Interviewer an scriever: Elisabeth Flett

Hello! Whit’s yir name, an whit’s yir role in the show? 

Ma name's Olivia Caw, an I play Bonnie McKay in Common Tongue. 

Whit’s Common Tongue aw aboot? Whit’s the themes? 

Common Tongue is aboot Bonnie McKay, who grows up wi her Papa. He’s a big champion of the Scots language, although not in a ‘refined gatekeeper’ way. He is a big fan o Burns and he is a big fan o Scottish voices and like, traditional storytellings. So she grows up wi that, and doesn't realise that her voice is something that she can be proud of - and then goes out into the world and meets aw the things that a lot o Scots speakers meet. Whether it be prejudice a lot o the time, whether it be class issues that are so intrinsic to yir voice…that feeling of going away an struggling tae come back and that feeling of homesickness, that feeling of how home is inextricably linked with how we speak and how when we go out into the world and that changes…aye, it’s aboot how that affects our identity. Sae the bare bones o it is that it’s aboot a wee lassie tryin tae navigate the world.

Whit does the show mean tae ye personally as a Scottish performer? 

As a Scottish performer, I mean, this show has been the joy of ma life. It's been everything that I needed. It's opened so many doors for me, but being able to speak in ma ain tongue and do it with such incredible writing from Fraser Scott is, yeah, it's been the joy of my life. A pleasure and a privilege. I think to me what it means is that there's an appetite for self-identity, for reclamational language. The response to the show has meant that we know that what we're trying to do is a universal hing and it's really important tae a lot o people. And I think that has been one of the most refreshing, like, breaths of fresh air I've experienced in my life to know that, actually, aye, a lot o us are feeling this this yearning for an identity that ah think we lost. We're reclaiming it noo. Mair concisely, whit the show means tae me is the pleasure o bein able to speak in ma tongue, and the way that ah wis brought up, an talk about it in a way that brings joy and happiness. 

Ah feel like we’re in a guid moment fir the reclamation o language as weel.

Aye.

Like, in general, we’re aw mair in conversation aboot colonialism an indigenous culture an the fact that British colonialism really tried tae squash oot indigenous culture - an ah think we're in sic an interestin position in Scotland because we've bin pairt o the problem an also have suffered frae the problem [colonialism] tae, an whit dae ye dae wi that? 

For sure. And ah think it's one of they ones that we cannae shy away frae the fact that we've been a pairt o it. But then also we cannae…it's almost like, “don't minimise your own pain”, because we can accept that we were a part of colonising other people whilst also realising and unpicking the colonial nature of the generational trauma that we now exist under. And when you look aboot the British Isles at the minute it's happening all ower the camp where we now have the three other nationalist parliaments. I think redefining that word ‘nationalist’ is very important, and I think a lot of that is to do with language. A lot of that is to do wi righting some wrongs, but doing it in a way that doesn't feel violent, or angry. Righting things is a necessity, but we have tae dae it without perpetrating this idea of ‘us and them’ because there are enough people up at the top perpetrating the idea of ‘us and them’. What I think Common Tongue does, is that it blurs the politics. It blurs away the politicised nature of language, particularly in Scotland, and says maybe we could just bond ower these life experiences because actually, nae matter where you are from in the world -  if you've felt like your voice sticks out like a sore thumb at any point in your life then it's the show for you. And ah think that is what we need in a time where we are trying to reclaim our language, and we are trying to reclaim our identity. 

Whit’s it been like tae dae a run o Common Tongue here in the Scottish Storytelling Centre alang wi ither shows aboot Scottish identity? Hae ye caught ony o the ither shows an dae ye feel like Common Tongue is in dialogue wi them? 

