The Piper O' Kinlowrie

By Joe Corrie

Price:

£2.00

Item attributes

ISBN:

978-0-85174-968-6

Acts:

3

Females:

5

Males:

4

Item details

Scottish Play: No. 62

From Wikipedia, Joe Corrie (13 May 1894 – 13 November 1968) was a Scottish miner, poet and playwright best known for his radical, working-class plays.

He was born in Slamannan, Stirlingshire in 1894. His family moved to Cardenden in the Fife coalfield when Corrie was still an infant and he started work at the pits in 1908. He died in Edinburgh in 1968.

Shortly after the First World War, Corrie started writing. His articles, sketches, short stories and poems were published in prominent socialist newspapers and journals, including Forward and The Miner.

Corrie's volumes of poetry include The Image O' God and Other Poems (1927), Rebel Poems (1932) and Scottish Pride and Other Poems (1955). T. S. Eliot wrote "Not since Burns has the voice of Scotland spoken with such authentic lyric note".  He turned to writing plays during the General Strike in 1926.

More information can be found on his Wikipedia page; Joe Corrie.

 

Geordie Cleary, a work-shy tramp piper, Maggie Macfarlane, a tinker, and Flora Macfarlane, her niece, have pitched their old tent on a right-of-way on Kinlowrie Estate.

Kinlowrie has just changed hands and the new owners are English; Major Mowbrey, an old, ill-tempered war horse, his wife, Margot, an artist, and their son Rodney, who is writing a play. With them is Lillian Maytree, an actress in a small way, who is in love with Rodney.

When the Major first sees the tinkers he goes into a furious temper and wants to set fire to the old tent. Lillian supports him, but Margot sees the romance of these nomads on her estate, and thinks that the playing of the pipes will inspire her in her painting. Rodney, seeing the beauty of Flora, despite her rags, is certain that he will be inspired to write his play. So the tinkers are invited to take up residence at Kinlowrie House, fulfilling the wish of Flora to wear nice clothes, and sleep in a fine bed.

In time Geordie and the Major become good friends, Margot goes on a " tinking'' expedition with Maggie, and Rodney decides to marry Flora. It seems that the tinkers might settle at Kinlowrie, but class distinction, on both sides, is too strong, so the tinkers go on the trek again into bonnie Galloway.

Producer, players and audience will all have a happy night with The Piper o' Kinlowrie.