The Artist Man and the Mother Woman

The Artist Man and the Mother Woman, a new play by award-winning Scottish author Morna Pearson, had its first outing as part of The Traverse's Write Now festival. The artistic director of The Traverse,Orla O’Loughlin, liked it so much, she made the full production her directorial debut at the venue, and is enthusiastic about the possibilities of Pearson's script.

"Morna is a brilliant writer, with a very distinctive voice," says O’Loughlin."Her writing is instantly recognisable as her own: at times out and out hilarious, at others profoundly tragic." A story of an artist and his unconventional relationship with his mother, it takes full advantage of Pearson's ability to transform her native Doric into a potent theatrical language.

"Her work is deeply bound up with where she is from," she continues. "And there is no doubt she is interested in the relationship of people to place." Taking an author who has a strong association with The Traverse, and making a play in Doric her directorial debut, O’Loughlin is both connecting to the venue's triunphant past and supporting new writing in Scotland.