Miss Lindsay’s Secret

A curator has found, in her museum, a hidden box of letters, from Alexander Middleton, gone to the Klondike Goldrush. He writes to his childhood sweetheart, Minnie Lindsay, seamstress, left behind in their glen in the early 1900s. As The Curator explains, this is a true story from The Glenesk Folk Museum, Angus. She decides to reveal the letters' content and, in doing so, takes us into the parallel worlds of a close-knit early 20th century glen community and the heady yearnings of Canada's famous goldrush; But this is no ordinary history talk and the letters have an uncanny power. There are consequences in engaging with them too deeply.

Miss Lindsay’s Secret tells a universal story of friendship, love and separation. In this time of invaded privacy, it questions the morality of reading private mail and turning it into a play. This moving story is evocatively told through an ebb and flow of music, drama and the original letters used verbatim. The cast of The Curator, The Musician and The Man conjure an onstage alchemy in which the unknown story of long ago lovers becomes a quietly powerful allegory of global forces continuing to shape our lives and identity. Miss Lindsay’s Secret brings the past to the present, Scotland to the world, shining a light on Scotland’s diaspora and the things that bind us to home. 

Written and performed by Maria MacDonell with Alan Finlayson and live music from Georgina MacDonell Finlayson.