I have not caught any o the ither shows because I hae been on a bit o a one track mind! However, what's been so lovely about this is that there’s aw these top artists, and you’re able tae feed aff folk. You're no havin tae put on an accent when you're talkin tae the actors before you [in the venue] or you're no having tae go ‘like this’ [exaggerated ‘posh’ accent] and speak to them ‘like this’ because they're from here as well. When you're doing a one person show it can be easy tae feel a bit lonely, but doin the show here and around these people - we've got the Through the Shortbread Tin folk in after us as well, they’re a lovely, lovely bunch - when you're around folk like that who are all striving towards the same goal of self-identity, it’s great. Storytelling is self-identity, and it’s this thing which we’ve lost. We’ve lost a lot of the traditional storytelling centres, especially here in Scotland, and that's why it feels sae apt that we're here. And the team [SSC team] just dae everythin in their power tae mak sure that this feels like hame! They feel like my ensemble now. That has been one of the biggest helping hands an that feeling o solidarity has been a proper stepping stone tae being able to put on the show tae the best of its ability, and showing people the best it can be.  

Common Tongue hae enjoyed a muckle amount o success at this year's Fringe, an I hae spied a hale load o positive audience feedback tae. Is there a stand oot moment fir ye in terms o onybody sharin whit the show meant fir them? 

I mean, that is huge because  - as you say - we’ve had hunners o brilliant interviews, whether that's frae audience or frae critics, and we’re chuffed. Aye. The audience reviews are incredible and whenever I go onto [the internet] tae hae a look at them I need tae watch when ah dae it, because it puts a wee lump in ma throat. I get a tear in ma eye. We had Nicola Sturgeon in tae see the show so ah wis really chuffed she wis able tae make it alang. Nicola Sturgeon was, for me, one of the first people who woke this kind o national pride. She was the first person that ah remember that wis like, “naw naw naw, we actually aren’t this, this is jist what we’ve been told that we are.” Sae aye, she adored the show, an shared it with everyone, and that was just a bit o a pinch me moment. She wis ane o the first people who woke something in me and made me be like, “I am never going to be apologetically Scottish.” There are plenty o people oot there being apologetically Scottish, an that’s no fir me!  And then we've been lucky enough to win the Bobby Awards as well, which feels quite intrinsically Scottish, sae we were chuffed wi that. Then we got the Bright Sparks Award from the Scottish Arts Club. So that was a bit insane, an just proves that as much as it's a story aboot a wee Scottish lassie frae a workin class background…this feeling of, “how dae ah fit intae a world that we aw might no recognise as much as what we did?” Yeah, that’s universal. Sae aye, the audiences have been brilliant. There’s been quite a few moments of just like, “What the hell?” It’s been lovely. Really lovely, we’re chuffed. 

Ah’ve got ane last question. Whit's yir favourite wird in the Scots Leid? 

Ocht! Ah dinnae want tae gang fir somethin tae clichè! [switherin noises]

Dinnae owerthink it, like! [lauchter]

Probably…scunner! 

It’s a strang ane.

Although it's got negative connotations it's one of they wirds that, what ah like about it is… Like, we were lucky enough to have the BBC in, [tae film a short video aboot the show] but that video also opened us up to some online trolls. And so this discussion o ‘dialect versus language’ stairted in the comments. Somebody put, “ye shouldnae be proud o talkin like a wee ned”, an that was ane o my favourite comments because I was like, “well, dae ye know whit? Maybe you should come alang and see Common Tongue!” Because that is exactly what it's aboot. This idea of “ned”, “bam”, like all these things  - why is the way that I speak connected to my decorum? So the reason I’ve picked scunner as ma wird is because it’s one of they wirds where if somebody wis to say, “you're speaking English”, I'd go, “Hmm, whit does scunnered mean? Use it in a sentence. On you go. Oh, can ye no dae that? Well then, let’s stick wi it bein a language, as it’s recognised.” So aye, some folk scunnered me. An some folk bring me a lot of joy and that's whit this show has done. Aye. Chuffed, chuffed is ma ither wird.The antithesis o scunner is chuffed! 

Onythin else ye want tae share tae feenish aff? 

Just thank you to everybody that's come to see the show, everyone that's backed us. Thank you to Fraser Scott and Jennifer Galt, and thank you to the team that's been on it -  not only this year, but over the years. It’s built from something that was very different to what it is now, but every hand that's touched it has done it wi such care and compassion. Aye, it’s just been a joy. So thank you to the audiences and the creative team, an tae yoursel!

Performances o Common Tongue hae noo feenished at the Scottish Storytellin Centre.

This interview wis recordit in August 2026 at the Edinburgh Fringe, an hae bin edited fir length an clarity.