THE National Theatre of Scotland presents a new six month season of work from January to June 2010 including a new Scottish version of a classic adventure story, a thrilling Public Art Carnival experience, a season of new shows for teenagers, more home grown and local talent at Allotment, a Transform community theatre project in Aberdeen and a New Year appearance at Celtic Connections.
The season at a glance:
January
- Duncan McLean’s musical tribute to Thomas Fraser’s life, featuring the Lone Star Swing Band, directed by Vicky Featherstone, is back by popular demand. Long Gone Lonesome is playing at the Tron Theatre as part of Celtic Connections (21 and 22 January 2010).
February and March
- The National Theatre of Scotland, visual artist Stephen Skrynka and the Ken Fox Troupe join forces to present a spectacular piece of touring public art. The Wall of Death – A Way of Life is presented at exhibition centres and show grounds in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen (04 to 28 February 2010).
- A further Allotment in Govan, in a newly sprouted arts bar at Govan Cross Shopping Mall (19 February).
- The National Theatre of Scotland presents a season of three new shows for teenagers. Two of the new plays are by Scotland’s leading writers for young people; Empty by Catherine Forde and Miracle Man by Douglas Maxwell, touring to Glasgow, Musselburgh, Dundee, Inverness and Aberdeen. Mr Write by Rob Drummond, an emerging young theatre maker, will tour to Glasgow and then to schools and colleges in Spring 2010.
- The epic TRANSFORM journey ends in Aberdeen with Paddy Cunneen’s production featuring music, puppets and young people from Dyce Academy (March 2010). Transform Aberdeen is sponsored by ScottishPower, supported by Determined to Succeed, in partnership with Aberdeen City Council.
April to June
- John Tiffany directs Peter Pan, a new version of JM Barrie’s classic adventure by David Greig, relocating the story to Victorian Edinburgh. John Tiffany is reunited with Davey Anderson, Laura Hopkins and Gareth Fry, three of the creative team from Black Watch. Peter Pan is touring to Glasgow, London, Inverness, Edinburgh and Aberdeen, in a co-production with barbicanbite10 (23 April to 19 June 2010).
The National Theatre of Scotland presents
LONG GONE LONESOME
Written by Duncan McLean
Directed by Vicky Featherstone
Featuring The Lone Star Swing Band
A celebration of the life of Thomas Fraser. An evening of song and story-telling in the hands of Orcadian western swingers The Lone Star Swing Band, with novelist, playwright and musician Duncan McLean at the helm.
Thomas Fraser (1927 – 1978) was a fisherman and crofter from the remote island of Burra, Shetland – and one of Scotland’s least known but most fascinating musical heroes.
Obsessed with country and the blues, Thomas mastered the styles of his idols – like Jimmie Rodgers, Hank Williams and Big Bill Broonzy – and made their songs his own. A shy, retiring man, he avoided public performance. Instead, he gave away to family and friends tapes he lovingly recorded in his croft.
Thomas laughed at the idea that the wider world might appreciate his talent. But 30 years after his untimely death, those precious, fragile tapes have been reissued on several CDs and his fame has spread to Nashville.
Long Gone Lonesome, an evening of live music, storytelling and reminiscence is currently touring Scotland. The production will return in early 2010, presented as part of Celtic Connections, at the Tron Theatre on 21 and 22 January 2010.
The National Theatre of Scotland, Ken Fox Troupe and Stephen Skrynka
present WALL OF DEATH – A WAY OF LIFE
A THRILLING LIVE PUBLIC ART EVENT
- Experience the Wall of Death.
- Get up close and personal with the Ken Fox Troupe
- Watch Cyclone Skrinky take on the challenge of riding the Wall of Death. Will he succeed?
Artist, Stephen Skrynka, will be taking his chances on the Wall of Death with the world famous Ken Fox Troupe, for this unique evening of high drama. The performers in this multi-media event will offer audiences a unique and intimate opportunity to discover a vanishing way of life as the Ken Fox family share with us what happens when you run away and join the circus. WALL OF DEATH – A WAY OF LIFE offers a revealing insight into one family’s way of life, and their involvement with an artist.
This evocative evening of noise, thrill-seeking and the smell of Castrol R, will also premiere a major new installation by Skrynka which focuses on the emotional response the performance elicits from its audience.
