National Theatre of Scotland – The NEN

Through the Shortbread Tin comes to Scottish stages in 2025

WORLD PREMIERE

National Theatre of Scotland presents

Through the Shortbread Tin

Written and performed by Martin O’Connor
Directed by Lu Kemp

Musical Director and Composer – Oliver Searle, Sound and Video Designer – Rob Willoughby, Set and Costume designed by Emma Bailey and Rachel O’Neill

1 April to 2 May 2025

A Scotland-wide tour opening at Melrose, touring to Glasgow, Edinburgh, Ullapool, Stornoway (Isle of Lewis), Portree (Skye), Dornie (Lochalsh), Cumbernauld, Oban, Helensburgh, Lerwick (Shetland) and Inverness.

Opening Performance at Corn Exchange, Melrose on 2 April 2025

The story of the greatest literary hoax of all time. 

In 1760 Scottish poet James Macpherson set the world ablaze with stories of the third-century Scottish bard, Ossian. This tartan-trimmed tale of Highland history spread far and wide, capturing the imagination of thousands– but was it built on a deception?

In 2025 Scottish poet Martin O’Connor decides to revisit Macpherson’s epic and begins to question his own relationship with Scottish culture. The sporrans, the stags, the shortbread – do these ‘gift-shop’ images of Scotland hold us back or bring us forward? What does it mean to be authentic, and is the truth sometimes better told in a lie? 

Imagine that you didnae ignore the myths.

Imagine you were telt your history.

Imagine ye could hod onto the stories.

Imagine ye could create yer ain truth.

Through The Shortbread Tin is a new show, performed in Scots, with Gaelic songs, which explores Scottish culture, myths, history and identity. 

Martin will be joined on stage by three female Gaelic choral singers, singing original songs composed by Oliver Searle.

Audiences are invited to join Martin and Macpherson on an oral odyssey spanning centuries of Scottish history, exploring the myths we tell each other and the stories we tell ourselves. 

BACKGROUND TO OSSIAN

In 1760 Highlander Macpherson published Fragments of Ancient Poetry to great critical and commercial acclaim. The poems were collected from oral sources around Scotland and were presented as the work of a third century bard, Ossian, soon dubbed The Homer of the North.

There soon followed two other publications, Fingal and Temora, and together they set the Scottish and European literary world alight. The ‘Ossian effect’ soon saw a rise in interest in Scottish and Highland ways of life and an increase in tourism and cultural interest.

The impact of Ossian was immediate and permanent, even if the individual poems eventually fell out of fashion. But soon after publication, debates over Ossian’s aesthetic and moral ‘legitimacy’ surfaced, which plagued the writer and the impact and legacy of the work.

Martin O’Connor is an award-winning theatre-maker, performer and poet from Glasgow. He is interested in exploring ideas of voice and identity through theatre and poetry, with particular interest in Scots, Gaelic and verbatim. He won Scots Performer of the Year Award at this year’s Scots Language Awards.

He was granted a Gavin Wallace Fellowship in 2018, hosted by Playwrights’ Studio Scotland and the Lyceum Theatre, marking the first stage in his research into James Macpherson and Ossian.

He makes work for solo performance as well as with, and for, other people. He was the National Theatre of Scotland Writer in Residence in 2020. Previous projects include Turntable (MJ McCarthy/Red Bridge Arts), Mark of the Beast (Martin O’Connor/Platform), Togail Nàisean/ Building a Nation (Glasgow Life).

Martin O’Connor, writer and performer said: “I’m looking forward to staging this work after many years of research and development, and I can’t wait to begin working with Lu and the rest of the creative team to tell this story.

“I have been fascinated with the history of Ossian and Macpherson since I started learning Gaelic and since I have rediscovered my Scots voice, and it gave me a jumping off point to explore all things linguistic, cultural and historical about Scotland, and my own upbringing.

“It seems that not many people know about Ossian and Macpherson, the hoax that he created, and the impact that it had on him and wider Scottish culture, so I am very excited to be staging this work and telling this tale at a time when we are still asking big questions about our country and identity.”

Through the Shortbread Tin is directed by Lu Kemp, a theatre director and dramaturg with a distinctive reputation for her work in new writing. Lu was Artistic Director of Perth Theatre between 2016 to 2023.

Her tenure was notable for supporting the creation of new work by Scottish artists and community engaged productions. As a freelance director, Lu has worked for The Citizens, The Royal Lyceum Theatre, National Theatre of Scotland, Artangel, London,The Tricycle, Almeida and The Royal Shakespeare Company.

Touring to Corn Exchange, Melrose (Preview Tues 1 April) Wed 2 April; Tron Theatre, Glasgow Fri 4 & Sat 5 April; Storytelling Centre, Edinburgh Tues 8 & Wed 9 April; Macphail Centre, Ullapool Saturday 12 April; An Lanntair, Stornoway Tues 15 April; Aros Centre, Skye (with SEALL) Thurs 17 April; Dornie Community Hall, Lochalsh (with SEALL) Fri 18 April; Cumbernauld Theatre Wed 23 April; Corran Halls, Oban Thurs 24 April; Cove Burgh Halls, Helensburgh Fri 25 April; Mareel, Shetland Mon 28 & Tues 29 April; Eden Court, Inverness Thurs 1 & Fri 2 May.

On social: #ShortbreadTin

Full tour announced for June Carter Cash: The Woman, Her Music and Me

World Premiere

National Theatre of Scotland and Grid Iron Theatre Company present

June Carter Cash: The Woman, Her Music and Me

Written and performed by Charlene Boyd, directed by Cora Bissett 

Music performed by Harry Ward, Ray Aggs and Amy Duncan

Set and Costume Design – Shona Reppe,

MD, Composer and Sound Designer – Pippa Murphy

Lighting Designer – Elle Taylor

Movement Director – Laura Fisher.

Premiering at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe at the Dissection Room, Summerhall from 6 to 24 August with preview performances from 2 to 4 August 2024

Touring across Scotland from 28 August to 22 September 2024:

Opening night and press performance at the Dissection Room, Summerhall as part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe on Tuesday 6 August at 4:00pm

Barn, Banchory; Òran Mór, Glasgow; British Legion, Dunfermline – Outwith Festival; Cochran Hall, Kirkcudbright – Kirkcudbright Fringe; Millenium Centre, Stranraer in association with Dumfries & Galloway Arts Festival; Brodick Hall, Arran in association with Arran Theatre and Arts Trust; The Rockfield Centre, Oban; Ullapool Village Hall in association with the Ceilidh Place, and Forres Town Hall, Forres – Findhorn Bay Festival.

Part of the 2024 Made in Scotland Showcase

Charlene Boyd, one of Scotland’s leading actors shares the story of one of country music’s most iconic voices: June Carter Cash.

Directed by the multi-award-winning Cora Bissett, June Carter Cash: The Woman, Her Music and Me opens at the Dissection Room Summerhall as part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe ahead of a tour of Scottish cultural venues and festivals in August and September 2024.

June Carter Cash was a country singer, songwriter and dancer. She played guitar, banjo, harmonica and autoharp, winning five Grammy awards across her career. She came from a family of country singers and was the second wife of Johnny Cash. Their relationship was celebrated in the Oscar-winning 2005 film, Walk the Line. A new documentary about “June”, received its TV premiere on Paramount+ in 2024. This is the first stage play to premiere about June’s life and music in the UK.

More than a simple biography of June’s life and music, this play with songs, sees Charlene explore her own relationship with her musical heroine and their shared experience as performers and working mothers. A powerful, personal journey of discovery stretching across the Atlantic, from the Appalachian Mountains to the Glasgow high-rise flats, their tale is one of empowerment, endurance and perseverance.

