This July, Scottish Opera Young Company is presenting the world premiere of RED, a darkly comedic piecedrawn from fairy tales by The Brothers Grimm, at the Company’s Production Studios in Glasgow.
An interwoven story of the four stages of women’s lives that often feature in folk tales, RED is by award-winning composer Karen MacIver, with a libretto by Scottish Opera’s Director of Outreach and Education, Jane Davidson MBE.
The conductor is Young Company’s Artistic Director Chris Gray, with Flora Emily Thomson (Maud & Down in the Valley 2023 and As The Seasons Turn 2022) returning to direct the 14 young performers aged between 17 to 21. Set and costume designs are by Finlay McLay.
RED is inspired by Little Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel, Snow White and Hansel & Gretel, and features aspects of the ages of unnamed female figures — girl, maiden, mother, crone — that often appear in these famous stories. The 70-minute opera examinesthe circular, metamorphic nature of these tales as well as experiences shared by generations of women across time through magical realism.
Karen MacIver (above) andJane Davidsonsaid: ‘RED is an exploration of the some of the key defining characteristics of the female protagonist in stories – bringing the tradition from its beginnings in folk tales and right up to contemporary interpretations.
‘Women are judged by a different set of values, and many still face the unenviable choices of relationships (family) versus personal aspiration. In more recent times, the medium of stage and film – and of music composed for these– has gained dominance in terms of how we experience storytelling.
‘Stephen Sondheim and Bernard Herrmann are masters in the art of musically driven plots. Their works have greatly influenced the score, not only in the musical choices made, but also as a guiding light for compelling storytelling in terms of the landscape of sound.
‘Literary influences include Margaret Atwood, whose beautifully concise, darkly humorous style, with twists and turns at the most unexpected of moments, we have tried to capture in the libretto.
‘Working within the parameters of four short acts drove the need for a musical score that describes the plot every bit as much as the words. Interspersed throughout are strands of magical realism, lending an everyday quality to the more outrageous aspects of the story arc that we are confident most of the audience will recognise.
‘So, throw in some chatty crockery, firefighters with a nice line in barbershop singing, some 1980s shoulder padded glamour, a wolf that needs therapy and you might just get a sense of what to expect.’
Director Flora Emily Thomson said: ‘I’m so excited to be working with the Young Company again to bring to life RED.
“Karen MacIver and Jane Davidson’s intricate and charged piece is brimming with possibilities, compelling us to consider the relationship between women, power and patriarchy across a lifetime, and the shifts and sacrifices needed to navigate these.
“As we follow our protagonist through her ages, our ensemble uses dynamic and sensory movement to build her worlds and destroy them, constantly moving the goal posts and manipulating the parameters of her world.
“Taking place on a striking and stark, angular set, prepare to experience some of society’s oldest tales in a thoroughly modern way.’
Scottish Opera Young Company offers young singers a unique and practical introduction to the world of opera and the chance to develop their talent through a year-long programme, working with a range of music professionals.
For many of the singers, it is the first step towards building a career in the arts, and gives them the opportunity to perform music written especially for young voices.
Tickets for RED, which is supported by Scottish Opera’s Education Angels and The Rose Fund, are available to buy now from www.scottishopera.org.uk/shows/red
Adapted by Isobel McArthur with Michael John McCarthy
Co-directed by Isobel McArthur and Gareth Nicholls
Based on the novel by Robert Louis Stevenson
Full cast: Malcolm Cumming, Christina Gordon, Kim Ismay, Danielle Jam, Fatima Jawara, Ryan J Mackay, Grant O’Rourke, David Rankine, Isaac Savage, and Karen Young.
Composer and Music Supervisor Michael John McCarthy Set and Costume Design Anna Orton, Sound Design Clare Hibberd Movement Director Emily Jane Boyle Video Design Tim Reid Lighting Design Ben Ormerod Associate Director Isla Cowan Fight Director Claire Llewellyn Casting by Michael Howell
Supported by Sir Ewan and Lady Brown
Touring the UK from Tuesday 28 March to Saturday 20 May 2023
Opening at the Beacon Arts Centre, Greenock and touring to Theatre Royal, Glasgow; Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh; Eden Court, Inverness; Perth Theatre; Northern Stage, Newcastle and Theatre Royal, Brighton, as part of Brighton Festival, from March to May 2023.
Opening Performance at the Beacon Arts Centre on 31 March 2023
Kidnapped,Robert Louis Stevenson’s adventure-classic is touring Scotland and England in a riotous new retelling for 2023.
