Looking back on a year of theatre | NTS 2024
It’s been another busy year taking theatre out on the road across Scotland and beyond. Moving memoirs brought to the stage, new twists on Country classics and jaw-dropping dramatic moments.
We have been touring to theatres, schools, community halls, art centres, hospitals, cinemas, libraries and festivals. As well as exhibitions, short films, documentaries, podcasts, residencies and more.
In 2024, we visited 62 venues across Scotland, and beyond.
Here are some highlights of the year from your national theatre…
We kick started the year celebrating young audiences and performers.
Theatre in Schools Scotland (TiSS) took to the road with two brilliant shows for primary, school children, Cloud Man and Going for Gold: Me and Linford Christie landing in school halls.
Cloud Man by Constellation Points/Ailie Cohen and Lewis Hetherington, presented by Scottish Theatre Producers. Going for Gold: Me and Linford Christie by Victoria Beesley, presented by Catherine Wheels.
Meanwhile Hannah Lavery’s Protest continued to inspire youth activism at the Traverse Theatre.
Co-commissioned and co-produced by Fuel, Imaginate and Northern Stage in association with National Theatre of Scotland.
In January we presented work in Edinburgh and toured to schools in Edinburgh, Grangemouth, Coatbridge, Bathgate, Aberfeldy, Dallas, Fort William, Kenmore, Pitlochry, Glasgow, Airdrie and Wishaw with Theatre in Schools Scotland (TiSS).
Cloud Man and Going for Gold continued their TiSS adventures.
“I’ve learnt that anything is possible. If I never came out my comfort zone I’d never have made these memories… Life changing.”
Thank U, Next participant.
We took up residency at Bellahouston Academy with 21Commoners Lucy Gaizely and Gary Gardiner to explore teen lives with a cast of 12-to-16 year olds with the extraordinary Thank U, Next.
A National Theatre of Scotland production in association with Bellahouston Academy, created by 21Common.
Hope Dickson Leach’s Scots Gothic classic, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde was screened as part of Victoria Film Festival.
National Theatre of Scotland and Selkie Productions, Supported by Screen Scotland and Sky Arts.
We celebrated our 18th birthday!
We toured to Bellahouston and Glasgow, presented work in Edinburgh, Harrogate, London, Cambridge, Colchester, Coventry, Poole and Victoria, Canada and the Netherlands and visited schools in Dunkeld, South Queensferry, Cumbernauld, Grangemouth, Edinburgh, Oban, Dallas, Tain, Lairg, Orkney, Sanday, Westray and Stronsay with TiSS.
“A startling, unique, powerfully honest work.”
★★★★ – The Telegraph
Marc Brew and Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui’s raw and life affirming an Accident/a Life had its UK premiere at Tramway following a presentation in Holland.
A Marc Brew Company and Eastman co-production in association with National Theatre Scotland.
We brought the drama to Rockvilla with the BBC’s Bring the Drama creative careers event.
And we launched Caring Scotland, a wide-reaching nationwide Listening Project, led by artist and foster parent Nicola McCartney, to record the testimony of care-experienced people across Scotland.
A National Theatre of Scotland, Who Cares Scotland and National Library of Scotland project.
And Going for Gold ran its final furlongs with TiSS
In March we toured to Glasgow and presented work in Plymouth, Exeter and Newcastle and visited schools in Dumfries, Langholm, Edinburgh and Glasgow with TiSS.
“Delightfully creative and warming show.”
★★★★ – The Reviews Hub
We shō’ed up for Independent Arts Projects with our support of Shō and the Demons of the Deep, written by Zoë Bullock, adapted from the work by Annouchka Gravel Galouchko and directed by Shilpa T-Hyland, which opened at Platform Glasgow.
An Independent Arts Projects (IAP) production in association with National Theatre of Scotland.
We teamed up with New College Lanarkshire on a mini documentary project, The Making of of Maggie & Me.
We celebrated surviving Thatcher’s Britain at the Mitchell Library, with Damian Barr and James Ley chatting to our Artistic Director Jackie Wylie as part of the Aye Write book festival.
We launched A Big Map for the Big Yin where we encouraged folks to leave their own homages to Scotland’s most beloved comedian, Billy Connolly.
In April we toured to Glasgow, Aberdeen, Shetland and Tobermory.
“Funny, moving and powerful in equal measure, it’s an expertly told story and it deserves to be a hit.”
★★★★★ – WhatsOnStage
Maggie & Me James Ley and Damian Barr’s epic adaptation of his celebrated memoir, directed by Suba Das took the Tron Theatre, Glasgow by storm.
A National Theatre of Scotland production.
Damian Barr returned to North Lanarkshire for a sell-out event at Motherwell Library.
“A poignant, colourful and hilarious performance.”
★★★★★ – Scottish Field
The mighty Dear Billy – Gary McNair’s love letter to the Big Yin from the people of Scotland returned with a run at His Majesty’s Theatre in Aberdeen.
A National Theatre of Scotland production.
And an Accident/a Life continued to astound audiences at the Steps Dance Festival in Switzerland, visiting Sierre, Bulle and Basel and at the Norfolk and Norwich Festival.
In May we toured to Dunoon, Dunkeld, Melrose, Wick, Dumfries, the Edinburgh International Children’s Festival, Inverness, Perth, Cumbernauld, Dundee, Aberdeen, Glasgow and Inverness and presented work in Switzerland and Norwich.
We tore up the miles in June with three shows on the road, Maggie & Me, Shō and the Demons of the Deep and Dear Billy.
Damian Barr popped over to the National Library of Scotland to talk about taking his memoir from page-to-stage with Chitra Ramaswamy.
In June we toured to Inverness, St Andrews, Dundee, Northampton, Edinburgh and Manchester.
