Michael is a young man, living in contented isolation on a West of Scotland beach and making artworks with the pebbles and shells, the flotsam and jetsam he finds there. He is perfectly happy, but the people around him find his isolation disturbing, and when he comes upon an object washed ashore that may or may not be man-made, the world outside threatens to invade his solitude, with potentially disastrous consequences.
Quartz, a full length stage play by award winning writer Catherine Czerkawska, was first performed at Edinburgh's Traverse Theatre on Friday 4th February 2000, with Liam Brennan as Michael, Maggie McCarthy as Teresa, Alice Bree as Claire and Paul Nivison as Father Sweeney. The production was directed by Roxana Silbert.
'The story of a man living in serene, solitary communion with the sea and its shoreline, his idyll threatened only by the outside world's refusal to leave him alone, could easily lead to all manner of quasi-mystical woolliness. Instead, Catherine Czerkawska's new play offers a moving, poetic and quietly provocative meditation on contrasting values and belief systems, and on the destructive potential of love, while keeping its feet firmly on the ground in terms of attention to plot, character and dialogue.
Sue Wilson, The Independent, February 2000.
'THE central icon in Catherine Czerkawska's new play is a lump of flotsam. Standing upright, it has the look of a woman's body. It is rough-hewn and uneven, but in certain lights quite beautiful. This is much the same as the play itself. Set on a West Coast beach, it's about Michael, a young man earnestly seeking solace and solitude among the elements as he works the precious stones the tide brings him. His mother, a devout Irish Catholic, has other ideas, not least when she decides his latest driftwood find is prime shrine material. In the character of Michael, Czerkawska has hit upon a fascinating conundrum: what is it about our herd instinct that makes us so distressed by other people's isolation?'
Mark Fisher, The Herald, February 2000
Genre: Fantasy
Quartz, a full length stage play by award winning writer Catherine Czerkawska, was first performed at Edinburgh's Traverse Theatre on Friday 4th February 2000, with Liam Brennan as Michael, Maggie McCarthy as Teresa, Alice Bree as Claire and Paul Nivison as Father Sweeney. The production was directed by Roxana Silbert.
'The story of a man living in serene, solitary communion with the sea and its shoreline, his idyll threatened only by the outside world's refusal to leave him alone, could easily lead to all manner of quasi-mystical woolliness. Instead, Catherine Czerkawska's new play offers a moving, poetic and quietly provocative meditation on contrasting values and belief systems, and on the destructive potential of love, while keeping its feet firmly on the ground in terms of attention to plot, character and dialogue.
Sue Wilson, The Independent, February 2000.
'THE central icon in Catherine Czerkawska's new play is a lump of flotsam. Standing upright, it has the look of a woman's body. It is rough-hewn and uneven, but in certain lights quite beautiful. This is much the same as the play itself. Set on a West Coast beach, it's about Michael, a young man earnestly seeking solace and solitude among the elements as he works the precious stones the tide brings him. His mother, a devout Irish Catholic, has other ideas, not least when she decides his latest driftwood find is prime shrine material. In the character of Michael, Czerkawska has hit upon a fascinating conundrum: what is it about our herd instinct that makes us so distressed by other people's isolation?'
Mark Fisher, The Herald, February 2000
Genre: Fantasy
Used availability for Catherine Czerkawska's Quartz