★ ★ ★ ★ ★
The Song of the Bones is the story of Ireland’s last witch trial. Put together by poet Alice McCullough (who wowed us at the Edinburgh Fringe with Earth to Alice) her presence on stage is as mesmerising as ever. Dressed in traditional costume, holding an ancient tome, she sits, still and poised. Her tone quiet and thoughtful. We were being brought into a story that was as personal as it was historical.
It would be glib to say that the musical stylings of Voxken and the excellent shadow puppetry of creatives who worked on Star Wars made the show. Because, in reality, they compliment and enhance the central storytelling of McCullough’s words. Without Alice’s story, the other parts would lose their meaning.
It is often a deserved criticism that spoken word loses its power by adding too many ‘bells and whistles’. It can be in danger of creating style over substance. But here the substance of the poetry infused the puppetry and music, giving it a deep resonance.
It was Alice’s hope that more neurodiverse and disabled artists were part of the performance. The first part of the show given over to the poetry of Elizabeth McGeown reading from her poetry book Cockroach. Her spoken word pieces giving a real flavour of what it is like to be neurodiverse.
We got a real sense from the story, that we, as neurodiverse and disabled people are vulnerable to the hysteria of mob ignorance. Our behaviour ‘put on trial’ that leads to punishing responses.
Alice, described the show as very much a work in progress. Yet she has curated something impressive. We joked after, that we are getting tired of each show we come to getting a standing ovation. Of course, it is a sign of the high watermark of McCullough’s work across the board.
