Calum's Road and Roger Hutchinson’s book of the same name have become the stuff of modern folklore. It is the remarkable true story of one man's single-minded determination to challenge the powers-that-be and is now coming to stages across Scotland for the first time thanks to Scots playwright David Harrower and the National Theatre of Scotland.
Calum MacLeod lived with his wife on the remote island of Raasay, just off Skye. Born there in 1911, he was crofter, postman and lighthouseman until the population of the north of the island dwindled in the 1960s to just the two of them. Determined not to see the area die – and tired of waiting for the Council to do something – he took matters into his own hands. He built a road. Calum’s unpaid labour of love was to dominate the last 20 years of his life and leave behind a legacy – both practical and poetic – carved into the landscape he loved.
Directed by the highly-acclaimed Gerry Mulgrew Calum’s Road is a co-production between Communicado Theatre Company and the National Theatre of Scotland. The play will be touring Scotland throughout the autumn, ending on Calum’s home island of Raasay on 25th November. Further details of performances can be found here.
