The Tailor of Inverness
Udderbelly’s Pasture
7-30 August, 13.55
Matthew
Zajac’s father was born in Poland, fought and was imprisoned during the
Second World War, and ended up in northern Scotland, a father of three and a
successful small businessman.
Accompanied
by a solo fiddler, Zajac recounts his father’s story, adopting both his
intriguing Polish/Inverness accent and his infectious narrative style. The
strains of the violin transport us back to good times and bad as the unfinished
items of clothing in Zajac’s father’s workshop are imbued with life to
recreate moments of his past.
Zajac is a
charismatic performer and his narrative is a wholly absorbing one, particularly
when it becomes clear that there is more to his father’s tale than he was ready to admit
to his son during his lifetime. The
autobiographical nature of the show’s ending makes it less successful in
dramatic terms than the beginning, but Zajac’s honesty when it comes to telling
his own part of the story make for an engrossing piece of theatre nonetheless.
