A Midsummer Wake

"Gauze off heaven. Vision. Then. O, pluxty suddly, the sight entrancing! Hummels! That crag! Those hullocks!"

Open any page of James Joyce's Finnegans Wake, randomly point your finger at any sentence and you've probably got ample material for either a) an academic re-evaluation of Joyce's use of the word "hullock" or b) an artistic interpretation of some sort. Full marks then to Glaswegian theatre company Process [Ten28] who over the last three years has successfully broken down Joyce's legendarily lexical tome into a mere seven "instalments", based on the first chapters Joyce wrote. Admittedly the group has had to dispense with the words and story, such as it is. But in their place, they have provided installations and highly physical performances to evoke the work's atmosphere. Hill is instalment number six.

From today, if you climb to the brow of Cathkin Brae, south of Glasgow, you will see what looks like the frame of a cube (measuring 3m by 3m). "Children think it's a cuboid football goalpost," Ken Davidson, the company's director, explains. "Actually it's a stage." He quietly suggests that the novel has six sides, "but I'm not going to force anything down anyone's throats." On Midsummer Night, Hill will be performed by the actor Tam Dean Burn (right) together with two very young boys and a donkey. "It's based on the moment when the postman, Shaun, wakes up to find himself on a hill next to a donkey. The donkey comes from Belfast and speaks to him."

Amanda, the donkey they've got in specially for the performance, is apparently "a little stage-shy. Obviously it's very difficult getting a donkey to talk," Davidson adds, deadpan. Having researched the piece at the James Joyce Foundation in Zurich as well as in London, Paris and Dublin he feels the ground is strong enough for his text-free interpretation. "It can get a bit confusing," he explains. "You see the donkey is also John. And if the donkey is also John then John is also Sean, and Johnny is also one of the evangelists. Sorry," he trails off.

If you're going, wrap up warm, it could be a long night.

Temporary site-specific installation at The Big Wood on Cathkin Brae, Castlemilk, Glasgow from today to

4 Jul.

Live art performance on Midsummer's Day (21 Jun) 9.30pm-10.30pm. Further details (0141-553 1511)