This swashbuckling new production from the National Theatre of Scotland, adapted by Isobel McArthur with Michael John McCarthy, premieres at the Beacon Arts Centre in Greenock in March 2023 before touring to Glasgow, Edinburgh, Inverness, Perth, Newcastle and Brighton.
Kidnapped is a colourful new take on Stevenson’s historical novella about David Balfour who leaves home for the first time and must grow up fast to solve a family mystery and take revenge on an evil assailant. This vibrant production is a coming-of-age romcom for today, which celebrates the poetry, humour and heart of Stevenson’s writing.
Co-created by Isobel McArthur and Michael John McCarthy, writer and musical supervisor of the Olivier award-winning Pride & Prejudice* (*sort of), Kidnappedis packed full of 20th century pop music and 18th century romance, all performed by a dynamic ensemble of actor-musicians.
Davie Balfour will be played by Ryan J Mackay, who was most recently seen on stage in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, and he will be joined by Malcolm Cumming as Alan Breck Stewart, familiar to Scottish audiences from the acclaimed James IV: Queen of the Fight, (Raw Material and Capital Theatres, in association with National Theatre of Scotland) which toured Scotland in late 2022. Kim Ismay will be playing Frances and is perhaps most familiar to audiences for playing the role of Tanya in the West End production of Mamma Mia, and Madame Morrible in the international and UK & Ireland tours of Wicked.
They will be joined on this adventure by a talented ensemble including: Christina Gordon, who will be reuniting with Isobel McArthur and Michael John McCarthy after her run as an original cast member of Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of), for which she was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role; David Rankine who is a Scottish actor most recently seen in the revival of the National Theatre of Scotland production of Rocket Post, which featured song arrangements from Michael John McCarthy; Danielle Jam, who recently worked with Raw Material, Capital Theatres and National Theatre of Scotland as one of the lead roles in James IV: Queen of the Fight and will be reunited with her James IV co-star Malcolm Cumming in Kidnapped; Grant O’Rourke has done extensive work in theatre, television, film and radio, and is most familiar to Scottish audiences for his role in Outlander, and more recently, Shetland;Isaac Savage is an actor, musician and composer who will joining the ensemble as the Performing Musical Director for Kidnapped, and last year was the Performing Musical Director for Cinderella at Dundee Rep; Karen Young is a Scottish actress, recently appeared in Cinderella at Dundee Rep; Fatima Jawara was most recently seen as the titular role in Eastern Angles’ Christmas production of Little Red.
“I don’t believe it……I finally have a chance at a decent future – and my only surviving relative pays to have me knocked unconscious and forced onto a knackered old boat by a load of bloody… Pirates!”
19-year-old Davie Balfour has never left home, never been kissed and never fired a gun. Armed with nothing but a hand-drawn map, he heads off on an adventure like no other – quickly realising that he has a lot of catching up to do. The production follows Davie on a journey of eye-opening discovery as he navigates murderous foes, Jacobite outlaws and the most inept crew of pirates this side of the Atlantic.
This version of Kidnapped reframes the relationship between the central characters Davie Balfour and Alan Breck Stewart as a romance, which is played out through their adventures across the Lowlands and Highlands of a Scotland still reeling from the aftermath of the 1745 Jacobite rebellion. Robert Louis Stevenson’s wife, Frances, an American writer who supported her husband throughout his writing, also features in the production in the role of a spirit guide to the protagonist.
The music – performed live – is arranged by Michael John McCarthy and will include well-loved songs including denim-clad Americana, late 90s love songs, art rock, protest anthems, 80s synth-pop, Gaelic folk song and more.
Isobel McArthur is an Oliver award-winning actor, director and playwright. Her plays have toured the UK and been performed internationally. Her five-star West End adaptation of the classic novel Pride & Prejudice* (*sort of) is currently on tour across the UK. Previous work for National Theatre of Scotland as an actor includes Edwin Morgan’s Scots language Cyrano De Bergerac (with Citizens Theatre) and as writer/co-director of The Quiz! (with BBC Scotland) as part of Scenes for Survival.
Michael John McCarthy is a musician, sound designer and composer for stage and screen. He has worked on over eighty theatrical productions and has collaborated on the making of ten Scotsman Fringe First Award winners, most recently The Last Return by Druid Theatre Company.
He is the musical supervisor & co-sound designer on Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of), winner of the 2022 Olivier Award for Best Entertainment or Comedy Play, and his previous work for National Theatre of Scotland includes The Cheviot, The Stag, & The Black, Black Oil, Rocket Post and In Time O’ Strife.
