Linda McLean’s Castle Lennox is set to make it’s world premiere at the Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh.
After being postponed in 2020, this musical production will run from 30 March – 1 April 2023 and will be performed by the award-winning Lung Ha Theatre company, a leading theatre organisation for people with learning disabilities.
Directed by Maria Oller, Castle Lennox captures the resilience, bravery and whit of those who were sent to Lennox Castle Hospital in East Dunbartonshire, Scotland’s largest mental institution, from the 1930s to the 1990s. The story was inspired by Mclean’s own memories of visiting her uncle there in the 1960s.
It follows the story of Annis, a young girl with autism who was incarcerated in Lennox Castle Hospital. While her first instinct is to find any means of escaping, as she gets to know her fellow patients, she is introduced to another world. This offers her an alternative form of escapism from the brutal regime of punishment and medication, as if she were entering an enchanted castle, bursting with colour and song.
The play will feature songs by Michael John McCarthy as well as costume design by Alison Brown, set design by Karen Tennent and movement by Janice Parker. Casting details are yet to be confirmed.
Linda McLean shares her excitement at getting to bring her story to life on stage: “I have wanted to tell this story for a long time, but it was crucial to me that it do justice to the indomitable spirit of the people I knew in Lennox Castle.”
Tickets are available for purchase on the Royal Lyceum Theatre website
Words by Katie Heyes
Support The Indiependent
We’re trying to raise £200 a month to help cover our operational costs. This includes our ‘Writer of the Month’ awards, where we recognise the amazing work produced by our contributor team. If you’ve enjoyed reading our site, we’d really appreciate it if you could donate to The Indiependent. Whether you can give £1 or £10, you’d be making a huge difference to our small team.
Image Credit: Pete Dibdin