Yarn

A co-production between GRID IRON and DUNDEE REP ENSEMBLE

Devised by Ben Harrison and the Company

19th April – 3rd May 2008

A site-specific, promenade performance in The Verdant Works, Dundee

“I am not interested in tailoring, but in the push and pull of the garment against the human body.”
Vivienne Westwood

A deserted warehouse, a former weaving room. The ghosts of weavers and spinners past hang in the air. Hands in the darkness, spinning thread out of yarn.

Yarn: (n) a spun thread as used for knitting, weaving and rope making; a narrative of adventures, esp a tall tale.

Yarn: a tapestry woven from a wide array of texts and imagery, including Ovid, Thomas Carlyle, and Angela Carter.

Yarn: a twisting, turning and sensuous journey through a labyrinth of installation, narrative, song and dance.

Bringing together Dundee Rep’s internationally renowned acting company with Grid Iron’s reputation for creating award winning site specific productions, within the hidden spaces of Verdant Works, a former Jute Mill in the heart of Dundee’s industrial quarter, Yarn was a unique event exploring aspects of Dundee’s past through the present and its future through the past.

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What The Press Said

“In an age of control-freak management culture enlivened by the odd half-hour of internet porn, there’s something heroic about Ben Harrison’s Grid Iron company, and their sustained attempt – via site-specific shows – to explore the world of true sensual delight and passion.”

The Scotsman (Preview)

“Grid Iron has always been a company of vision and consistency. At a time when site-specific and responsive work is gaining in popularity, this should be worth seeking out to see how it should be done.”

The Guardian Guide (Preview)

“There is a sense of anticipation for the audience as each new yarn is told and a child-like delight in hearing and seeing them through a range of theatrical devices.”

The Courier and Advertiser

“Working together for the first time, the two companies effectively entwine in an emotional and political tapestry connecting clothing and people in a narrative of adventure spun by director Ben Harrison…Each superb soliloquy casts light on a memory – or experience – involving a garment, releasing feelings of anger, envy, regret, lust and in the case of Victorian wear, a humorous bedroom scene… The diverse politics of clothes, from the wedding dress to the burka, to child weavers in third world countries, is a major thread throughout incorporating the use of clever puppetry. This is an outstanding production, delivered by a brilliant cast…. The audience is led seamlessly through with little dilution in emotional intensity, an ongoing fascination holding the pieces together generating a truly unforgettable theatrical experience Dundee audiences should grab with both hands.”

Evening Telegraph and Post

“a wholly charming series of reflections on the role of clothes and fabrics in human history, sexuality and identity….The mood is playful, with a hint of mediaeval pastiche and gothic horror… What’s attractive about Yarn is its imaginative attempt to engage with Dundee as a textile town, and to use the words and voices of Dundee Ensemble to evoke a deeper understanding of its past. It also features a bracing sense of internationalism…And it has a gloriously eclectic finale, co-staged in an old roofless mill-shed by Janet Smith of Scottish Dance Theatre, that races like a thing possessed through an eccentric world history of cloth and its abuses, leaving the audiences with a 90 minute experience that’s not deep, but glamorous, allusive and sometimes even thought-provoking”

The Scotsman★★★★

“It’s been interesting watching Grid Iron add an explicitly political dimension to their output over the past couple of years, much of it gleaned from extensive work in the Middle East. Here are war correspondents in disguise and photo-ops of how to get from burqua to blindfold in five easy steps. What we’re left with in this co-production with Dundee Rep is classic Grid Iron with an edge, ripping through layers of human artifice to get to the heart of the matter. They wear it well, on their sleeves and everywhere else.”

The Herald★★★★

“Grid Iron delivers an impressive array of narrative threads with which to weave together its stories.”

The Metro

“Rich in ideas, vivid in execution, this Yarn forms a delightful fabric that takes time to unravel.”

The Guardian★★★★

“Yarn often looks wonderful, and is blessed with fine sound and music (by Philip Pinsky) and some fine acting.”

Sunday Herald

View Our Programme

To read more information about the show, including the Director’s Note and team biographies, have a look through our production programme.

Download our programme pdf here

Cast

Alia Alzougbi

Hannah Donaldson

Kevin Lennon

Martin McCormick

Itxaso Moreno

Robert Paterson

Grid Iron Production Team

Director:
Ben Harrison

Assistant Director:
Cora Bissett

Producer:
Judith Doherty

Set/Costume Designer:
Georgia McGuinness

Composer & Sound Designer:
Philip Pinsky

Lighting Designer:
Paul Claydon

Choreographer:
Janet Smith

Production Manager:
Phil O’Halloran

Deputy Stage Manager:
Mickey Graham

Puppetmaker & Trainer:
Ailie Cohen

General Manager:
Fiona Dougal

Finance & Development Officer:
Deborah Crewe

Office Dogs:
Hector & Tigger

Development workshop:
Tania El Khoury, Keith Fleming, Kim Gerrard, Annie Louise Ross, Gail Watson, Emily Winter, John Buick, Ionia ni Chronin, Zinnie Harris (dramaturg).

Dundee Rep Production Team

Production Manager:
John Chapman

Technical Manager:
Nils Den Hertog

Company Stage Manager:
Rose Ann Gross

Deputy Stage Manager:
Kate McGreary

Assistant Stage Manager:
Rachel Miller

Head of Wardrobe:
Phyllis Byrne

Wardrobe Cutter:
Liz McCafferty

Wardrobe Assistant:
Sally Cram

Wardrobe Maintenance:
Susan Ranstead

Dresser:
Angie McGregor

Carpenter:
Neville Fenwick

Scenic Artist:
Leila Kalbassi

Chief Electrician:
Richard Moffatt

Head of Sound:
Nick Bryan

Deputy LX:
Kate Pearce

Front of House:
Daniel Ford, Paris Grimmond, Sara Kemal, Nina Melville, Eve Moore & Georgia Murray

Office Dog:
Douglas

Supporters

The production was kindly supported by the following…

Assistant Director Cora Bissett was supported by the Federation of Scottish Theatre’s Investing in Directors Programme. With thanks to the Scottish Arts Council and the Fenton Arts Trust.

Past Productions

The productions are listed in chronological order with the most recent first.

If you want to know more about our work or just want to get in touch to say hi!
You can reach us by clicking here.

Yarn

What The Press Said

View Our Programme

Cast

Grid Iron Production Team

Dundee Rep Production Team

Supporters

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Past Productions

Muster Station: Leith

Doppler

Strange Tales 聊斋

The Brunch Club

South Bend

Bingo!

Jury Play

Dr Stirlingshire’s Discovery

Crude

The Devil’s Larder (2015)

Light Boxes

Letters Home

Leaving Planet Earth

The Authorised Kate Bane

Barflies (2012)

What Remains

Spring Awakening

Decky Does a Bronco (2010)

Huxley’s Lab

Barflies (2009)

Tryst

Yarn

Once Upon A Dragon

Roam

Those Eyes That Mouth (Beirut)

The Devil’s Larder (2005)

Naw Nader Men al Houb

Fierce

Those Eyes That Mouth (2003)

The Houghmagandie Pack

Variety

Fermentation

Decky Does a Bronco (2000-2002)

Monumental

Gargantua

The Bloody Chamber

Clearance

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