CITADEL ARTS GROUP present a performed reading of new Scottish comedy
NAN & RITA and the DEAR DEPARTED
By Edinburgh writer Carolyn Lincoln
Top actors Lynne McCallum (Still Game, Taggart) and Estrid Barton (Howard’s End, Still Game, Theodosia) will once again team up for the new Scottish comedy Nan & Rita and the Dear Departed by Edinburgh writer Carolyn Lincoln.
Directed by Adam Tomkins, this is the pandemic-postponed follow-up to Nan & Rita and the Holy Grail which won great feedback in 2018:
“Entertaining dialogue…very clever and genuine use of Scots… fine satirical touches.” “A breath of fresh air and a bloody good laugh.” “Full of energy…well performed… excellent timing… lovely warm performances.”
This lunchtime performance will be in the popular PLAY, PIE AND DOCKERS PINT format. Arrive at Leith Dockers Club at 12:30 for your pie and drink and the performance starts at 1pm. Make sure you allow for extra travelling time because of the current tram works.
Carolyn Lincoln is a former Glasgow Herald staff journalist, radio ‘soap’ writer and occasional contributor to The Scotsman.
Over the years Leith based registered charity Citadel Arts Group has sought to encourage older writers and creatives to take professionally-produced drama and new writing to places and people other Scottish drama doesn’t usually reach.
Performance details
Wednesday 27th April 2022.
Leith Dockers Club, 17 Academy Street, Leith, Edinburgh EH6 7EE.
People should arrive at 12.30 to collect their drink and pie (meat or veg).
On October 8th, a group of older and younger people from the New Spin intergenerational project at the Citadel will decorate the first of our six friendship benches, all of which have been made by Mens Shed.
The New Spin group will be working with local artist Johnathan Elders to create patterns for the backs of the bench. Further benches will be decorated in further sessions, so each will be unique. The project is being run with the help of Thrive, to celebrate World Mental Health Day on 10th October.
Fruit tree planting in Victoria Park
Our Greening Team have been busy with plans for the area and pupils from Trinity High and Trinity Primary Schools will be helping to plant some young fruit trees in Victoria Park this winter to enhance the area, by adding beauty, interest and biodiversity.
There are already a couple of small trees in situ, so those will be added to, to create a mini orchard. The trees will be Scottish heritage fruit trees, specially chosen for the site, and will include apple, pear and plum.
Each one will have its own protective cage, provided by Edinburgh City Council, and the pupils will learn from a Royal Botanic Gardens representative how best to plant and care for them.
We hope to work on more tree-planting and wilding projects in the future, not just in the parks but in the more built-up parts of our neighbourhood, where urban nature needs some encouragement.
Keep abreast of the latest news on our Greening Page
The Heart of Newhaven Community was assessed by It’s Your Neighbourhood, part of the Keep Scotland Beautiful charity recently, and despite it only being the first year of our association with them, we have scored a Level 3, (out of five) which means we are “advancing”.
The score was helped by having achieved our goal of funding from the Scottish Land Fund to acquire the site, as well as successfully engaging with a variety of local communities and groups. Well done everyone involved. The next level is “thriving” and the top level is “outstanding”. How long will it be?
Forth Reflections
On October 22nd from 2pm – 4 pm we are collaborating with an exhibition in the main entrance to Ocean Terminal called ‘Forth Reflections and Expressions of Wellbeing’. The event is being organised in conjunction with the Edinburgh Wellbeing PACT and the Forth/Edinburgh Shoreline Project.
Conceived during the dark days of winter lockdown this project is the passionate responses of well over a hundred different people to a part of the Forth coast that is special to them.
A long storyline of enmeshed crafted memories and visions of the Forth has emerged, linking the Fife, Edinburgh and East Lothian coasts, biodiversity, people and communities.
Each participant expressed their response to their chosen 1km of coast on a calico square and many people have focused on the coast’s local history and wildlife, its beauty and diversity and the many species and memories that have been and are still being lost. While frustration and anger can be seen in many pieces about marine and intertidal pollution, there is also heartfelt hope for the future.
We hope that as many people as possible will call in and have a chat. Not only will it be an opportunity to talk to us about our plans for the Heart in general but we also want to have conversations about wellbeing and what it means to each of us in our community. As inspiration we will be displaying a selection of the calico squares created by local people.
Call in to see the display and have a chat.