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Charlene Boyd travelled to Nashville and across the Appalachian Mountains to research this play. She visited places that held special significance in June’s life and interviewed friends and family of June Carter Cash, alongside contemporary American country singer-songwriters.

The show will feature live music and will be staged in a cabaret style setting, inspired by Nashville’s legendary Bluebird Café. Charlene Boyd gets to grips with a life less ordinary in this raw yet uplifting piece of intimate gig theatre.

Charlene Boyd, writer and performer said: “I’ve sang in a band as June Carter Cash for over a decade but knew nothing about her really. I thought she was the pretty backing singer who sang along with Johnny Cash, then married him.

“It wasn’t until I started to dig that I realised how incredible June was in her own right, as an artist, woman and mother. I am proud that my first play shines a light on working class women artists and their struggle to be given their rightful place.”

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Charlene Boyd is a Scottish actor and writer, born and raised in Glasgow. June Carter Cash: The Woman, Her Music and Me marks her debut as a playwright.

As an actor she most recently undertook the UK tour of 2:22 A Ghost Story and appeared in The Macbeths at the Citizens Theatre, for which she was nominated for Best Actress at the CATS Awards in 2019.

Charlene has previously worked with National Theatre of Scotland on the productions Men Should Weep, Empty and The Miracle Man.

Her television work includes Mayflies, The Trial of Christine Keeler, Crime S2, River City and Scots Squad. She also performs, as June, with Jericho Hill, in a Johnny Cash tribute band.

Cora Bissett is a Scottish theatre director, playwright, actor and songwriter. Previous work with National Theatre of Scotland includes the hit political musical Glasgow Girls, Rites, Adam, Interference and Orphans.

Other theatre work includes Emma Donohue’s Room, which toured to London, across Scotland, Dublin and Toronto, the hit rock-music production Janis Joplin: Full Tilt and autobiographical gig theatre production What Girls Are Made Of, which won a Fringe First and Herald Angel award.

From 2014 until 2022, Bissett was an Associate Director with the National Theatre of Scotland.

Founded in 1995, Grid Iron is a multi-award-winning Edinburgh-based new writing theatre company who specialise in site-specific and location theatre, although they have also created work for conventional stages.Grid Iron have previously collaborated with National Theatre of Scotland on Roam, a site-responsive production staged in Edinburgh Airport. 

Grid Iron have worked previously with Charlene Boyd on Barflies, Letters Home and The Devil’s Larder and with Cora Bissett on Clearance, The Bloody Chamber, Fierce and Yarn.

The Cash family has connections to Scotland. Johnny Cash claimed his ancestors were from the Kingdom of Fife and was very proud of his Scottish ancestry. Cash visited Fife on more than one occasion, recording a television special there, Christmas in Scotland, in 1981. June’s daughter Carlene Carter made a special appearance at Celtic Connections in February 2024.

Both National Theatre of Scotland and Grid Iron have a longstanding relationship with the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. National Theatre of Scotland has presented 18 shows at the Fringe since 2006, with previous shows including Black Watch, Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour and Adam.

Grid Iron have appeared at the Festival Fringe 15 times since 1997 with offerings such as Decky Does a Bronco, Doppler, Barflies and The Devil’s Larder.

In 2024, National Theatre of Scotland is producing a programme of three shows at the Edinburgh Festivals. Alongside June Carter Cash, The Woman, Her Music and Me, Gary McNair’s Dear Billy is showing at the Assembly Rooms and David Ireland’s The Fifth Step premieres at the Royal Lyceum Theatre as part of the Edinburgh International Festival.

Edinburgh Festival Fringe venue and dates: Dissection Room, Summerhall from 02 to 24 August, 4:00pm

Previews: Friday 2 August to Sunday 4 August, 4:00pm

Press performance: Tuesday 6 August at 4:00pm

Performance time: Doors and bar open at 4:00pm, performance begins at 4:20pm

Touring Scotland from Wednesday 28 August to Sunday 22 September 2024:

Barn, Banchory (Wed 28 Aug)
Òran Mór, Glasgow (Fri 30 Aug – Sun 1 Sep)
British Legion, Dunfermline – Outwith Festival (Tue 3 Sep)
Cochran Hall, Kirkcudbright – Kirkcudbright Fringe (Thu 5 Sep)
Millenium Centre, Stranraer in association with Dumfries & Galloway Arts Festival (Sat 7 Sep)
Brodick Hall, Arran in association with Arran Theatre and Arts Trust (Wed 11 Sep)
The Rockfield Centre, Oban (Fri 13 & Sat 14 Sep)
Ullapool Village Hall in association with the Ceilidh Place (Tue 17 & Wed 18 Sep)
Forres Town Hall, Forres – Findhorn Bay Festival (Sat 21 & Sun 22 Sep)

Running Time: 1 hour, 20 minutes (approx.)

Full tour and creative information here.

The National Theatre of Scotland’s popular Theatre for a Fiver scheme will be available for 14 to 16 year-olds and those on Universal Credit.

Access – full information coming soon.

On social: #JuneandCharlene #JuneCarterCash

A Big Map for the Big Yin!

Interactive map launched to celebrate Billy Connolly

A BIG MAP FOR THE BIG YIN!

National Theatre of Scotland launches a new interactive map for Scotland to demonstrate its love for the Big Yin, inviting people to share their own Billy Connolly memories.
National Theatre of Scotland’s acclaimed, five-star, sell-out production, celebrating Scotland’s most loved comedian, Billy Connolly, returns to stages in 2024.

ABOUT THE BIG MAP FOR THE BIG YIN

Billy Connolly’s relationship with Scotland spans his extraordinary life and career over the last 80 years. The National Theatre of Scotland wants to create a map of all the places that have a personal connection to Billy, to help create a love letter from the people of Scotland to their favourite comedian.  They are inviting people to share their knowledge of Billy, stories, memories and photos, to make a living tribute to The Big Yin.

Billy Connolly toured the folk clubs, the grand theatres and workings men’s clubs of Scotland from 1970’s, retiring from live performance in 2018.

Born at 69 Dover Street, Anderston, he worked the shipyards of Glasgow’s Clydeside in the 1960’s, before taking to the road with folk rock band The Humblebums.

He made his theatrical debut, in 1972 at the Cottage Theatre in Cumbernauld, ahead of performing in The Great Northern Welly Boot Show at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, also that year.

Billy first established himself as a star, selling out a run and breaking box office records at Glasgow’s Pavilion Theatre in Jan/Feb 1974, returning to the theatre on many occasions.

In January 1994, he undertook a World Tour of Scotland on a Harley Davidson, taking him from Kelso to Kirkwall with a stop off at Eden Court, Inverness, broadcast on the BBC later in the year. His love affair with his native country, continued with his residence at Candacraig House, in Aberdeenshire.

Further information on the map and how to be involved can be found here

ABOUT THE BIG MAP FOR THE BIG YIN

Billy Connolly toured the folk clubs, the grand theatres and workings men’s clubs of Scotland from 1970’s, retiring from live performance in 2018.

Born at 69 Dover Street, Anderston, he worked the shipyards of Glasgow’s Clydeside in the 1960’s, before taking to the road with folk rock band The Humblebums.

He made his theatrical debut, in 1972 at the Cottage Theatre in Cumbernauld, ahead of performing in The Great Northern Welly Boot Show at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, also that year.

Billy first established himself as a star, selling out a run and breaking box office records at Glasgow’s Pavilion Theatre in Jan/Feb 1974, returning to the theatre on many occasions.

