Ankur presents The Knight and the Crescent Hare

I don't usually talk about work for young people: it is difficult reviewing it as a single man, thanks to the discomfort I feel sitting at the end of a row, alone, surrounded by young enthusiasts and their carers. It's the sheer joy of the audience, and their uncynical appreciation of language that gets me all misty-eyed.

However, Ankur have reminded me that this can lead to me missing some of the more practical applications of experimental theatre practice. They are touring a new show by JC Marshall (most recently she had her dark tale of death staged at the Tron, starring one of the old Doctor Whos), The Knight and the Crescent Hare. An everyday story of two security guards get excited by a magic Astrolabe. They end up in the 12th Century during the 3rd Crusade, and are sent on a mission to stop the fighting in the Holy Land.

So far, so classic - the duo's task to unite "a Muslim inventor and a Scottish Knight Crusader" might be a little obvious on the multicultural moral, but anything that discourages divisiveness between people is a good start. And there's no lack of ambition in the themes: "this work brings to life the Crusades, which according to circumstance are either a byword for conflict between Christians and Muslims or shorthand for what people believe to be a good and worthy cause. It draws on the rich heritage created through the Islamic Renaissance and its parallels in today’s world, illuminating the age of invention and innovation against a backdrop of religions-in-conflict; a past that does not look that different from the present."

But here's the experimental bit: the tour is site responsive. It's going to museums: The Burrell Collection, Glasgow; McManus Galleries, Dundee; Aberdeenshire Museums HQ, Mintlaw and Dunbar Town House, Dunbar.

I once called Ankur's Playback the future of theatre, referring both to its multi-cultural dynamic and combination of professional and community performers. They went on to present a main show stage at the Tron, Bwana and The Olympics of the Everyday, a participatory event, undermining half of my assertion.

This production is merely the latest turn in a busy history: they do a great deal of work in the community, and have a mission to "enable Black and Minority Ethnic artists and audiences to produce and/or participate in world class contemporary performance." A great deal of their work is underground and doesn't hit the critical radar, although their collaboration with Cora Bissett, Roadkill, didn't hurt their profile.

he Knight and the Crescent Hare is another new direction, engaging with the objects in the museums and using the play as a basis for discussion. It's all about linking Scottish heritage to other cultures. That's perhaps not the future of drama, but it is very now: Scottish arts and the government are very excited by their own national identity.


7th March at 2pm & 7pm and 9th March at 11am & 2pm, The Burrell Collection, Glasgow;
14th – 15th March at 7pm and 16th March at 3pm & 7pm, McManus Galleries, Dundee;
21st – 23rd March at 2pm & 7pm, Aberdeenshire Museums HQ, Mintlaw;
28th March at 7pm and 29th – 30th March at 2pm & 7pm, Dunbar Town House, Dunbar.