bitches rising up to the uprising challenge

REVIEWED

DAMN'D JACOBITE BITCHESCITIZENS CIRCLE STUDIO, GLASGOW until DECEMBER 21HHHH

AS Macbeth and Richard III know to their cost, historical drama can be a cruel judge of character. In his new play Damn'd Jacobite Bitches, Stuart Thomas provides a more equitable platform for his five historical characters, though he also offers them plenty of rope with which to hang their reputations.

The setting is a plush London dining room in the aftermath of the second Jacobite rising. Four Scotswomen gather here, each of whom has played a role in Bonnie Prince Charlie's brief career as would-be monarch. Each stakes a claim for importance in the Young Pretender's life; yet only one will is celebrated in song and legend. For Flora Macdonald, though, that celebrity has brought its own penalties.

Meanwhile, from safe refuge at the French court in Versailles, Charlie recalls the rise and ignoble demise of his fortunes, reliving his encounters with each woman in turn.

Acutely directed by Mary McCluskey, this is a thoughtful and persuasive drama that touches on a wide range of issues, among them loyalty and betrayal, nationhood, female emancipation, the ideological paucity of power politics and the vacuity of fame. In truth, it tackles too many themes without fully engaging the audience's emotions to any of them - but the quality of writing is stirring, not least for Thomas's ability to embrace philosophical inquiry alongside broad humour.

Annie Curtis Jones's ravishing designs exemplify the Citizens' knack for wringing miracles from slender resources, and all five actors perform with real grace and vigour. The catty sniping between Nicola Burnett Smith and Rae Hendrie is particularly enjoyable, though McCluskey exerts a discipline that is essential when five actors share a small space - and leaves the chocolate treats on the dining table completely untouched.

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