(Josephine takes) 21 strides in 21 days

A fascinating 21 act play depicting scenes from Josephine's book, "Tommy Turns Cars".

(Josephine takes) 21 strides in 21 days is a delightfully dysfunctional piece that amuses and antagonises as it twists its way across the Camino to Santiago de Compostela. It is thought producing, melancholic, but ultimately uplifting and hysterically funny as the characters unravel over a 500 mile walk.

An ambitious production given that each act is only delivered once and effectively there is only one complete performance, the 60 seconds narration to commence each show helps with the delivery and the daily programme sales will undoubtedly help with the funding.

As the 21 acts are delivered consecutively on its 21 day run, it has the potential to be a hot ticket as the mid afternoon slot wont often find conflict and aficionados will want to say they attended all 21 performances, but each act stands up on its own.

The title is taken from Act 7, at the end of the first week.

Jose gives the game away as halfway through the performance she cuts TC short.

"You have your way!" she shouts at Tommy, "I like doing it my way" Josephine smiles as she turns narrator to the audience.

"But counting to 21, you'll do that a lot over 500 miles" interjects Tommy Carruthers

"I do TC, but often I dont make it to 21. I only start counting when my mind is empty and its never empty here. I look at the path for my feet, I look left and right for the views, I look straight ahead for my soul and I look back and smile. My achievements are behind me and so are my car crashes."

"Aye, like when I pummelled into you coming down from Pamplona"

"And more besides Tommy, more besides"

The conversation carries on and the sticks clatter off the stage floor, while the projected image displays the countryside and the setting.

There are three main settings, which the set designers have pulled off superbly. Namely these are the paths, the bars and the Albergue Dorms.

The paths and walkways of the camino. There are different surfaces throughout the camino but cleverly and perhaps obviously, the surfaces are the same in each act. Asphalt, dirt path, rocky, sandy and the luxurious pine needles. After hearing about the pine needles I wanted to carpet my flat in them!

Most of the Camino is in full sun and the views as produced by the displays are enticing enough to make you want to go to Azofra, Villares, Arzua or the many places depicted.

That the bars all look the same is a bit unfair. The uniquely different provinces of Spain are clearly identified with flags coloured differently and if one beer outside looks the same as another, its to do with the backdrop being the countryside. There is undoubtedly only one joiner and the budget didnt extend to different draught beers, but now I'm just being picky. The owner changes in every cafe/bar but we usually get the same one for the scene when its a pueblo and its the only cafe in town. The joy of this is when Jesus Gonzalez of La Trebede in Leon or Jose in Cafe Ligonde demonstrate the intrinsic role played by the people of Spain in the Camino. In the notes we are reminded that real characters and bars have been used although all the Pilgrim characters are fictitious or composite. I thought Jesus and Jose were so good I wanted to ask if they had just played themselves and were they enjoying Edinburgh, but decided I didnt speak any Spanish.

Finally the setting of the Albergues. There is no greater sense of the claustrophobic nature of the camino than a cramped stage and a packed audience. Had this been an evening performance, the snoring might just have extended to the audience. Its not easy to depict a bedroom scene where the joke is the snoring if you dont leave it on long enough. ~It can be like getting warm bread instead of toast, but equally for the audience, it can feel like the bread is burnt toast. I'm not sure if the producers wanted us to feel the anger of the snorers, if they did, it worked! By the morning when the fun and laughter of the bold snorer takes over from his snoring as he rustles his polythene bags, coughs, splutters and asks in a stage whisper if his fellow pilgrims are still sleeping, to be greeted with "its 5.55, not yet you schnacker, fuck off, get a coffee and let us get an hour at least." The laughter from the other beds in the dorm isnt universal, as is the audience's reaction, although clearly a lot of people did get it and laughed. I think I felt the pain too much, maybe I'm too precious. The other Albergue scenes were well handled with topics ranging from the changing and modesty, noisy mid afternoon siestas, ("Looks like we've a live one tonight" laughed Jose as TC dangled his headphones from the bunk above), early to bed, late to bed, the staggered start with shining headlamps and finally the emptying out by 8am.

The complex nature of the characters make it difficult for me to sum up but the variety of characters is what makes '21 strides', this so endearing. The absolute genius is clearly that the camino represents a society that is multicultural, multilingual but fundamentally friendly. The common cause of walking forth together, of helping people out not just in adversity, but in gentle comradeship. As Scotland meanders towards a second indie referendum and England vote for Brexit, 21 strides reminds us that we want to walk together, nations from Korea to Ireland, people from Vancouver to Berlin. There is a global community on the camino and whilst their ethnicity may be diverse their values are peculiarly common. "Atapuerca, it where they found the missing link between Neanderthal and Homo Sapien." Simone from Berlin quietly informs the big Irishman Conor, as they sit in the cafe at a table adjacent to Jose and Harry.  Jose, a one time novelist, tries to evade the pompous prick Harry who idolises her because of her genius, but is yet again leading the young apprentice on a merry dance as she deciphers the code of 'The Egg Hatcher' for him.

I'm not sure I would give all 21 acts a five star rating as there are days that I adored the play but equally the snoring gag was lost on me, but I guess like the camino, there are good days and bad. My journey with 21 strides was my own, just as I sure it'll be yours too.

When I have the 2017 dates I'll put them out.