The Drama of Place

: place-names and identity – a creative response

摘要

This research explores the relationship between place-names and identity, examining how they consciously and subconsciously shape people’s sense of self and belonging. It argues that placenames function as stories, carrying layers of history, memory, emotion, and cultural meaning. Identity is defined broadly as "what makes me/us/you/them tick", encompassing interconnected levels from the individual to communities, regions, nations, continents, and the global community.
These ideas are explored through a literature review and focus group discussions, highlighting the close relationship between place, memory, and belonging. The practical outcome of the research is a stage play set in a fictionalised version of Contin, based on the author’s home community. The play spans four periods — pre-medieval, medieval, Victorian, and the present day — to examine how stories attached to places evolve over time and influence identity. Alongside the author’s own experiences of place and belonging, the play incorporates perspectives inspired by focus group participants. A narrator representing the "spirit of place" links the different eras, while the character ‘Phil Baarda’, a fictionalised version of the author, explores how mixed-heritage newcomers may experience place and its names differently from longer-term residents. Recurring character types,
including a non-binary shaman who later becomes a Community Council leader, connect the different time periods. The play also examines power and identity through storytelling, contrasting imagined myths imposed on place by incoming settlers (Finn McCool and his followers) with contemporary processes such as community-led place planning. These examples illustrate how renaming
places – enforced or otherwise -- can reshape or challenge the identities of inhabitants and communities. As a creative research method, the play transforms speculative "what if?" questions into opportunities to explore "why not?" possibilities. The project concludes with a rehearsed reading, audience feedback, and an evaluation of the work, identifying directions for future development.

奖励日期	27 8月 2026
源语言	English
奖励机构	University of the Highlands and Islands
导师	Lesley Mickel (Supervisor) & Andrew Jennings (Supervisor)