IDEOMS

presents a South Scotland tour of

John Nichol's Latest Play

CROSSFIRE

with

John Nichol & Hilary Bell

Under the Auspices of Yarrow Events Trust

and with Financial Assistance from Awards for All,
Scottish Borders Council and The Glen Cafe St Mary's Loch

www.johnnichol.co.uk	www.hilarybell.com

John Nichol moves deftly between the three characters…… in this careful and well observed work.

 The Scotsman

 An interesting piece of drama told in a simple but effective way, with impressive voice work…..

 Three Weeks

 Ideom’s production values neatly convey a sense of period and place….John Nichol’s acting and Hilary Bell’s musicianship are well worth your time and ticket money.

 EdinburghGuide.com

 Excellent! Go and see this one!! Excellently acted and gripping storyline, well worth seeing. One man, three characters, all spot on. Music good too.

 Edfringe.com

Crossfire is a drama set in the besieged South African town of Ladysmith during the opening months of the Anglo-Boer War.

The author of the piece, John Nichol, drew his inspiration from the book, ‘Ladysmith’ by Giles Foden. 

When war was declared on 11^th October, 1899, there began a build-up of British troops in the town. The Boers soon positioned large gun emplacements on the surrounding hills, and the Siege of Ladysmith began. It was to last 120 perilous, hunger-filled, disease-ridden days. 

The story is told by three characters, each with very different backgrounds, views and loyalties. They are: a British soldier- David Cockburn; a Lieutenant (from the same Regiment)- Lt. Charles Balfour; and an Irish immigrant -- Michael O’Neil, who runs a barber shop in the town.  

We are very soon made aware of a clash of personality existing between the young, upper-class Lieutenant and the lower-class soldier. The obvious difference in their class status is not the only reason for the clash however. Jealousy is the real root cause, and this found its origin many years before, back home in Scotland. 

The Irish barber, Michael O’Neil (known as ‘Paddy’) earns money mostly by giving shaves and haircuts to the officers. He also earns their trust and is provided with rather too much information, especially by the inexperienced young Lieutenant.  

There is a night raid on one of the Boer gun emplacements, involving Balfour, Cockburn and John Campbell (Cockburn’s friend). This ends in disaster, with Campbell being shot and killed. Cockburn places the blame for Campbell’s death squarely on the shoulders of Balfour, whose behaviour during the raid is dangerously incompetent. 

The only bright ray of hope for Cockburn is his chance meeting with Rose O’Neil, the barber’s pretty and headstrong daughter. 

In the midst of the dust, heat and danger, the two find romance. 

Another raid is planned, but Cockburn sees his chances of coming through it alive as very slim. He is not willing to risk losing out on his future life with Rose. 

He resolves to elope with Rose to start a new life in the Cape, and it seems there may be a happy conclusion after all. Such a happy outcome is however dependent on neither Paddy nor Balfour learning about their escape plan.