Re-constructing heritage: the National Theatre of Scotland’s Calum’s Road

Abstract

David Harrower’s adaptation of Roger Hutchinson’s novel, Calum’s Road (2011, 2013) tells the real-life story of Calum MacLeod, and his quest to build a road from Arnish to South Arnish on the island of Raasay in the Inner Hebrides. Calum is representative of the everyday hero that can be found throughout Scottish texts and stories—one that remains true to himself, and fights for the cause he believes in, no matter how small it may seem to the government, or the people around him. The play highlights a dying age, and yet emphasizes the importance of merging the past with the ever changing present and is ultimately a celebration of failure. This article explores the role of heritage and heroism within Harrower’s play and, by extension, contemporary Scotland, by examining the relationship between struggle and failure, as well as the mutual responsibility within the national community to work to create a new image of the Scottish nation.