The Robert Burns Story

From the first performance at the original Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh in January 1965 till the most recent at the newest Traverse Theatre in January 2002, the solo Burns format has been a success with audiences all round the world. Indeed, John Cairney has become so associated with the part that his first volume of autobiography in 1987 was called 'The Man Who Played Robert Burns'.

The format is simple. The actor, as Burns, opens by announcing to the audience - 'I have taken a whim to give you a history of myself.' And then he proceeds, for the next two hours (with interval) to do just that, using, as far as possible, Burns's own words - engagingly, often movingly and with lots of humour. The show has lasted because it has everything a theatre show needs - fun and laughter, moments of thought, high passion, and all bound by Burns's humanity.

The audience cannot help but be involved in his story because it is also theirs. They get a chance to sing the famous songs. Holy Willie's Prayer has them squirming and the recital of Tam o' Shanter is a whole show in itself. It ends elegiacally with Auld Lang Syne. A fitting end to the tragic but uplifting story of Robert Burns, Poet.

John Cairney has also adapted and performed this script as a One-Man-Burns Supper.