Further information on the map and how to be involved can be found here

Gary McNair – writer and performer of Dear Billy said: “I’m delighted we are launching the Big Map for the Big Yin where people can pin their own stories and connections to Billy. As we learned when interviewing people to make this show- everyone has something to say about Billy, whether that’s a memorable meeting or a connection to his work.

“The great thing about the Big Map is that there is a space where people can continue to share and hopefully build an interactive document about what he means to us all.

“I’m beyond giddy to be bringing the show Dear Billy back so soon after it’s tour last year. It is a genuine honour to have been trusted to make this show, Billy is so important to so many people that it was so well received was a dream come true.

“I can’t wait to get back on the road with the band and meet new amazing audience.”

ABOUT THE SHOW

National Theatre of Scotland presents  

DEAR BILLY  

A Love Letter to the Big Yin   From the People of Scotland  

Written and performed by Gary McNair, Directed by Joe Douglas  

Music performed and composed by Simon Liddell and Jill O’Sullivan, Set and Costume designed by Claire Halleran, Lighting design by Kate Bonney and Simon Hayes, dramaturgy by Joe Douglas.

Touring Scotland and England in May followed by a run at Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August 2024

Opening at His Majesty’s Theatre, Aberdeen then touring to Pavilion Theatre, Glasgow; and Eden Court, Inverness.

Followed by a two-week run at the Assembly Rooms as part of the Assembly Festival programme for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2024.

“Vivid, funny and poignant.” ★★★★★ The Guardian

“A gloriously masterful 90 minutes of theatre.” ★★★★★ The Telegraph

Dear Billy Production Photos - Photo credit Sally Jubb 07

In 2023 National Theatre of Scotland’s production of Dear Billy undertook a 17 venue Scotland-wide tour, reaching over 8000 people.

Originally announced to mark Billy Connolly’s 80th birthday year, the production was enthusiastically received by audiences, selling-out at venues across Scotland, garnering a wealth of positive reviews and due to popular demand is now back on tour again in 2024.

“If you want to know about Billy Connolly, ask the people of Scotland. If you want to know about the people of Scotland, ask them about Billy Connolly.”

Billy Connolly needs no introduction. He is a national treasure. From the shipyards of the Clydeside to his trailblazing and extraordinary stage and movie exploits, he is woven into Scottish culture.  

Everyone has a Billy story. An expert team of story gatherers has created a collection of these moving and hilarious tales. Gary McNair, one of Scotland’s most renowned theatre-makers, has turned these stories into a special show celebrating the Big Yin and what he means to the people of Scotland. 

The production will tour in May 2024, opening at His Majesty’s Theatre, Aberdeen before touring to Pavilion Theatre, Glasgow and Eden Court in Inverness with a two-week run at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August 2024.

Dear Billy is a unique touring production that evolved on the road. It travelled the length and breadth of Scotland in 2023, visiting local theatres, arts and community centres gathering stories along the way which were woven into the show as the tour progressed.  

Gary McNair is hitting the road once more with two musicians. Audience members are welcomed to share their own Billy stories, with the possibility of those stories making it into the performance. Each show offers a unique chance for audiences to laugh, sing, and celebrate the man and the legend.

“The perfect tribute to a man who has left his gloriously indelible mark, not only on the art of stand-up comedy, but on the culture of Scotland.” The National

“What emerges is a brilliant portrait not only of the Big Yin as others see him, but of his importance as a cultural touchstone to many Scots” ★★★★, The Times

Dear Billy is written and performed by leading Scottish theatre-maker Gary McNair whose recent work includes the acclaimed Nae Expectations, a fresh take on the Dickens classic for the Tron Theatre; Ugly! A Cinderella Story for Cumbernauld Theatre Company and a new adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s Jekyll and Hyde featuring a solo performance from Forbes Masson which opened at the Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh in January 2024 before touring.

The production is directed by Joe Douglas whose work for National Theatre of Scotland includes The Cheviot, The Stag and the Black, Black Oil, Dear Scotland and Associate Director for Black Watch. Joe previously collaborated with Gary on McGonagall’s Chronicles (Which Will Be Remembered for a Very Long Time).

Musicians re-joining Gary on the road are Simon Liddell whose work for theatre includes The Domestic (Scenes for Survival/National Theatre of Scotland) and McGonagall’s Chronicles (Which Will Be Remembered for a Very Long Time) and Jill O’Sullivan who writes and performs across the worlds of popular music, theatre and dance.

“A vivid, charismatic piece of theatre.” ★★★★★ The Skinny

Billy Connolly, or, the Big Yin, whom this show is dedicated to, is Scotland’s most beloved comedian, with an impressive career as a stand-up, actor, writer and musician spanning more than 50 years. In 2022, Connolly was awarded the BAFTA Fellowship for lifetime achievement.  

Gary McNair is a Glasgow based writer and performer. He is a three-time Fringe First winner and has produced work for and with many of Scotland’s major theatre companies.

His plays have been translated and performed all over the world, from Germany to Japan, from New York to New Zealand. Gary’s work includes A Gambler’s Guide to Dying, Square Go (co-written with Kieran Hurley); McGonagall’s Chronicles Which Will Be Remembered for a Very Long Time, Donald Robertson Is Not a Stand-Up Comedian, After The Cuts, Letters to Morrissey and Locker Room Talk. These plays are published by Methuen.   

Joe Douglas is a theatre director, playwright and performer.

Joe’s career began as Trainee Director at the National Theatre of Scotland from 2007 to 2008. He was the Artistic Director of Live Theatre from 2018 to 2020, and before that, Asspcoate Artistic Director of Dundee Rep and Co-Artistic Director of the Utter touring company. His work includes Clear White Light, Death of a Salesman, Spoiling, The BFG, George’s Marvellous Medicine, The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, Educating Ronnie, Letters Home, The Red Shed, Stand By and The Cheviot, the Stag and the Black, Black Oil.   

Touring to His Majesty’s Theatre, Aberdeen (Thu 16-Sat 18 May); Pavilion Theatre, Glasgow (Wed 22-Sat 25 May); Eden Court, Inverness (Tue 28-Wed 29 May); Quays Theatre, The Lowry, Salford (Sat 1 June); Assembly Rooms, Edinburgh Festival Fringe (Tues 13 – Sun 25 August, no shows on Wednesdays)

On social: #DearBilly  

Access: Theatre for a Fiver tickets available for under 26’s and those on Universal Credit 

BSL interpreted, audio described and captioned performances full information here. 

Tour information and full creative biogs here. 

Full cast and creative team announced for National Theatre of Scotland’s Maggie & Me

Full cast and creatives announced for the tour of Maggie & Me, the first stage adaptation of Damian Barr’s award-winning memoir touring UK in May and June 2024
Gary Lamont as DB leads an ensemble cast with Sam Angell as Wee DB and Beth Marshall as Margaret Thatcher

WORLD PREMIERE

National Theatre of Scotland presents

Maggie & Me

Written by Damian Barr and James Ley, adapted from the memoir by Damian Barr 

Directed by Suba Das

Set and Costume Design – Kenneth MacLeod, Lighting Design – Katharine Williams, Sound Designer – Susan Bear, Video Designer – Tim Reid, Movement Director – Struan Leslie, Casting Director – Orla O’Connor

Cast – Sam Angell, Nicola Jo Cully, Gary Lamont, Beth Marshall, Grant McIntyre, Douglas Rankine, and Joanne Thomson

Opening at the Tron Theatre, Glasgow (sold out), and touring to Eden Court, Inverness; Perth Theatre; Lanternhouse, Cumbernauld; Dundee Rep Theatre; Royal & Derngate, Northampton and Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh.