Keep watching our website and social media platforms for the latest news, as we await the move of Victoria Primary School pupils to their new home and the handover of the keys for the site from Edinburgh City Council to the Heart.
Newhaven’s iconic fishwives are at the heart of the latest audio drama from Leith-based theatre company, Citadel Arts Group.
The Fishwives,by Lizzie McLean, stars Nicola Roy as one of the titular fishwives. Nicola is the host and creator of The Cultural Coven podcast and she enjoyed international success playing Elmire in an award-winning production of Liz Lochead’s Tartuffe at the 2020 Adelaide Fringe.
The Fishwivesmay be set in 1812, but it highlights some surprisingly modern attitudes, as the play’s Director, Mark Kydd explains: “What really struck me about the play was the degree of autonomy and financial independence enjoyed by Newhaven Fishwives in the early nineteenth century, not a period renowned for women’s emancipation.
“I think Lizzie’s writing beautifully captures the strength, humour and camaraderie of these women.”
Nicola (whose character helps a Leith lad evade the clutches of the notorious pressgangs who roamed the ports during the Napoleonic Wars) agrees: “The Fishwives is a beautiful, lively little piece about the resilience, humour and rather modern Newhaven Fishwives.
“As an Edinburgh girl and actress it was great to work in east coast dialect which the writer, Lizzie, captured so well and to learn of the important history and contribution of these ‘on the surface’ ordinary women.”
Not only is the play set in Newhaven, but the production also has a number of connections with the area.
The play’s writer, Lizzie McLean, is Newhaven based, as is musician Sophia Abrahamsen, whose expertise helped bring the vibrant history of the Newhaven Fishwives to life.
Producer and founder of Citadel Arts Group, Liz Hare says: “We wanted to make sure the play was as accurate as possible, so had asked Sophia – who’s in the Newhaven Choir – to help us find some traditional songs to feature in the piece.
“Not only did she find us three wonderful songs, which she also performs in the play, but she was also able to share her historical expertise on the fishwives, helping us with details such as authentic names and language.
“As the last known Newhaven fishwife is believed to have retired as recently as 1976, there are still many people who will remember these remarkable women, so it was particularly important to us to honor their history and traditions”
Three charities based in the East of Scotland have been awarded £8,500 each, thanks to Scotmid Co-operative’s Community Connect award scheme.
Children with Cancer & Leukaemia Advice and Support for Parents (CCLASP), the Citadel Arts Group and Venture Scotland, secured the funding after being shortlisted by the convenience retailer as one of nine good causes across Scotland to receive financial support from a total pot of £75,000.
Edinburgh-based Venture Scotland, a charity which provides young people aged between 16 and 30, who are struggling with life, the chance to take part in a personal development course based in the outdoors, expressed their gratitude at receiving the lifeline funding.
David Brackenridge, CEO of Venture Scotland, said: “The pandemic has been a difficult time for everyone. However, it has been particularly hard for young people who were already struggling with their mental health before we went into lockdown.
“Scotmid’s generous funding will allow us to continue to support disadvantaged young people through our outdoors based personal development Journey programmes, to enable them to lead happier, healthier and more fulfilled lives.”
Since Scotmid’s Community Connect launched in 2017, more than £450,000 has been awarded to 54 good cause groups enabling key projects to come to life in local areas.
Harry Cairney, Chair of East Regional Committee at Scotmid, said:“The pandemic has created numerous challenges for communities to overcome and adapt to.
“Community Connect was established to enable us to extend the ways in which we can support the communities that we serve, and we are delighted to provide Venture Scotland, CCLASP and the Citadel Arts Centre, with this funding as they continue to provide vital support to their communities.”
CCLASP has provided vital support for families living with a child with cancer for the last 25 years. They offer families respite holidays at their cottage in Muthill. These holidays provide an oasis of peace for families at their darkest of times and any funds will be used to keep this amazing offering open to families needing a break.
Based in Leith for the last 10 years, Citadel Arts Group stimulates and expresses the creativity of older people through stories, memory books and lively dramas helping to celebrate the history of Leith. Funding will be used to create audio plays inspired by the stories to entertain the whole community.
In normal times, Scotmid would typically select a shortlist of community projects which its members then vote on to allocate different amounts of funding.
However, due to the pandemic, the Scotmid Board agreed that all shortlisted charities and community groups would receive equal amounts of funding within each region.
