Fringe 2025 – Nancy's Philosopher
The story centres on a young woman who scandalised Edinburgh society by falling in love with the much older David Hume, historian and philosopher.
David Black, the former journalist who write the play lives and works in Edinburgh. He said: 'In 2006 I was busy preparing an academic paper for a scholarly conference in London on a little known incident in the life of David Hume – his passionate relationship with Nancy Ord, daughter of Robert Ord, Baron of the Scottish Exchequer, whose Adam designed town house at 8 Queen Street still exists.
Listen to our interview with David Black here
Mr Black said: 'I thought this is a fantastic story, much too good for a bunch of academics. And I had seen an actress at the Edinburgh Fringe perform a play she'd written herself about Zelda Fitzgerald, and I was blown away by her skill. So I got in touch with her and asked, if she would you like me to write a play for her on the love life of the 18th century philosopher David Hume and his love life. And she was delighted to help out.
'So we had a play premiered at Summerhall initially, and it was pretty successful. It got a very good reviews. And then I let it lie for a while, and we revived it in 2019 and there were thoughts of it going over to New York, but covid came, and that was that. And then recently, I was approached by friend of mine with the Arkle Theatre Company, and they wanted to put it on.
'Now their production, in a way, has nothing to do with me, but they've been very kind consulting me, and he actually found an actress who was prepared to consider playing the part. It'll be a very different production.
'Unfortunately at around that time Hume's reputation was seriously impugned because, although he supported the abolition of slavery, he voiced a suspicion in a footnote which some have interpreted as racist. Edinburgh University then contentiously removed his name from the David Hume Tower in George Square.
'I had discussed writing a radio version of the play, but unfortunately the subject had become too toxic, so that was that – until this year as the play is on the Fringe.'
The play is a love story although David Hume was already in his sixties when he met Nancy Ord daughter of the Baron of the Exchequer who lived at 8 Queen Street.
A letter from David Hume to Nancy is used verbatim in the play and the writer is very pleased to have written the play in the voice of a woman. David Black said: 'In history we rarely get the voice of the woman apart from the odd one – such as Abigail Adams. It is very much a male preserve – so I thought I would write it in the voice of the woman.'
Tickets here.
Journalist David Black who wrote the play
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