Declan

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24 August 2020 · Follow on Stagedoor

“Normally at this time of the year Edinburgh’s Traverse theatre would be hosting one of the hottest theatre programmes on the planet as part of the fringe. Not this year, of course, and as the Traverse faces up to what might be several more months of being dark the two auditorium venue is launching a third platform: Traverse 3, a virtual space. The season begins with Declan, a brand new film that takes its inspiration from the central character in Kieran Hurley’s Mouthpiece, a remarkable show about class, culture, appropriation and access. The new film uses some of the text of the original show to show us Edinburgh through the eyes of Declan.”

Overview

Declan is a brand new take on the Traverse Theatre’s 2019 hit production Mouthpiece about class, culture and appropriation. Through film footage, animation and audio, the audience are placed in the protagonist’s shoes, to show Edinburgh as he sees it.

17-year-old Declan’s Edinburgh isn’t the one the world knows and celebrates. Rather than theatres, galleries and concert halls, his days are spent on the outskirts of the city protecting his little sister, avoiding his mum’s boyfriend and making sense of his world through his drawings – that is, until he meets Libby, a playwright who takes his story and puts it on stage for all to see.

Frank, unflinching and filled with unexpected humour, Declan is an exhilarating and immersive film. It moves the spotlight away from those doing the talking, to those being talked about, asking whether it’s possible to tell someone else’s story without exploiting them along the way.