Maggie & Me, Damian Barr’s award-winning and darkly witty memoir about growing up gay in Thatcher’s Britain is coming to stages across the UK, in a bold and explosive new production led by a queer creative team.

Damian Barr is adapting his memoir for the stage, teaming up with Scottish playwright James Ley and directed by Suba Das.

This new production from National Theatre of Scotland premieres at the Tron Theatre, Glasgow in May 2024 before touring to Inverness, Perth, Cumbernauld, Dundee, Northampton and Edinburgh.

“Don’t you worry. I’ll always love you. Love doesn’t run out. It’s not like the gas meter. I’ll find extra love.”

Brighton, 2008: Damian Barr celebrates getting a deal to write a memoir about his chaotic childhood in 1980s Lanarkshire. But as soon as he opens the door to his troubled past, everybody comes rushing through, including his younger self and the woman who forever changes his family, community and country: Maggie Thatcher.

Soon, revisiting his past turns into reliving it – the fear and the joy. From the furnaces of the Ravenscraig Steelworks to the sanctuary of Carfin Grotto, there’s trauma and triumph, coming of age and coming out. It’s about friendship and family, finding your voice and fighting to tell your story. Can Damian survive his past again?

Past and present collide, endangering the future, in an explosive quest that tells the story of a particular place and time through Damian’s childhood. Before you can move forwards, you have to go back…

In Maggie & Me, Damian will come face to face with his past. DB will be played by Gary Lamont, who will be familiar to Scottish audiences from his role as Robbie Fraser in River City, and most recently seen in Boiling Point, both the Netflix film and BBC television continuation. Wee DB will be played by Sam Angell, who is making his National Theatre of Scotland debut. He started his career playing Billy Elliot in Stephen Daldry’s West End production in 2008.

Beth Marshall will be taking on the titular Maggie Thatcher, who finds herself pulled into Damian’s world. Recent stage credits include Fleg, The Spark, and Mary and Ada Set The World to Rights (A Play, a Pie and a Pint) and Mrs Puntilla and his Man Matti (Royal Lyceum Theatre), and television credits include Still Game, Shetland and River City. Last year, Beth worked with National Theatre of Scotland in Hannah Lavery’s radio play Finding Seaglass (co-prod with Almost Tangible for BBC Radio 4).

Both making their National Theatre of Scotland debut, Nicola Jo Cully will be playing Mum, and Douglas Rankine will be playing Dad. Nicola Jo Cully has appeared on screen in Doctors, Outlander, Waterloo Road, River City and Casualty. Stage credits include Welcome to Bannockburn (A Play, a Pie and a Pint) and Prism (Scottish Theatre Producers).

Douglas Rankine is returning to Scottish stages for the first time since 2006, where he appeared in Faust (Royal Lyceum Theatre). His film credits include The Death & of John F. Donovan and Sunset Song, and television credits includes The Pigeon Tunnel (Apple TV+), Traces, Casualty, River City, Peaky Blinders and The Dumping Ground (BBC).

Completing the cast are Grant McIntyre as Mark and Joanne Thomson as Heather. Grant McIntyre’s recent stage credits include Scots (A Play, a Pie and a Pint), The Addams Family UK tour and Oor Wullie (Dundee Rep). Joanne Thomson is an actor, writer and director,

She was nominated twice for Best Actress categories at the IARA Awards for her role in In Plain Sight (ITV) and will be familiar to audiences from her role in Outlander as Amy McCallum. Stage credits as an actress include The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart (Royal Exchange Manchester), and Twelfth Night (Bristol Old Vic, Royal Lyceum Theatre).

A creative team including Kenneth MacLeod, Set and Costume Designer (Dracula: Mina’s Reckoning for National Theatre of Scotland and Aberdeen Performing Arts, and Battery Park for Sleeping Warrior Theatre); Struan Leslie, Movement Director, (founding Head of Movement at the Royal Shakespeare Company) and Tim Reid, Video Designer (Quiz – Chichester Festival Theatre, 1984 – West End and Broadway and The Grand Old Opera House Hotel – Traverse Theatre) will create a kaleidoscope of memory spanning two decades, weaving in use of iconic 80s archive footage and live onstage camera work.

Published in 2013, Maggie & Me was named Sunday Times Memoir of the Year, awarded the Paddy Power Political Satire Award and Barr was named Stonewall Writer of the Year.

There will be a chance for audiences to hear more about bringing the memoir to the stage from Damian at two special events in Edinburgh and Motherwell, and from Damian and co-writer James together in Glasgow. More details about these events will be available soon.

The National Theatre of Scotland will be collaborating with film and video students from New College Lanarkshire to create a short documentary about the making of the production.

Maggie & Me was highly acclaimed upon publication and has established itself as a Scottish classic memoir. This is the first time it has been adapted for the stage.

‘Funny, tender, and heartbreaking.’ The Independent

‘Certain memoirs catch a moment and seem to define it, bottle it… Hugely entertaining.’ The Sunday Times

‘A memoir which is both personally moving and a valuable historical document.’ Literary Review

Author Damian Barr and Playwright James Ley photographed here at Carfin Grotto, Carfin, Motherwell. 9/11/2023 Kirsty Anderson

Born in Bellshill and now living in Brighton, Damian Barr is an award-winning writer and broadcaster. His debut novel, You Will Be Safe Here, was Book of the Year in the Observer, Guardian and Mail in 2019.

He has written several plays for radio, with Maggie & Me marking his first stage play. In 2019, Damian brought books back to television with the BBC’s Big Scottish Book Club, now in its fifth series. He regularly appears on Radio 4.

James Ley is an award-winning writer living in Glasgow.

‘One of Scotland’s most exciting, early-career writers.’ Exeunt.

James wrote and directed Ode to Joy (How Gordon got to go to the nasty pig party), winner of a Scotsman Fringe First in 2022, nominated for a Critics Award for Theatre Scotland Award 2023 for Best New Play and recently enjoyed a run at the Sydney Festival.

His other plays include Wilf (Traverse Theatre) and Love Song to Lavender Menace (Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh, Summerhall, SoHo Playhouse, New York). James is currently under commission with the Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh, and is an alumnus of the BBC Writersroom Scottish Voices 2022/2023 and Edinburgh Film Festival Talent Lab.

Suba Das is an award-winning theatremaker from the Northeast of England. Previously Creative Director at the Liverpool Everyman; and Artistic Director/CEO of the internationally acclaimed new writing company HighTide; Suba trained at Cambridge and on the prestigious Birkbeck MFA in Theatre Directing. He is a 2023 graduate of the National Film and Television School’s Directors Series.

His directing credits include major revivals of Top Girls (Liverpool Everyman), East Is East (Northern Stage and Nottingham Playhouse) and The Importance of Being Earnest (Bolton Octagon); in addition to the world premieres of Ravi Shankar’s Sukanya (with The Royal Opera and London Philharmonic Orchestra), Pink Sari Revolution by Purva Naresh, and Wipers by Ishy Din (all as Associate Director at Leicester Curve). This is his first time working with the National Theatre of Scotland.

Touring to Tron Theatre, Glasgow Tues 7 to Sat 11 May; One Touch, Eden Court Tues 14 May to Wed 15 May; Perth Theatre Fri 17 May to Sat 18 May; Cumbernauld Theatre Thurs 23 May to Sat 25 May; Dundee Rep Theatre Thurs 30 May to Sat 1 June; Royal & Derngate, Northampton Thurs 6 June to Sat 8 June; Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh Tues 11 June to Sat 15 June

Full creative team: Assistant Director – Matt McBrier, Set and Costume Design – Kenneth MacLeod, Lighting Design – Katharine Williams, Sound Designer – Susan Bear, Video Designer – Tim Reid, Movement Director/Associate Director – Struan Leslie, Casting Director – Orla O’Connor

Access providers: Integrated BSL interpreters Amy Cheskin & Sarah Forrester, Captioner – Alison Pendlowski, and Audio Describer – Emma-Jane McHenry

Access – full information on accessible performance can be found here.