Artist, Stephen Skrynka, often goes to great lengths to learn other people’s trades and then creates artworks from the process. In Bartered Ride (2000-2001) he learned to be a cabbie in Glasgow (failing the Knowledge twice). He then offered the public a free taxi ride in exchange for a performance in the back. My Idea of Heaven (2007) was a road trip from Glasgow to Paris in a hearse converted into a mobile tanning lounge, offering people a free top up tan in exchange for their view on the afterlife. In Moveable Feast (2004) as driver, chef and waiter he offered the opportunity for neighbours on Dumbiedykes Estate in Edinburgh to meet each other over a dinner for two in a VW camper van converted into a mobile restaurant. He is currently creating a new series of artworks with a firm of road line painters in Cardiff.
Stephen Skrynka’s other public artworks in Scotland include Tunnel (Where is your promised land? 2000) which converted 30 years worth of graffiti into a sound and light installation in the Clyde Pedestrian and Cycle Tunnel and Borrowed Light (1996 with Peter McCaughey) which brought to life the Victorian glass pavement lights throughout Glasgow using light and sound.
The Wall of Death first appeared in the United Kingdom in 1929 and throughout the 1930s. By 1950 there were many Walls of Death in the country. Today there are few remaining in the world. There are only two Walls of Death in this country, one of which is the famous Ken Fox Wall. The Ken Fox Troupe is a family affair and includes Ken, his wife Julie, his sons Luke and Alex and Luke’s girlfriend Kerri. They are probably most well known for their regular slot on BBC One Channel Trailers.
Touring to Glasgow, Aberdeen and Edinburgh from 04 to 28 February
Glagsow (venue tbc) from 04 to 16 February; Aberdeen (venue tbc) on 21 & 22 February and the Royal Highland Showground, Edinburgh from 25 to 28 February 2010.
Booking details to be announced.
Press performance on 05 February 2010.
The National Theatre of Scotland presents
A SEASON OF THREE NEW SHOWS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE
including two world premieres by Scotland’s leading writers for teenagers
and a chance to be the star of a new play.
WORLD PREMIERE
MIRACLE MAN
A NEW PLAY BY DOUGLAS MAXWELL
Directed by Vicky Featherstone
Designed by Georgia McGuinness
Lighting Designed by Natasha Chivers
Ozzy’s never had much luck in life: he’s always been in the shadow of his intellectual father, and as a teacher he’s the laughing stock of the school. He needs inspiration. Faith. To be saved. He needs…the Miracle Man.
Douglas Maxwell’s most recent production The Mother Ship won the Brian Way Award 2009. For the National Theatre of Scotland, his play Mancub, in a co-production with Vanishing Point, was revived and toured Scotland in 2006. His previous productions include Helmet, (Traverse/Paines Plough), If Destroyed True (Dundee Rep/Paines Plough), The Backpacker Blues (Òran Mór), Variety (Edinburgh International Festival/Grid Iron), Our Bad Magnet (Tron Theatre/Borderline Theatre Company) and the award-winning Decky Does a Bronco.
His future productions in 2010 include Promises Promises for Random Accomplice and a musical for Cumbernauld Theatre called The Bookie. He is also writing a new play for young people for the National Theatre’s (UK) ‘New Connections’ project 2010. His play Decky Does A Bronco will also be remounted by Grid Iron to mark its tenth anniversary.
WORLD PREMIERE
EMPTY
A NEW PLAY BY CATHERINE FORDE
Directed by Vicky Featherstone
Designed by Georgia McGuinness
Lighting Designed by Natasha Chivers
It’s going to be the party to end all parties. Summer has just begun, school’s finished and Col’s got an empty. With his parents out of town, the house quickly fills up. Perfect Lily and party boy Stevie crack open the champagne while vases are broken and bathrooms flooded. In the midst of frantically trying to avert disaster, Col discovers a stash of hidden letters which bring his world crashing down.
Catherine Forde is an award-winning author who lives in Glasgow. This is her first play. All her novels have young adults as their central character and include Bad Wedding, Dead Men Don’t Talk, Exit Oz, Firestarter, Fat Boy Swim, I See You Baby (with Kevin Brooks), L-L-L-Loser, Skarrs, Sugarcoated, Think Me Back, The Finding, The Drowning Pond and Tug of War. She won the Grampian Children’s Book Award for Fat Boy Swim, which was also shortlisted for the Blue Peter Award and Teenage Book Award. Skarrs and The Drowning Pond were longlisted for the Carnegie Medal and won Scottish Arts Council awards. She has recently been appointed as the Scottish Book Trust’s new virtual writer in residence.
Full cast to be announced.
