the needs of mission in the 21st century. "As part of the process, the local presbytery has taken the decision to release Arbuthnott Church." The statement added: "There are no set dates as yet, but under the current mission plan, Arbuthnott Church would be released by the end of 2025." Mr Roberts-McIntosh said the local community was determined to save a building that was so intrinsic to one of Scotland's most-loved novels. As well as honouring the author, it is thought the building could also become a local hub for events such as concerts, aided by the acoustics of the church building. Mr Roberts-McIntosh said the the building itself was "fundamentally sound". "It just needs some tender loving care," he said. Sunset Song: Enduring appeal of a Scottish classic Sunset Song 'is Scotland's favourite book' Sunset Song set for December release