The National Theatre of Scotland’s popular Theatre for a Fiver scheme will be available for 14- to 16-year-olds and those on Universal Credit.

Full tour information and cast and creative biogs here.

National Theatre of Scotland announces 2024 programme

Extraordinary stories told by exceptional Scottish talent

National Theatre of Scotland has announced an exciting new season of work for the coming year.
A year of world premieres, tours and work at all scales, on stages across Scotland, England and beyond, a programme of work for younger audiences, plus artist’s residencies, events, a touring exhibition and film and digital projects.
Four world premieres, the return of two hit shows, back by popular demand, three productions at the Edinburgh Festivals and nine touring productions.
Touring to 45 venues across 28 locations in Scotland, England and Europe.

Jackie Wylie, Artistic Director said: “We are delighted to be offering audiences a packed theatrical programme in 2024 with, thrilling new productions alongside acclaimed shows that we have brought back by popular demand.

“We are proud to honour icons and celebrate artists that help define and shape our cultural identity. As Scotland’s National theatre company, who tour tirelessly throughout Scotland, we want to bring a sense of community togetherness, pride in our nation’s creativity and the chance to have a brilliant night out, for audiences, locally or indeed further afield.

“We are acutely aware that we continue to live in challenging times. Global politics, the aftermath of the Covid years and the cost of living crisis all have ongoing impacts for the creative and cultural industries and the brilliant Scottish artists who create theatre with us.

“National Theatre of Scotland has always held a lens up through which we can view ourselves, as a nation, as a society and never more so than in this programme. Through the sharing of important stories, that tell us about ourselves, we explore our shared humanity.

“Climate activism, youthful protest, the enslaved Joseph Knight who made his bid for freedom, the great Billy Connolly, the Margaret Thatcher years, working class culture, teenage Cosplay, Country music, masculinity and the late great Beldina Odenyo all share the spotlight in our 2024 programme.

“Young people hold a special place in our programme. We are committed to ensuring they are involved with the National Theatre of Scotland from Primary School onwards, through our productions with Theatre in Schools Scotland, our touring work to venues and through participation in projects with leading theatre-makers.

“We thank our partners, our supporters and funders, the venues we are touring to, the artists, the crews and the freelancers who make our work, all those who participate and most importantly our audiences who energise us through their commitment and enthusiasm for the joy of theatre.”

NEW PRODUCTIONS

THE FIFTH STEP, a thrilling and provocative new play written by David Ireland and directed by Finn den Hertog. The taut two-hander features Jack Lowden, returning to Scottish stages for the first time since his theatrical debut in Black Watch in 2010. The Fifth Step will preview at Dundee Rep Theatre before opening at the Royal Lyceum Theatre, for a week’s run as part of the 2024 Edinburgh International Festival and then end with a week’s run at The Pavilion Theatre, Glasgow in August 2024.
JUNE CARTER CASH: THE WOMAN, HER MUSIC AND ME, a new play written and performed by Charlene Boyd sharing the story of one of country music’s most iconic voices: June Carter Cash, directed by the multi-award-winning Cora Bissett. June Carter Cash: The Woman, Her Music and Me opens at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe ahead of a tour of Scottish cultural venues.
THANK U, NEXT, a new dance theatre piece exploring the contemporary culture of cosplay, created by leading radical performance collective 21Common working with teenagers across Scotland. They will produce four unique productions presented at schools in Glasgow, Cumbernauld, Grangemouth and Lochgelly, for a run of public performances in February and October 2024 and then again in March 2025. Each production will be directed by 21Commoners Lucy Gaizely and Gary Gardiner, and performed by a mixed group of professional performers, school pupils and young collaborators who were involved in the original development of the piece.

PREVIOUSLY ANNOUNCED

MAGGIE & ME, is a bold and explosive new production based on Damian Barr’s award-winning and darkly witty memoir about growing up gay in Thatcher’s Britain, adapted by Damian Barr and James Ley, directed by Suba Das. Opening at the Tron Theatre in Glasgow, before touring to Inverness, Perth, Cumbernauld, Dundee, Northampton and Edinburgh in Spring 2024. Full creative team announced.
DEAR BILLY, a love letter to the Big Yin returns to Scottish stages after a successful tour of Scotland in 2023. Written and performed by Gary McNair, and directed by Joe Douglas, this critically acclaimed celebration of Billy Connolly will be heading to Aberdeen, Glasgow and Inverness before coming to the Assembly Rooms as part of the Assembly Festival programme for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August.

NEWLY ANNOUNCED – RETURN OF AN AWARD-WINNING PRODUCTION

ENOUGH OF HIM, the incisive and emotive, award-winning and critically acclaimed play based on the true story of Joseph Knight returns to stages in 2024. Enough of Him, written by May Sumbwanyambe and directed by Orla O’Loughlin with Omar Austin reprising his role as Joseph, will open in Edinburgh in October 2024 before touring to Dundee, Aberdeen, Chichester and Coventry. A co-production with Pitlochry Festival Theatre

IN ASSOCIATION WITH PRODUCTIONS

AN ACCIDENT / A LIFE, an exciting new collaboration between Marc Brew and Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui. The semi-autobiographical piece has its world premiere at Holland Dance Festival in February 2024 before arriving in Glasgow for the UK premiere at Tramway in March 2024 ahead of further European international tour dates.
SHŌ AND THE DEMONS OF THE DEEP, a timely new production for younger audiences aged 8 and over, from Independent Arts Projects (IAP) in association with National Theatre of Scotland. Shō and the Demons of the Deep is a visual adventure story about overcoming fear, climate crisis, and how the actions of one generation can affect the next, written by Zoë Bullock and directed by Shilpa T-Hyland, touring across Scotland in April and May 2024.
TERO BURU, a new play by the late, great Beldina Odenyo has been posthumously interpreted by Beldina’s sister, Leah McAleer and directed by Julia Taudevin. Beldina’s friends and collaborators have joined together with Leah to bring Beldina’s debut play to an audience. Tero Buru will be performed in Glasgow in autumn 2024, with full details of dates and venue to be announced.
PROTEST, Natalie Ibu’s acclaimed production of Hannah Lavery’s new play embarks on a new tour across the UK, following a successful tour in 2023. Presented by Fuel, Imaginate and Northern Stage in association with National Theatre of Scotland, the show takes a timely look at the right to protest from the perspective of three young girls. Opening in Edinburgh in January, then touring to Newcastle, London, Nottingham, Harrogate, Cambridge, Colchester, Coventry, Poole, Plymouth and Exeter until March 2024.
All 2024 productions will be produced to the Theatre Green Book intermediate standard with 75% of all materials having been pre-used.

