AN “extraordinary” play inspired by the construction of the controversial new spaceport in Sutherland will receive its premiere later this month.
It comes after plans were revealed for a radar station on top of Ben Tongue accessed by a new service road.
Spaceport owner Orbex claims that the 302-metre mountain is the best location for monitoring the rockets which will be launched from the spaceport on the A’ Mhòine peninsula.
However, critics believe it will cause environmental damage and disrupt wildlife, with one objector calling it “an act of utter vandalism”.
It is the latest controversy surrounding the spaceport which initially received more than 450 objections when plans for it were submitted to Highland Council in 2020.
The site borders the Flow Country which has just been designated as a Unesco World Heritage Site. It is the largest expanse of blanket bog in Europe and is recognised for its diverse ecosystems and peatlands.
However, the project was supported by many of the crofters and population of the Melness and Tongue area, some of whom will benefit financially from leasing their land.
The radar plan is also supported by Tongue, Melness and Skerray Community Council.
Orbex has said that any traffic would “primarily coincide” with launch days for the 19-metre rockets which are limited to 12 a year. The spaceport’s construction is due to end shortly.
The new play is by Thurso-based George Gunn, thought to be the most prolific playwright the Highlands has ever produced, with 50 plays to his name. He is also a columnist for Bella Caledonia.
First written in 2019 when plans for the spaceport were announced, production of The Fallen Angels Of The Moine was hit by the Covid lockdowns but is still topical, according to Dogstar Theatre company director Matthew Zajac.
“It will be interesting to see what the response of the show is in Caithness and Sutherland and the most potentially charged night will be the one we do in Melness community hall which is right next to the spaceport and the crofting community there,” he said.
“They had a vote and the majority were in favour but it was divided.”
He added that the show was “quite provocative” but also “very entertaining” and “funny” with music and poetry.
“It does talk about some of the very hard issues relating to the spaceport – the impact of it on the local environment is a big issue in the play and how, in a way, that represents the whole impact of human activity on the planet,” said Zajac.
“In order to build it, they have used a lot of concrete and concrete is a major contributor to global warming, so obviously there was quite a lot of debate about the environmental impact of the spaceport prior to them building it and whether the blanket bog of the Flow Country is going to be affected by it.
“There is discussion of that in the play and also what the purpose of the spaceport is exactly and some of that is quite provocative. Is it only for civilian purposes? There is a suggestion in play that there is far more concrete needed than for just that.”
The play opens on August 27 in Ullapool before touring to other venues in the Highlands.
“It’s good fun and we have some really wonderful animal masks that the gods wear,” said Zajac.
“We have some great music too – it’s a good-quality, old-fashioned, small-scale touring Scottish production.”
Dogstar’s tour of The Fallen Angels Of The Moine will take place in areas of the Highlands and Islands the company is prioritising, launching a programme of playwriting and theatre-making development work for teenagers and adults, taking place in secondary schools and community venues during 2024-25.
It follows on from Dogstar’s sell-out London revival of its flagship production, The Tailor Of Inverness, in May, and the very popular first edition of SPARK – the Highland New Play Festival at Eden Court, Inverness, in January, produced in collaboration with Eden Court and Playwrights’ Studio Scotland.
Dogstar will also be taking The Tailor Of Inverness to venues in Sweden, France and Scotland this autumn. February and March next year will see the company’s biggest production to date – the first stage adaptation of James Robertson’s celebrated novel, The Testament Of Gideon Mack.
