ANGUS MCPHEE - Weaver of Grass


ANGUS MCPHEE or MACPHEE was a crofter from Uist who spent almost 50 years in a Highland psychiatric hospital. During this time he chose not to speak - instead he wove a series of incredible costumes out of grass. These he hung on trees in the hospital grounds.

This blog follows the progress of HORSE + BAMBOO THEATRE as they develop and tour a show about Angus....

Saturday, 12 March 2011

A list of jobs

Luke, who has been with us this past two weeks, has now returned to London. He used his time on a mini-internship with Horse + Bamboo making models of the Angus set, then turned his attention to shadow puppetry looking at ways of creating woven puppets. He finished his stay here by making an experimental minute long animation using grass... 


Meanwhile Alison and I continue with mask and puppet making. The table of jobs looks like this:
Set 
Screens, lighting, sound
Armchair
Platform/s and bed
Hospital trolleys and screens
The hospital garden
Masks
Old Angus with flat hat
Mother
Young Man Angus
Nurse
Middle-aged Angus 
Mature Angus 
Joyce
Photographer
Old sister
Costumes for all the above
Puppets
Sisters
Baby Angus
Boy Angus
Horse
Straw Man
Straw Daughters
Straw Red Calf
Large Horse
Angus Warrior marionette
Horse marionette
Dragon marionette
The Hospital Season cranky show
Signs etc as Angus grows up
Flat masks etc for the 'journey out of war' sequence/mirrors
Grass cap for opening
Bridles and saddle, horse harness
Hospital weavings – caps, trousers, jackets, harness etc
Bonfire
Large woven horse
Woven blanket
Film 1a sea, family
Film 1b Gaelic world, chart, hoods and caps, grasses, bridles
Film 2 falling men, medical release papers, soldiers, ships etc
silent section – home, rushes in a wind
Film 3 a garden, weaving close up hands
Film 4 horse/airplane, certificates, suitcase, airplane, home
Music

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