DIGITAL/BROADCAST/ARTISTS IN RESIDENCE/CREATIVE ENGAGEMENT

A new short film by multi-disciplinary artist Gillian Katungi, who creates work under the name of PAIX, produced in partnership with the Africa in Motion Film Festival, inspired by her album Metamorphosis: Feeling My Way (to Freedom).
The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, director Hope Dickson Leach’s new version of Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic story, co-written with Vlad Butucea, will be screened at the Victoria Film Festival in 2024 and can still be viewed on Sky Arts. Adapted from the original novella and relocated from London to Edinburgh, this film is a coproduction with Selkie Productions, supported by Screen Scotland and Sky Arts.
Two new artists in residence Ross Mackay and Guy Woods will develop new plays and Alison Burnley and Ellie Davies from RiffRaff Producing will take up their role as artists in residence in the Highlands in partnership with Eden Court Theatre.
A further two new artists in residence, Roisin McLinden and Eoin McKenzie will develop community inspired work for the Company’s Neighbourhood project in North Glasgow.
A packed programme of Artist Development and Creative Engagement opportunities – including new digital productions to be added to NTS’ Education Portal, Creative Career insight sessions for High School students, First Night opportunities for community groups across Scotland, a special creative industries event as part of the BBC’s Bring the Drama festival at Rockvilla and Portraits of an LGBTI+ Generation exhibition continues to be shown at Western General Hospital until summer 2024.
Theatre in Schools Scotland continues bringing world class theatre to primary and secondary school pupils in their schools. Five productions will be touring in 2024. Poggle by Barrowland Ballet; One of Two by Jack Hunter, presented by Independent Arts Projects; Ginger presented by Tortoise in a Nutshell; Cloud Man by Constellation Points/Ailie Cohen and Lewis Hetherington, presented by Scottish Theatre Producers and Going for Gold: Me and Linford Christie by Victoria Beesley, presented by Catherine Wheels Theatre Company.
Theatre for a Fiver tickets available across the majority of productions and venues for 14 to 26-year-olds and those on low-income benefits.

Maggie & Me: Coming to Traverse Theatre in 2024

WORLD PREMIERE

National Theatre of Scotland presents

Maggie & Me

Written by Damian Barr and James Ley,

Adapted from the memoir by Damian Barr 
Directed by Suba Das

Opening at the Tron Theatre, Glasgow, and touring to Eden Court, Inverness; Perth Theatre; Lanternhouse, Cumbernauld; Dundee Rep Theatre and Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, with full tour dates and venues to be announced.

Opening performance at the Tron Theatre on Thursday 9 May 2024.

Maggie & Me, Damian Barr’s award-winning and darkly witty memoir about growing up gay in Thatcher’s Britain is coming to Scottish stages, in a bold and explosive new production.

Damian Barr is adapting his memoir for the stage, teaming up with Scottish playwright James Ley and directed by Suba Das.

This new production from National Theatre of Scotland premieres at the Tron Theatre, Glasgow in May 2024 before touring to Inverness, Perth, Cumbernauld, Dundee and Edinburgh.

“Don’t you worry. I’ll always love you. Love doesn’t run out. It’s not like the gas meter. I’ll find extra love.”

It’s October 12, 1984 – the Brighton bombing. Maggie Thatcher emerges from the rubble, dusty but defiant and somehow in the living room of 8-year-old Damian Barr in Newarthill, North Lanarkshire.

No time for turning, so buckle up for a surreal yet so-real rollercoaster ride through Damian’s painful past rediscovering who he really is. From the furnaces of the Ravenscraig Steelworks to the sanctuary of Carfin Grotto, there’s pain and joy, coming of age and coming out. And Saint Dolly Parton.

It’s about finding your voice and telling your story. Before you can move on, you have to look back…

Published in 2013, Maggie & Me was named Sunday Times Memoir of the Year, awarded Paddy Power Political Satire Award and Barr was named Stonewall Writer of the Year.

The National Theatre of Scotland will be collaborating with film and video students from New College Lanarkshire to create a short documentary about the making of the production.

Damian Barr, co-writer and author of Maggie & Me, said: “National Theatre of Scotland has given me some of my most memorable nights in the theatre so it’s a great honour to be bringing Maggie & Me to life on stage with them.

“Maggie & Me is not just my story – it’s about the community that survived Thatcher, so I’m delighted we are working with New College Lanarkshire – based on the site of the Craig where my dad worked.

“I’m a huge fan of James Ley’s plays and especially what they say about identity – writing with him has been a joy and I’ve learned so much about making the shift from page to stage.

“Director Suba Das is one of the most exciting theatre makers in the UK so I am thrilled he’s lending us his unique and uniquely engaging vision. I’m dedicating this play to my family, to my family of choice and to everyone who has ever struggled to find their place in the world.”

James Ley, co-writer, said: “I’m absolutely thrilled to be part of the team reimagining Damian’s joyous, funny, heartbreaking memoir for the stage. The chance to get to work with Damian, Suba and National Theatre of Scotland is a dream come true.

“The play is so much more than a memoir, it’s a vital check-in with the nation about what’s important to us, who we are and how we make sense of everything that’s thrown at us in life.

“Going on this journey with Damian has been as moving, hilarious and uplifting as I hope and believe the play will be when it gets in front of audiences next Spring. I can’t wait!”

Suba Das, director, said: “I’m honoured that National Theatre Scotland have stretched the border a pinch to invite a Geordie director – proudly queer and working-class – up to Glasgow to help create the world premiere of Maggie & Me.

“Damian’s account of survival and the quest for community, joy and voice resonates for any of us who know what it is to negotiate boundaries of sexuality and class. In a world that remains hostile to difference, I’m so moved to have Damian and James’s trust to now lead the creation of a production that holds hope and healing at its heart – for me, for us, and for every audience member we’ll meet on the great big adventure ahead.”

Maggie & Me was high acclaimed upon publication and established itself as a classic Scottish memoir. This is the first time it has been adapted for the stage:

‘Funny, tender, and heartbreaking.’ The Independent

‘Certain memoirs catch a moment and seem to define it, bottle it… Hugely entertaining.’ The Sunday Times

‘A memoir which is both personally moving and a valuable historical document.’ Literary Review

Born in Bellshill and now living in Brighton, Damian Barr is an award-winning writer and broadcaster.

His debut novel, You Will Be Safe Here, was Book of the Year in the Observer, Guardian and Mail. He has written several plays for radio, with Maggie & Me marking his first stage play. In 2019, Damian brought books back to television with the BBC’s Big Scottish Book Club, now in its fifth series.

James Ley is an award-winning writer living in Glasgow.

‘One of Scotland’s most exciting, early-career writers.’ Exeunt

He wrote and directed Ode to Joy (How Gordon got to go to the nasty pig party), winner of a Scotsman Fringe First in 2022 and nominated for a Critics Award for Theatre Scotland Award 2023 for Best New Play which will tour next year.

Suba Das is an award-winning theatre maker from the North East of England. Previously Creative Director at the Liverpool Everyman; and Artistic Director/CEO of the internationally acclaimed new writing company HighTide; Suba trained at Cambridge and on the prestigious Birkbeck MFA in Theatre Directing. He is a 2023 graduate of the National Film and Television School’s Director’s Series.

Touring to Tron Theatre, Glasgow (previews Wed 8 May) Thurs 9 May – Sat 11 May; One Touch, Eden Court Tues 14 May – Wed 15 May; Perth Theatre Fri 17 May – Sat 18 May; Cumbernauld Theatre Thurs 23 May – Sat 25 May; Dundee Rep Theatre Thurs 30 May – Sat 1 June; Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh Tues 11 June – Sat 15 June

The National Theatre of Scotland’s popular Theatre for a Fiver scheme will be available for 14 to 16 year-olds and those on Universal Credit.

Full tour information and creative biogs to date here.

MESS at Oaklands!

MESS by Tenterhooks visited children at Oaklands School on Monday as part of the National Theatre of Scotland and Imaginate’s Theatre in Schools Scotland programme.

