Duncan Harley

The last Scottish witch met a fiery end at Dornoch in 1727 ending what some saw as the domination of the devil in local affairs. Smeared with tar following a short trial, Janet Horne was burned alive in a barrel following an accusation of consorting with the forces of darkness.   In 1950’s America however, the devil-incarnate took the form of McCarthyism  – perhaps best defined as the practice of making accusations of subversion or treason without proper regard for evidence. Many intellectuals, artistic folk and politicians fell foul of the new inquisition. And Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible took an allegorical stab at that modern-day witch hunt against those accused of the crime of ‘Un-American activities’ using the medium of the Salem Witch Trials of the 17 th century. And now, this no-holds barred portrayal of the righteous paranoia that was McCarthyism is subject to fresh interpretation by Scottish Ballet. Shocking in its intensity, this exquisite take on ...

This coming weekend sees Aberdeen Bramble Brae School pupils take to the HMT stage to take part in balletLorent's brand-new production of Rumpelstiltskin. Conner Burton, Connor McGregor, Emily Rose Wood, Hanna Adrykowska, Rhylan Stuart Quinn, Rhys Warner and Robert Smith will tread the boards at His Majesty’s Theatre alongside award-winning dance theatre company 'balletLORENT'.  Liv Lorent - Artistic Director and Choreographer for the production - commented that  “We’re so pleased to have found a fantastic group of children in Aberdeen to become part of our team. At this age, children often have innate talent, a lack of self-consciousness and physical beauty in movement, which can be captured and channelled to great effect through projects like ours.” As a folk-tale, Rumpelstiltskin  is a tragedy deeply mired in kidnap and gender exploitation. Indeed, the fairy-tale tugs strongly at the heartstrings: ‘There was once a miller who was very poor. But he had a...