Building a Nation, Gaelic Arts at Websters Theatre, 13 and 14 October, 2017

Togail Nàisean
Websters Theatre, 416 Great Western Road, Kelvinbridge, G4 9HZ
A spoken work and sound performance by Martin O’Conner
[See English Below]
Tha bàrd a dh’ionnsaich a’ Ghàidhlig, Martin O’Connor, a’ cur Building a Nation air àrd-ùrlar le cainnt is fuaim. Tha dualchas Albais gnìomhachais Ghlaschu gu domhainn ann fhèin, is tha e a’ rannsachadh a dhàimh phearsanta ris a’ ghuth, ri blas is ri dualchainnt, is a’ rùrach airson nam faclan a chailleas sinn nuair a thèid sinn on fhearann chun a’ bhaile mhòir, na faclan a chailleas sinn nuair a sguabar gnìomhachas air falbh à àite, is na faclan a chailleas sinn nuair a thèid air sgaradh o ar n ionannachd chultarach fhèin.
Bheir an obair seo an aghaidh air seallaidhean a thaobh cringe na h-Alba is a thaobh a’ ghuth mar chomharra air inbhe, agus faighnichidh i a bheil an aon chlaonadh is an aon iomallachadh ann a thaobh dhualchainntean Gàidhlig. A bheil an aon bhuaidh aig a bhith à Uibhist, Leòdhas, Muile no às an Eilean Sgitheanach ’s a th’ aig a bhith à Pollok no Bearsden? Agus dè am blas a th’ aig Gàidheil Ghlaschu?
Building a Nation is a spoken word and sound performance by poet and Gaelic learner Martin O’Connor. Steeped in the industrial voice of his own Glaswegian Scots, he explores the personal relationship with voice, accent and dialect and unearths the words we lose when we leave the land for the city, the words we lose when a place is swept away by deindustrialization, and the words we lose when we are disconnected from our cultural identity.
The piece challenges perceptions of the Scottish cringe and the voice as class indicator and asks if Gaelic accents carry the same bias or marginalisation. Does coming from Uist, Lewis, Mull or Skye have the same provocation as coming from Pollok or Bearsden? And what does the Glaswegian Gael sound like?
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