MESS by Tenterhooks visits children at Oaklands School, Edinburgh as part of the National Theatre of Scotland and Imaginate’s Theatre in Schools Scotland programme. Suzie Ferguson and Diane Thornton

Cove Park & Dundee Rep announce new musical theatre writing residency and call for applications

A new residency for musical theatre writers, composers, and lyricists from the UK, India and the United States

Presented by Cove Park and Dundee Rep Theatre in partnership with Capital Theatres, Citizens Theatre, Macrobert Arts Centre, National Centre for the Performing Arts – Mumbai, National Theatre of Scotland, Octopus Theatricals – New York City, Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh, and Traverse Theatre.

Associate partners include A Play, A Pie and a Pint, Pitlochry Festival Theatre, Playwrights’ Studio Scotland and Tron Theatre.

With their rich and varied expertise, the partners will work with Cove Park and Dundee Rep and play a valuable role in this project. Providing mentoring, support and feedback as required during the residency, they will help enrich the writers’ experience. All partners are committed to developing the musical theatre landscape, both in Scotland and further afield.

The residency has been devised by Andrew Panton, Artistic Director of Dundee Rep Theatre, and will include facilitated sessions with Dramaturg Jeanie O’Hare (formerly Director of New Work Development at The Public Theater), Music Supervisor Nigel Lilley (Next to Normal at Donmar Warehouse, Caroline, or Change on Broadway), Donna Lynn Hilton, Artistic Director of Goodspeed Musicals and David Greig, Artistic Director of Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh.

The programme also includes networking opportunities and workshop sessions, in-person and digital, with industry professionals including writers, composers, producers, directors, and other theatre practitioners – such as Tony® Award-winning director John Doyle, Tony® and Grammy® Award-winning producer Mara Isaacs, Tony® Award-winning producer Rashad V. Chambers, and more.

Applications to take part in this residency are being accepted from UK-based teams of up to three collaborators who have a musical theatre idea in need of development and would benefit from the residency experience to take it to the next stage in its creation.

To apply, individuals or teams must be based in the UK – Cove Park and Dundee Rep are particularly interested in receiving applications from teams based in Scotland. The participating artists from India and the United States will be selected separately through nominations via international partners.

Please visit https://www.musicaltheatrewritingresidency.uk/ for more information and how to apply.

Theatre in Schools Scotland tours MESS by Tenterhooks to ASN schools

Produced by Imaginate and National Theatre of Scotland

Theatre in Schools Scotland brings MESS by Tenterhooks to ASN schools in Scotland as part of its touring schools programme of live dance and theatre productions

MESS is visiting ASN schools in Edinburgh, Livingston, Dundee, Tain, Dingwall, Inverness and Aberdeen in September and October 2023 with a first performance at Oaklands School in North Edinburgh on Monday (25 September 2023).

Theatre in Schools Scotland (TiSS), the National Theatre of Scotland and Imaginate’s successful schools touring project is, for the first time, touring a show exclusively to ASN schools in Scotland, as part of its new 23/24 schools programme.

TiSS is bringing the playful, bold show, MESS by Scottish company Tenterhooks, to schools for young people with complex additional support needs in September and October 2023. The show will be touring to ASN schools in Edinburgh, Livingston, Dundee, Tain, Dingwall, Inverness and Aberdeen. Following the tour to schools as part of TiSS, Tenterhooks will bring MESS to CHAS children’s hospices Rachel House in Kinross and Robin House in Balloch.

Created by Tenterhooks and produced by Scottish Theatre Producers, MESS is a bold, playful and emotionally engaging theatre performance made especially for young audiences (age 5-18) with complex additional support needs. In the performance, an ordinary day in the life of a team of caretakers turns unpredictable when, for the first time ever, they attempt to clean a space which has people in it. MESS features comedy, surprise, celebration and mild peril!

Tenterhooks is led by Diane Thornton, Suzie Ferguson, and Fergus Dunnet, two theatre clowns and one visual artist putting audiences at the heart of their bold and playful performances. MESS was co-devised by the cast and creative team from an original idea by Ben Winger.

The MESS company includes performers/devisers: Ben Winger, Diane Thornton, Suzie Ferguson, Kerry Cleland, Ronan McMahon, Carmen Pieraccini and Lucy McGreal.

A number of the MESS ensemble performers work together as Clowndoctors (Hearts & Minds) and their therapeutic clowning practice, which includes spontaneity, complicity and playfulness has informed the development of the performance.

Julian Almeida, Theatre in Schools Scotland Project Manager says: “We’re delighted to be touring our first ever show made especially for young people with complex additional learning needs, which will exclusively visit ASN schools.

“The opportunity for children to experience and participate in performances in their own school environment is invaluable, and TiSS is committed to creating and developing new relationships with schools and teachers throughout Scotland.”

Theatre in Schools Scotland, produced by Imaginate and National Theatre of Scotland brings inspiring live theatre and dance productions, made specially for children and young people, into schools and nurseries.

The new TiSS programme also sees the welcome return of Cloud Man by Constellation Points/Ailie Cohen & Lewis Hetherington which had its original schools tour curtailed due to Covid-19 in 2020; and an extended second tour of Going for Gold: Me and Linford Christie by Victoria Beesley/Catherine Wheels Theatre Company which was first off the TiSS blocks to great acclaim in 2022.

TiSS is excited to be offering younger primary school pupils a brand new dance theatre performance, The Last Forecast, from Catherine Wheels Theatre Company/Bridie Gane.

The TiSS programme is available for schools to book anywhere in Scotland, offering performances in primary schools for all ages. TiSS continues to offer subsidised bookings to schools and create partnerships with local support organisations, ensuring live performances reach schools not only in cities and towns but in remote and rural communities.

www.theatreinschoolsscotland.co.uk

www.tenterhooks.org

National Theatre of Scotland’s DRACULA: MINA’S RECKONING draws first blood!

First look at the National Theatre of Scotland’s new production DRACULA: MINA’S RECKONING ahead of the show touring Scotland, Liverpool and Coventry in September and October 2023.
Character images of Mina Murray and Dracula released, alongside a glimpse into the rehearsal room with director Sally Cookson
Bram Stoker’s classic novel has been reimagined by writer Morna Pearson, set in the North-East of Scotland and brought to life by an all-female and non-binary ensemble

World Premiere

National Theatre of Scotland and Aberdeen Performing Arts in association with Belgrade Theatre, Coventry present

DRACULA: MINA’S RECKONING

Conceived by Morna Pearson and Sally Cookson

Story by Morna Pearson, Sally Cookson and Rosie Kellagher

Additional material devised by The Company

Written by Morna Pearson after Bram Stoker

Directed by Sally Cookson

Full cast: Natalie Arle-Toyne, Maggie Bain, Ailsa Davidson, Catriona Faint, Danielle Jam, Liz Kettle, Anne Lacey and Ros Watt.

Set and Costume Designer – Kenneth MacLeod, Composer – Benji Bower, Movement Director – Vicki Manderson, Lighting Designer – Aideen Malone, Video Designer – Lewis den Hertog, Casting Directors – Simone Pereira Hind CDG and Anna Dawson. BSL Performance interpreters Catherine King and Yvonne Strain.

Corporate Sponsor: Pinsent Masons

Touring the UK from Saturday 2 September to Saturday 28 October 2023,

Opening at His Majesty’s Theatre, Aberdeen and touring to Theatre Royal, Glasgow; Macrobert Arts Centre, Stirling; Eden Court, Inverness; Dundee Rep; Festival Theatre, Edinburgh, Belgrade Theatre, Coventry and Liverpool Playhouse from September to October 2023.

Opening Performance at His Majesty’s Theatre, Aberdeen on Thursday 7 September 2023.

“Protect your loved ains fae the claws o’ a beast.” 

