“What does it take to become an adopted Scot?” quips actor Robin Kingsland.
“I’ve worked here for decades, toured round the country and even married a Scottish lassie, but what do I have to do to be adopted as one of you?”
Of course, Robin was joking, but it’s an idea that’s come up quite a lot in rehearsals of Rapture Theatre’s newest lunch time play: A Number by Caryl Churchill.
“The play is all about identity – about feeling that you belong, and it raises some very important questions about who we are,” explained director Lyn McAndrew.
“It’s a family drama which packs a powerful punch when a son finds out he isn’t an ‘original’ child but is actually a clone!”
Caryl Churchill won the prestigious Evening Standard Theatre Award for the play in 2002 when the question of cloning Dolly the Sheep was on everyone’s lips, but the performance is just as relevant today.
Many people think it’s just a matter of time before a rogue scientist somewhere in the world clones a human. In fact, a Chinese scientist was jailed in 2019 for genetically manipulating a human embryo’s DNA.
A Number will be touring to the East Kilbride Arts Centre on May 29, with two top-class actors playing father and son.
Robin Kingsland, who is also a writer and director and has starred in previous Rapture shows such as Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, The Browning Version and Clybourne Park.
And Paul Albertson, who many people will know from the time he spent as a leading actor in the famous Citizens Theatre in Glasgow, has also starred in three previous Rapture productions: Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, The Browning Version and Betrayal.
“I’ve worked in Scotland regularly since leaving drama school,” says Paul. And I do consider myself an adopted Scot – the Scottish people have always welcomed me with open arms, and I never miss an opportunity to return.”
Rapture is committed to touring to theatres throughout Scotland, bringing high-quality theatre to local audiences.
As for Robin and Paul, they may not be born Scots, but it’s fair to say that Rapture Theatre is more than happy to claim them as two of Jock Tamson’s bairns, just like the rest of us.
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