WORLD PREMIERE
Mr Write
Created and performed by Rob Drummond
Rob Drummond will write a play for a teenager chosen from the audience, to be performed live on stage every night, using the young person’s life as his inspiration. Rob Drummond is a young theatre maker from Glasgow who was winner of the Arches Award for Stage Directors in 2008 with 16 and earlier this year wrote, directed and performed Bullet Catch as part of The Arches Behaviour Festival. Rob was also involved as a writer on the first National Theatre of Scotland Allotment project in October 2009.
Empty and Miracle Man touring to Glasgow, Musselburgh, Dundee, Inverness and Aberdeen
Mr Write touring to Glasgow with future dates to be announced
Miracle Man, Empty and Mr Write at the Tron Theatre, Glasgow from 09 to 20 March.
Miracle Man and Empty on tour, including visits to Inverness and Aberdeen from 23 March to 03 April.
Miracle Man at the Tron Theatre (Main Stage): 09, 10, 18 to 20 March. Press performance on 10 March
Empty at the Tron Theatre (Main Stage): 11 to 13, 16 & 17 March. Press Performance on 12 March
Mr Write (Changing House): 9 to 13 and 16 to 20 March. Press Performance on 12 March
Empty at Brunton Theatre, Musselburgh on 23 March and Miracle Man at Brunton Theatre on 24 March
Empty at Dundee College on 26 March and Miracle Man at Dundee College on 27 March
Empty at OneTouch Theatre, Eden Court, Inverness on 30 March Miracle Man at OneTouch Theatre, Eden Court, Inverness on 31 March
Empty at Lemon Tree, Aberdeen on 02 April and Miracle Man at Lemon Tree, Aberdeen on 03 April
Further tour dates for Mr Write and booking details for the season to be announced .
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WORLD PREMIERE
The National Theatre of Scotland and barbicanbite10 present PETER PAN
By JM Barrie
In a new version by David Greig
Directed by John Tiffany
Designed by Laura Hopkins
Sound Designed by Gareth Fry
Lighting Designed by Guy Hoare
Musical Direction and Composition by Davey Anderson
Aerial Choreography by Vicki Amedume
In 2010 the National Theatre of Scotland brings Peter Pan home, presenting a brand new version of one of the most influential and magical stories ever told by a Scottish writer, in what will be the 150th anniversary of the birth of JM Barrie.
Directed by the National Theatre of Scotland’s own Olivier Award-winning John Tiffany and written by multi award-winning Scottish playwright David Greig (The Bacchae, Midsummer,Yellow Moon) this Peter Pan re-imagines the Darling family in Victorian Edinburgh with all its mists, gas-lamps, bridges and mystery.
John Tiffany will be reunited with Laura Hopkins (Designer), Gareth Fry (Sound Designer) and Davey Anderson (Composer) from Black Watch, and with Guy Hoare (Lighting Designer) from Be Near Me. Vicki Amedumue joins the creative team as Aerial Choreographer.
The production will feature sword fights, flying sequences, acrobats, fire-eaters, the usual ticking crocodile and one great big hook.
Peter Pan is presented by arrangement with the Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity and Samuel French Limited
Touring to Glasgow, London, Inverness, Edinburgh and Aberdeen from 23 April to 19 June
King’s Theatre Glasgow from 23 April to 08 May, (on sale from 29 October 2009) Barbican Theatre, London from 12 May to Saturday 29 May, (on sale from March 2010), Eden Court, Inverness from 01 to 05 June, Edinburgh Festival Theatre from 08 to 12 June (on sale from 29 October 2009) and HMT Aberdeen from 15 to 19 June. (on sale from 12 November 2009).
Press Performance at the King’s Theatre Glasgow on Tuesday 27 April 2010 at 7.30pm
Press Performance at the Barbican Theatre, London on Thursday 13 May 2010 at 7.30pm
The National Theatre of Scotland presents
ALLOTMENT
An arts bar created for one-off events in Govan
Made in Govan with help from GalGael Trust, Brechin’s Bar, The Magpie’s Nest, the LUV Project, Impact Arts and the Bridges Programmes.
Allotment is a night where live performance, new art and music fuse unconventionally and take root in a deserted shop. Each project is nurtured and grown with the help of local community groups and professional artists. The creative team and booking information for Allotment will be announced in January 2010.
The Allotment night in February is presented in conjunction with The Arches.
