Nova Scotia

by John Patrick Byrne

Thirty years since we last met him and Lucille in the Garden of Remembrance, Phil McCann faces the New Millennium with fortitude and good humour. The leading arts correspondent of the day is on her way to the far north to record a radio profile, which Paul is confident will relaunch his career as a painter and establish him once and for all as a colossus of contemporary Caledonian culture.There are, however, a number of stumbling blocks on the road to Phil's rediscovery and the recognition of his genius, not least of which is his rocky marriage to much younger Didi, a video artist of some renown, who has just been nominated for the Turner Prize.Then there's the old pal, Spanky, who turns up out of the blue with new bride, Lucille, on his arm...Nova Scotia premiered at the Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, in April 2008.

Genres: Plays

112 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2008

About the author

John Patrick Byrne was a Scottish playwright, screenwriter, artist and designer. He wrote The Slab Boys Trilogy, plays which explore working-class life in Scotland, and the TV dramas Tutti Frutti and Your Cheatin' Heart. Byrne was also a painter, printmaker and scenic designer.

Reviews

[Luís · Rating 2 out of 5]

"I was trying to write a different play, one about an architect, a guy who runs a micro-brewery and someone who comes back from America," Byrne explains.
"I was thinking up the names of the characters, and then these bastards all gatecrashed it; these buggers called Phil and Spanky. And then I couldn't get them out of my head. They more or less told me they wanted to be in the play, which would be about them.
"That sounds fanciful - I used to laugh when I heard people say the characters just took over' - but it's true."

Two valid Stars.