We invited local people to take to the stage at Springburn Auditorium for a joyous celebration of the North Glasgow region, led by our community artist in residence, Eoin MacKenzie with the Neighbourhood Variety Show.
A performance project by Eoin McKenzie as part of the National Theatre of Scotland’s Neighbourhood Project.
We announced that Kal Sabir was the winner of our South Asian short film commission with his forthcoming short film Kinaara.
And we aspired to get greener by launching the second edition of the Theatre Green Book.
In July we presented work in Glasgow.
The Fifth Step previewed at Dundee Rep Theatre, ahead of opening at the Edinburgh International Festival.
“Highly entertaining, often very funny, and sometimes brilliantly tense.”
★★★★ – The Scotsman
We provoked audiences with David Ireland’s sizzling two-hander, directed by Finn Den Hertog, marking a homecoming to Scottish stages for Jack Lowden, alongside Sean Gilder.
A National Theatre of Scotland production.
“this production is absolutely joyous – a truly magnificent story of two remarkable women.”
★★★★★ – Broadway World
We hoe-downed with Grid Iron, for Charlene Boyd’s June Carter Cash, The Woman, Her Music and Me, directed by Cora Bissett which opened at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe enjoying a sold-out run, winning a Fringe First, with a shout out for Parents in the Performing Arts too.
A National Theatre of Scotland and Grid Iron co-production.
Pamela Carter and Stewart Laing delved into the archive and pulled out Extraordinary Trash: A Theatre Essay featuring Adura Onashile as ‘The Archivist’ at the Edinburgh International Book Festival.
Dear Billy ended its 2024 World Tour of Scotland and Salford by bringing joy to audiences at the Assembly Rooms during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
Meanwhile, over in Glasgow, we headed down the canal to premiere Wonder Lands at Pinkston Gala Day, Roisin McLinden, our community artist in residence’s, film fusing community arts practice and cycling.
In August we toured to Edinburgh, Banchory, Glasgow and Dundee.
June Carter Cash saddled up and hit the road for a sold out tour across Scotland, including opening the Outwith Festival, and ending its journey at Findhorn Bay Festival.
We welcomed Gus Gowland as our first Resident Composer.
In September we toured to Glasgow, Dunfermline, Kirkcudbright, Stranraer, Arran, Oban, Ullapool, Findhorn Bay.
Thank U Next enriched young lives at Cumbernauld Academy with the next troupe of talented young performers taking to the stage at Lanternhouse.
A National Theatre of Scotland production in association with Cumbernauld Academy, created by 21Common.
We shone on a light on those that paved the way with our Portraits of an LGBTQI+ Generation at St John’s Hospital, Livingstone.
A National Theatre of Scotland and All the Queens Men project in partnership with Eden Court Theatre and Luminate
We marked Care Experienced Week with a special in conversation event at National Library of Scotland, with artist Juano Diaz and sent our project facilitators around the country to listen and gather testimony from care experienced individuals.
We embraced Gothic horror at Halloween with a special free screening of The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde with a post-show chat from the lead creatives at the National Library of Scotland at Kelvin Hall.
In October we toured to Cumbernauld, and presented work in Glasgow, Livingston, Sweden and Norway.
We paid tribute to the much loved and missed Beldina Odenyo with the powerful Tero Buru at Platform, Glasgow, directed by Julia Taudevin.
A Leah McAleer project, produced by Disaster Plan in association with the National Theatre of Scotland.
We Pushed the Boat Out with our support for new commissions at Edinburgh’s spoken word festival, at the Storytelling Centre.
And we made gingerbread men with pupils in schools across the country as the playful Ginger went on tour with TiSS.
Created by Tortoise in a Nutshell, created in association with Platform and Lyth Arts Centre.
In November we toured to Glasgow and Edinburgh and visited schools in the Isle of Lewis, North Uist, Kinross, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Blackridge, Livingston, Orkney, Sanday, Westray, Stronsay, Shetland, Aberdeen, Bellshill, Cumbernauld and Oban with TiSS.
Jack Hunter and his deeply personal and political One of Two ended its important TiSS tour.
Presented by Independent Arts Projects.
We celebrated Scottish playwriting by supporting Fergus Morgan’s podcast – A History of Scottish Drama in Six Plays featuring NTS shows, Black Watch, Men Should Weep and The Cheviot, The Stag and The Black, Black Oil.
Produced by the Scottish Society of Playwrights in association with Bespoken Media and the Traverse Theatre.
In December, we toured to schools in Tain, Alness and Culloden with TiSS.
A YEAR IN REVIEW
Throughout 2024 we:
- Toured to 62 venues across Scotland and beyond
- Visited 62 schools with Theatre in Schools Scotland
- Added 2 new shows and resources to our Education Portal
- Hosted 15 First Nights events connecting with 275 Participants
- Delivered 74 accessible performances
- Continued to reduce our carbon footprint
- Won 3 awards at the UK Theatres Awards, Audio Production Awards and Scotsman Fringe First and were nominated for 12 more!
Please do read our Annual Report and Financial Statement for 2022 to 2023 here.
A standing ovation for the hundreds of actors, creatives, artists, technicians and freelancers that worked with us this year. Full creative credits are available for each project and production via the links above.
With thanks to…
Our funders, friends and followers, our audiences and allies, our participants and partners, our co-producers, cheerleaders and communities.
And all our wonderful donors and supporters.
None of this would be possible without your generosity and goodwill!
We send our thanks to the Board too for their ongoing enthusiasm, guidance and governance.
We are really looking forward to getting out round Scotland in 2025 – our full season will be announced in January 2025.
We hope to see you at your local theatre this year!
With love from all the team at the National Theatre of Scotland.
