The Revelations of Rab McVie

Rab McVie invites the audience on a journey travelling through richly textured, ever changing landscapes of bloodshed and war – a story of light in darkness, of hope in a torn world. Revelations Of Rab McVie is an immersive journey through a psychedelic dreamscape of live painting, live music, spoken word and theatre.

Driven by darkly atmospheric alt-rock music from The Filthy Tongues (led by Martin Metcalfe with musicians including Fin Wilson and Derek Kelly from Goodbye Mr Mackenzie/ Angelfish) with fantastically colourful, evocative, ever evolving, projected paintings by artist Maria Rud (The AniMotion Show) and a spellbinding performance by one of Scotland’s most engrossing actors Tam Dean Burn (National Theatre, River City).

This is a vital piece of theatre, filtering the artists’ response to global events into a compelling, immersive experience. The performance weekend is the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Originally conceived in 2021, the show is not about that conflict specifically, but a reaction to it and “the torn world”. Artist Maria Rud is part Russian, part Ukrainian so has a unique perspective to bring, but the work is very much a collaborative piece, driven by the visuals, the music and text, with actor Tam Dean Burn bringing a dramatic physical presence.

Working with award winning theatre director Maria Pattinson brings a new dimension to how creative directors Martin Metcalfe and Maria Rud have worked together before. Maria Pattinson started her career at the Royal Shakespeare Company in London, where she trained as a theatre director under Mike Alfreds.

Since then, she has focused on the development of new work that weaves physical theatre, music and text, specialising in making theatre in unconventional spaces, both indoor and outdoor. She describes Rab McVie as: “a new theatrical form – ‘Prophetic Theatre’ – making visible what is hidden from everyday view”.

Artist Maria Rud is known for her physical approach to painting, and her dramatic distinctive images, bringing together music and painting in real time and projected at an immersive scale. She toured the AniMotion Show throughout the world, including Europe, USA and China, working with musicians including Dame Evelyn Glennie, Hertford Symphony Orchestra and most recently saxophonist Tommy Smith in the acclaimed Luminescence show at St Giles Cathedral.

• Revelations of Rab McVie
• Traverse Theatre
• 10 Cambridge St, 
  EH1 2ED
• 24 and 25 February 2023