Dates and Venue : 19 February at Govan Cross Shopping Centre, 795 Govan Road, Glasgow
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National Theatre of Scotland Learn
Sponsored by ScottishPower, supported by Determined to Succeed, in partnership with Aberdeen City Council, presents TRANSFORM ABERDEEN
A Major Theatre Education Project
The National Theatre of Scotland is delighted to be returning to Aberdeen with Transform Aberdeen – a major theatre education project, developed in partnership with Aberdeen City Council. Transform Aberdeen is directed by Paddy Cunneen, the award-winning theatre director, playwright and composer. Paddy Cunneen is working on the project alongside a team of leading professional theatre artists including Lewis Hetherington, Jen Edgar and Ailie Cohen. Students from Dyce Academy in Aberdeen and members of the local community will work closely with the National Theatre of Scotland team throughout the project. Together, they will create a major theatre event in Aberdeen in March 2010 to mark the culmination of the project. The hunt is currently on for an interesting venue in an unusual location in Aberdeen. Transform Aberdeen started in Dyce Academy in September 2009 with the team leading a programme of workshop sessions involving drama, music, movement, creative writing and puppetry.
Transform is a major collaborative education project between National Theatre of Scotland Learn, ScottishPower and the Scottish Government’s Determined to Succeed programme that allows schools and communities to transform their approaches to learning. By bringing schools together with theatre professionals, communities and audiences, the partnerships produce high impact theatre events that use the local environment as a backdrop to tell compelling stories. Transform aims to enthuse and motivate participants and enable them to develop key skills they can adopt in life and the world of work.
Eight major education projects will have been produced by the National Theatre of Scotland’s Learn team from March 2009 to March 2010. Teams of leading artists are taking up residency in communities across Scotland, working with secondary schools and community groups to produce eight full-scale site-specific productions. Projects for 2009 have taken place in Fife, Dumfries, East Renfrewshire, Moray, Orkney and Caithness. Following the Transform Glasgow project in November 2009, Transform Aberdeen is the final of the company’s eight Transform projects.
Dates: week beginning 15 March
Booking information to be announced in 2010.
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Full listings information for our January to June 2010 season will be distributed and available online from December 2009.
PRESS PERFORMANCES
Wall of Death – A Way of Life in Glasgow (venue tbc) on 05 February
Miracle Man at the Tron Theatre, Glasgow, on 10 March
Empty at the Tron Theatre, Glasgow on 12 March
Mr Write at the Tron Theatre, Glasgow on 12 March
Peter Pan at the King’s Theatre, Glasgow on 27 April
Peter Pan at the Barbican Theatre, London on 13 May
Press Office Contacts:
Emma Schad – Press Manager – 0141 227 9016 – emma.schad@nationaltheatrescotland.com
Andrew Neilson – Press Officer – 0141 227 9497 – andrew.neilson@nationaltheatrescotland.com
Toni O’Neill – Press and Marketing Officer – Learn – 0141 227 9231 -
toni.oneill@nationaltheatrescotland.com
Press Images:
There is a selection of images for current productions available for download from www.nationaltheatrescotland.com/press
Please do contact the press office for a password.
Please do contact the press office directly for images for future productions.
NOTES TO EDITORS
GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE NATIONAL THEATRE OF SCOTLAND
The National Theatre of Scotland is supported by the Scottish Government.
Since its launch in February 2006, the National Theatre of Scotland has been involved in creating 117 productions in 114 different locations. With no building of its own, the Company takes theatre all over Scotland and beyond, working with existing and new venues and companies to create and tour theatre of the highest quality. It takes place in the great buildings of Scotland, but also in site-specific locations, airports and tower blocks, community halls and drill halls, ferries and forests. The company has performed to over 468,000 people, across three continents.
National Theatre of Scotland Learn opens up great theatre experiences to as many people as possible across Scotland. Since the launch of the National Theatre of Scotland in February 2006, National Theatre of Scotland Learn has created many educational and outreach theatre projects, involving over 74,000 participants and audience members, has delivered over 3000 workshops and worked with over 85 schools in 26 Scottish local authority areas.
Awards 2009:
Manchester Evening News Award 2009: Best Visiting Production for BLACK WATCH
Laurence Olivier Awards 2009: Best New Play – Gregory Burke for BLACK WATCH
Best Director – John Tiffany for BLACK WATCH
Best Theatre Choreographer – Steven Hoggett for BLACK WATCH
Best Sound Design – Gareth Fry for BLACK WATCH
New York Drama Critics’ Circle Awards 2009: Best Foreign Play for BLACK WATCH
Arts and Business Award 2009: Arts & Business Scotland Sustainability Award for the partnership with Scottish Power on Transform
Ends
MEDIA RELEASE posted by the National Theatre of Scotland. You too can post media releases (aka press releases) on allmediascotland.com. For more information, email here.
Contact: Andrew Neilson
Phone: 0141 227 9497
Email: andrew.neilson@nationaltheatrescotland.com
Website: http://www.nationaltheatrescotland.com