Isobel McArthur and Michael John McCarthy –Kidnappedco-creators said: “In Kidnapped, there seemed to us to be more of Stevenson the man, his beliefs and experiences, than in any other of his works of fiction.
“His deeply romantic view of being human, his attempts to hold onto a sense of innocence and wonder at the world, his lust for travel, his attraction to glamour and physical strength… they are all here! In this novella, Stevenson asks what it is to be Scottish, to be in in love, to be a grown-up – all through the telling of a historical tale, full of humour, heart and song.
“It’s a true adventure story – where body and soul are put through their paces – to, by turns, thrilling, moving and humorous effect. We just couldn’t pass it up.”
Kidnapped was originally written as serialised fiction in the magazine Young Folks from May to July 1886. The novel first appeared in book form from Cassell and Company in July 1886 and has since been adapted several times with numerous versions for film and television.
Edinburgh born Stevenson based many of the characters and events in the much-loved classic on actual people and places. Principal characters Davie Balfour and Alan Breck Stewart are celebrated in a 15-foot-tall statue by Alexander Stoddart situated on the outskirts of Edinburgh near Corstorphine Hill.
Join the conversation: #Kidnapped
Touring to Beacon Arts Centre, Greenock (previews Tue 28, Wed 29, Thurs 30 March) Fri 31 March – Sat 1 April 2023; Theatre Royal, Glasgow Wed 5 – Sat 8 April 2023, Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh Tue 11 – Sat 22 April 2023; Eden Court, Inverness Wed 26 – Sat 29 April 2023; Perth Theatre Wed 3 – Sat 6 May 2023 and Northern Stage, Newcastle Tues 9 – Sat 13 May 2023.
Live Music Now Scotland (LMNS) bring Live performance to Edinburgh with world premiere of ‘What’s for you…’ by composer Jennifer Martin
The piece will be performed by clarinettist Calum Robertson and pianist Juliette Philogene who will also perform the second LMNS piece commissioned from Jennifer, ‘Bi-Cycle’
The concert will take place at 3pm on Sunday 24 October at Holy Cross Church, Davidson’s Mains
Live Music Now Scotland (LMNS) is delighted to announce its next public, live and in person performance this coming Sunday (24 October).
Taking place at Holy Cross Church in Davidsons Mains, this one-off concert will feature a world premiere of a new piece for clarinet and piano by Jennifer Martin, performed by and commissioned for clarinettist Calum Robertson and pianist Juliette Philogene.
Entitled ‘What’s for you…’ the piece is one of two commissioned by Live Music Now Scotland and written by Jennifer Martin, who recently published a book Creative Composition for the Classroom co-written with composer Sir James MacMillan.
‘What’s for you…’ is a reflective piece that was inspired by the hopes, joys and fears that must come with motherhood; joyous, irregular, humorous, difficult, but always looking on the bright side.
Jennifer Martin, author of Creative Composition for the Classroom and Chief Executive of the Cumnock Tryst, said:“It is a huge honour to have been asked to create two bespoke pieces for Live Music Now Scotland, an organization whose work is so vitally important when it comes to getting live music to those who may not otherwise get a chance to hear it, and in the career development of musicians.
“Both ‘Bi-Cycle’ and ‘What’s for you…’ examine the relationship between mother and daughter in a myriad of ways, and I can’t wait to hear them in the beautiful surroundings of Holy Cross Church, performed by the brilliantly talented Calum and Juliette.”
The concert is free of charge although booking is required, and the concert will also feature Nocturne by Ronald Stevenson and Three dances by Germaine Tailleferre.
The location of this exciting performance is no coincidence. Throughout lockdown Holy Cross Church was incredibly supportive of LMNS, engaging artists to sing and play as part of worship when live performances were not allowed elsewhere.
Not only that, but the costs were also covered by the congregation, meaning a live world premiere seemed like a fitting tribute. The concert will slot into a new series of afternoon events in the church.
Carol Main MBE, Director at Live Music Now Scotland, said: “We are so excited to see a public LMNS performance, and a world premiere no less, return to the wonderful surrounds of Holy Cross Church in Edinburgh. Not only is a beautiful space, but one we feel a deep affinity with after the support they have shown our musicians throughout the pandemic.
“We also feel incredibly lucky to be able to hear these two pieces, commissioned especially for our musicians by the amazingly talented Jennifer Martin and performed by the equally talented Calum and Juliette, surrounded by a live audience.”
The two LMNS commissions were made possible by funding from Gavin McEwan.
