Critically-acclaimed, award-winning Scottish musician and theatre maker Mairi Campbell makes beguiling art that is at once atavistic and utterly contemporary, weaving together storytelling, visual art and music. At this year’s Fringe, she brings her Pendulum Trilogy, comprised of Pulse (which was first performed 10 years ago), Auld Lang Syne and Living Stone , to the Scottish Storytelling Centre, performing the trio of shows together for the first time.
With work steeped in history and her own lived experience, Campbell is excited to be bringing the trilogy together. “It is a thrill to finally present all three shows at the Fringe,” she says. “I’ve been watching performers doing amazing feats of endurance and memory over the years so I know it’s possible! I always knew the three shows were a unit of work, that bring the particularity of my experiences with those of humanity.”
Living Stone, the third show, features a talisman – a mill stone that is 400-years-old, found in her home island of Lismore. Campbell says of the stone: “I knew at the start of making Pulse that I needed to make a stone metronome, or pendulum, so the audience could see gravity in action, the weight of a stone slowly turning or swaying.
“My brother-in-law found it on my great grandmothers’ croft on the island of Lismore. I saw it leaning up against the wall one day and knew it was the one. My friend Tim Vincent Smith was with me on our quest and he figured out how to make the pendulum: three hazel sticks, an iron hook, some rope and the stone.”
Also known as a quern stone, the mill stone was chipped at some point, probably during the 16th century when home mill stones were made illegal. “Everyone had to use the landlord’s mill,” Campbell explains. “There were riots at the time and many quern stones were broken. Mine still has a hole in the middle which is unusual. It’s like a talisman to me. A beautiful, light, loving presence that graces the stage. I feel as though I’m accompanying the stone on stage, rather than the other way round.”
Obviously, there are challenges in bringing about a performance of this magnitude. As Campbell notes, “I think getting my body and feet back into step dancing mode for Pulse will be a thing to work out. I’m 10 years older and my body’s changed so we’ll have a rethink on the choreography in our rehearsals in July.
“The biggest challenge is to be deeply present in performance,” she continues. “To prepare I need quiet during the day. I go to through the whole script, exercise my body and my voice. I love the quiet daily ritual of preparation for a show.”
As a seasoned Fringe performer, Campbell is always delighted by the receptive Edinburgh Festival audiences and the response she receives to her work. “If the audience reaction is anything like the past then it’ll be a joy,” she says. “I find audiences are moved, they love the humour and the deep journeying that we go on. They can relate to the issues. It’s very Scottish without being hokey.”
“It’s real and you can’t argue with lived experiences, which is what I base them on,” Campbell adds. “The audience also love having the stone there during the performance. It’s grounding and relaxing. The shows can be a welcome break from the frenetic energy of Edinburgh during the Fringe!”
Mairi Campbell: Pendulum Trilogy, Scottish Storytelling Centre, 2-17 Aug (not 11), 5pm