Theatre Gu Leòr take on the topic of climate change in MAIM

• Gareth K Vile
• 27 February 2020

credit: Laurence Winram

The Gaelic company's new piece examines the neglect and degradation of culture and the environment

Evolving from a debates in the Hebrides around climate change and land use, Gaelic theatre company Theatre Gu Leòr have collaborated with Gaelictronica duo WHYTE to create MAIM, an examination of the relationship between the decline of languages and landscape. With words and music provided by Ross Whyte and Alasdair C Whyte, it is a raging cry against the threat of extinction that takes Theatre Gu Leòr into a new, dynamic dramaturgy, incorporating live music, video projection and Alasdair's research into Scottish place names.

'Place names tell us how our ancestors saw and engaged with their landscape,' he explains. 'They tell us that there was once a symbiotic relationship between us and the land and that's a major theme of MAIM.' By recognising how Scotland was once a rich, multilingual nation – and how 'mono-linguism' was a deliberate policy of the state – the piece examines how culture and the environment have become victims of degradation and neglect.

'The crisis in relation to the environment and the loss of minoritised languages and cultures such as Gàidhlig is something that affects us all,' says director Muireann Kelly. 'MAIM is our response to a crisis and we hope people will come away having been provoked, inspired and moved.'

MAIM, Tron Theatre, Glasgow, Fri 6–Sat 14 Mar, and touring.