Occultist Aleister Crowley appears in Inverness in John D Burns' one-man play
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Highland actor and author John D Burns is reviving his one-man play about the occultist Aleister Crowley for a special performance in Inverness.
John first performed the play at the Edinburgh fringe in 2010 where it had a successful run, afterwards touring across the UK and to horror festivals in London, Aberystwyth and Whitby.
More recently he played Crowley in a short film for a German TV company and acted for a Californian project making a digital representation of Crowley.
“Crowley is a fascinating character to play,” John explains. “He is multi-faceted, and it can be difficult to know who the real Crowley was. He revelled in his notoriety and was very happy to allow rumours to circulate about him even if they were false.”
The play happens in an unusual venue.
“Touchwood House will be the perfect place to revive the play,” John said. “It’s a very atmospheric venue where there will be a small audience that will allow me to give a much more intimate performance than I could on a theatre stage.”
Crowley, also known as The Great Beast, lived at Boleskine House on the shores of Loch Ness, where he famously conducted magical rituals, some of which lasted for several weeks.
His notoriety attracted Jimmy Page, the Led Zeppelin guitarist, who lived at the house for a number of years.
Crowley was also a noted writer, producing many books on magic together with substantial poetic works and a semi-autobiographical novel Diary Of A Drug Fiend.
“He holds a fascination for a great many people and still has a worldwide following – the website has over 26,000 members. In many ways he is more famous now than when he was alive.”
John says his play has got some very strong reactions, mainly from Crowley’s followers, who see him as a kind of icon.
John said: “I tried to produce an honest portrayal of Crowley, showing his strengths and his weaknesses and some Crowley devotees find that a little hard to swallow.”
Crowley also made the first attempt to climb the Himalayan giants K2 and Kanchenjunga facing extreme weather and avalanches.
Although both attempts were unsuccessful they were notable achievements for a mountaineer climbing before World War I.
It was not until the 1950s – a few years after Crowley died – that these peaks were finally conquered.
“My second play was about another mountaineer, George Mallory who lost his life on the second attempt on Mount Everest along with Sandy Irvine in 1924. After I toured that play, I published my first book. The Last Hillwalker – a memoir of my life in the hills which amazed me with how well received it was.”
John has just released his fifth book, The Hot Tent Diaries, following his travels across the Highlands in a large tent heated by a woodburning stove – forced on him when bothies were closed by Covid.
“I really enjoy this form of camping now.
“There is something unique about sitting beside a woodstove on a frosty night in the light of an oil lamp. It takes me back to the early Polar explorers like Shackleton and Scott. I don’t like to admit it, but the truth is I am reliving my schoolboy dreams of adventure!”
Returning to Aleister Crowley, John said: “I never get tired of him. When you become someone on stage every night for a month, they get under your skin!
"Three weeks into the Fringe I realised the stage crew had been addressing me as ‘Aleister’ for several days and I’d answered without noticing. Perhaps that’s too close for comfort!”
John D Burns’ play is at Touchwood House, Island Bank Road, Inverness, on Friday (November 18) at 8pm. Tickets: 07714 375127. More on his book and other projects: johndburns.com
