Burnscripts: Dramatic Interpretations of the Life and Art of Robert Burns - Softcover

PRAISE FOR JOHN CAIRNEY AS ROBERT BURNS Cairney's performance is much more than a tour de force...a posture of virility under sentence of death. You can believe in such a man. THE TIMES With no apparent effort and endless resource, a fine performance. THE GUARDIAN John Cairney's performance of Robert Burns is a masterly rendering of marvellous material. NEW STATESMAN

This publication compiles actor John Cairney's theatrical interpretations of the poet Robert Burns and his life. Since 1959, he has been involved with Burns as actor, director and writer. Over the years, Cairney has taken the opportunity to investigate different aspects of Burns as they relate to performance in the theatre. For the first time he has brought all these working playscripts, which have already been tested before a live audience, together in book form. Others interested in the prismatic attraction that is Scotland's Bard can now see how one Scottish actor-writer has dealt with a national icon theatrically. The scripts, written by Cairney, look at Burns' creative work, his everyday life, and his relationships, to build a full picture of the man so important to Scotland's cultural heritage. The plays are followed by an appendix which features a selection of plays written about Burns' life since his death at the age of 37.