A thrilling new adaptation of Dracula by acclaimed Scottish playwright Morna Pearson, directed by Sally Cookson, is brought to stages across Scotland and England by the National Theatre of Scotland in a co-production with Aberdeen Performing Arts in association with Belgrade Theatre, Coventry.

Sally Cookson’s sweeping, atmospheric production of Morna Pearson’s bold new adaptation is relocated to Aberdeenshire and the wild beauty of North-East Scotland, acknowledging the area’s recently reported inspiration for Bram Stoker’s classic novel. To mark this, Dracula: Mina’s Reckoning opens at His Majesty’s Theatre in Aberdeen in September 2023 before touring to Glasgow, Stirling, Inverness, Dundee, Edinburgh, Coventry and Liverpool.

Set in a psychiatric hospital in Aberdeenshire in 1897, this unique Scottish adaptation places the character of Mina Murray at the centre of the action.

Mina seeks refuge at the hospital to escape the horrors she has experienced, retelling her encounters with the most terrifying of beasts: Dracula. Mina is joined by the patients, an all-women and non-binary ensemble, and together they tell a unique version of Bram Stoker’s legendary tale.

We are transported to a world where immortality and ultimate power is possible, even for women – but with terrible consequences.

Dracula Mina's Reckoning PR Shot - Photo credit Pete Dibdin 05 Full-Res

The lead character of Mina is played by Danielle Jam, who recently toured with Kidnapped (National Theatre of Scotland) and James IV: Queen of the Fight, (Raw Material and Capital Theatres, in association with National Theatre of Scotland) and appeared in Wings Around Dundee (Dundee Rep) and is known to TV audiences for her roles in Scot Squad (BBC) and Molly and Mack (CBeebies).

She will be joined by Ailsa Davidson (Lucy and Elsie). Ailsa has performed in Heathers the Musical (Bill Kenwright & Paul Taylor-Mills) in London’s West End, Lipsync at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe (Cumbernauld Theatre), Elegies for Angels Punks and Raging Queens (Union Theatre) and Grease (UK & International Tour).

Dracula Mina's Reckoning PR Shot - Photo credit Pete Dibdin 07 Full-Res

Liz Kettle takes on the role of Dracula, she was most recently seen on Scottish stages in Macbeth – An Undoing (Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh) and has appeared in numerous roles on TV including Unforgotten IV, The Secret Life of Mrs Beeton, Doctors (BBC), Fracture (20th Century Digital / Disney), Honoria Glossop in Jeeves & Wooster, Inspector Morse, Rosemary & Thyme and Poirot.

Dracula Mina's Reckoning - Rehearsal Photography 01 - Photo credit Eoin Carey

They are joined by Natalie Arle-Toyne (Van Helsing and Titchy). Natalie’s recent theatre work includes Mrs Puntila and Her Man Matti, Arabian Nights, Rhinoceros (CATS Ensemble Award) at the Lyceum Theatre and The Lost Lending Library (Punch Drunk/Imaginate). Maggie Bain (Dr Seward and Georgina) has appeared in roles in theatre, TV, film and radio most recently on stage in Linck & Mülhahn (Hampstead Theatre), We’ll Meet in Moscow (Traverse Theatre), Dream (RSC) and on TV in I Hate Suzie (Sky) and Luther: The Fallen Sun (Netflix).

Catriona Faint (Jonathan and Annie) most recently performed in Enough of Him (National Theatre of Scotland). Anne Lacey (Mr Swails and Bella), who has worked extensively in theatre, film, TV and radio was recently on stage in Medea (National Theatre of Scotland at the Edinburgh International Festival), and Earthquakes In London (National Theatre); and on TV in Shetland (ITV). Ros Watt’s (Renfield and Katherine) previous includes Godot is a Woman (Silent Faces) at the Pleasance, Edinburgh.

Dracula Mina's Reckoning - Rehearsal Photography 02 - Photo credit Eoin Carey

Dracula is dripping with Morna Pearson’s trademark humour, theatricality, and her taste for the strange, the shocking and the grotesque. The production celebrates the novel’s gothic horror origins while, in a radical twist, it allows audiences to view the story through the eyes of Mina and the patients. Elements of the piece will be devised by the company.

The production features atmospheric, Gothic-inspired set and costumes designed by Kenneth MacLeod with video design by Lewis den Hertog, a dark, distinctive score from composer Benji Bower and visceral movement from Vicki Manderson.

Dracula Mina's Reckoning - Rehearsal Photography 11 - Photo credit Eoin Carey

Writer Morna Pearson said: “I was excited to adapt Dracula and place it in the familiar setting of the North-East, the place where my writing feels at home. I wanted to examine themes of our times – fear, trauma, and powerlessness – in ways the horror genre lends itself to.

With Stoker drawing influence from Cruden Bay, it felt appropriate to relocate the narrative to Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire, exploring the area and characters I find most inspirational.

There is room for more horror and stories from the North-East in theatre, so I am thrilled that my first large scale production is a bold retelling of Dracula set there.”

Dracula Mina's Reckoning - Rehearsal Photography 06 - Photo credit Eoin Carey

Morna Pearson was born in the North-East of Scotland, in Elgin, and is an award-winning Edinburgh-based playwright and screenwriter. Morna’s work for National Theatre of Scotland includes Darklands written as part of Interference trilogy and Clearing for Scenes for Survival. Other theatre work includes Let’s Inherit the Earth (Dogstar/Profilteatern); How to Disappear (Traverse) and Dr Stirlingshire’s Discovery (Lung Ha/Grid Iron). She was a recipient of the Meyer-Whitworth Award and her first short film, I Was Here, gained BAFTA Scotland and EIFF nominations for Best Short Film.

“One of the freshest, most fearless and taboo-busting voices to be heard anywhere right now” The Herald on The Artist Man and the Mother Woman

Dracula Mina's Reckoning - Rehearsal Photography 16 - Photo credit Eoin Carey

Sally Cookson is an Olivier award-winning director (A Monster Calls), an associate director at Bristol Old Vic and a collaborator with Travelling Light Theatre Company. Her theatre credits include Wonder Boy (Bristol Old Vic); A Monster Calls (The Old Vic/UK tour); The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe (West Yorkshire Playhouse/Bridge Theatre/UK Tour/Gillian Lynne) and Jane Eyre and Peter Pan (Bristol Old Vic/National Theatre).

“Audaciously inventive” ***** The Guardian on Wonder Boy

Bram Stoker’s Dracula was first published in 1897 and has since been adapted into numerous films and plays. Stoker himself wrote the first theatrical adaptation, which was presented at London’s Lyceum Theatre on 18 May 1897 under the title Dracula, or The Undead. For years Dracula has been associated with Whitby and Transylvania, but recent research suggests that Aberdeenshire played a significant part in shaping the novel, and in particular Slains Castle which features an octagonal room like the one described by Stoker in Dracula’s Castle.

Touring from September to October 2023 to His Majesty’s Theatre, Aberdeen (previews Sat 2, Tues 5, Wed 6 Sept) Thurs 7 – Sat 9 Sept; Theatre Royal, Glasgow Wed 13 – Sat 16 Sept; Macrobert Arts Centre, Stirling Thurs 21 – Sat 23 Sept; Eden Court, Inverness Thurs 28 – Sat 30 Sept; Dundee Rep Thurs 5 – Sat 7 Oct; Festival Theatre, Edinburgh Wed 11 – Sat 14 Oct, Belgrade Theatre, Coventry (18 to 21 October) and Liverpool Playhouse (24 to 28 October).

Full tour information and creative credits and biogs here.

Full information on accessible performances here