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National Theatre of Scotland

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National Theatre of Scotland
AddressGlasgow (offices)
Scotland
Opened2006
Website
www.nationaltheatrescotland.com

The National Theatre of Scotland is a theatre company established in February 2006. The company performs in a wide range of venues including theatres, halls and found spaces across Scotland.

The creation of a national theatre was one of the commitments of the Scottish Executive's National Cultural Strategy.

History

Since its launch in February 2006, the National Theatre of Scotland has been involved in creating more than 74 productions in over 102 different locations. With no building of its own, the company takes theatre all over Scotland and beyond (for example, when Black Watch toured to the United States of America). Many different spaces have been used for productions, as well as conventional theatres: airports and tower blocks, community halls and drill halls, ferries and forests.

Notable Productions

Black Watch

Black Watch is a play written by Gregory Burke and directed by John Tiffany about soldiers in the Black Watch regiment of the British Army serving in Iraq during 2004, prior to the amalgamation into the Royal Regiment of Scotland. Black Watch was first performed during the 2006 Edinburgh Festival and was immediately hailed as a cultural landmark of the 21st century, performing to full houses, standing ovations and critical acclaim. In September 2007, Black Watch toured the United States, before making its Australian premiere at the Sydney Festival in January 2008. The play won four Olivier Awards, including Best New Play, Best Director and Best Theatre Choreographer.

Peer Gynt

In co-production with Dundee Rep and directed by Dundee Rep's outgoing Artistic Director Dominic Hill, this adaptation by Colin Teevan of Henrik Ibsen's famously unstageable epic opened to huge acclaim in 2007, winning four awards at the Critics Awards for Theatre in Scotland including Best Design, Best Director, Best Male Performance (joinly between Gerry Mulgrew and Keith Fleming, who both played Peer Gynt) and Best Production. It was remounted in 2009 for a major national tour.

Be Near Me

Actor Ian McDiarmid adapted the Booker shortlisted novel by Andrew O'Hagan for the stage. Directed by John Tiffany in a co-production with the Donmar Warehouse, London. Cast included Blythe Duff and Richard Madden.

365

National Theatre of Scotland Artistic Director Vicky Featherstone directed a cast of fifteen young actors, many of them making their stage debut, in a large scale work for the Edinburgh International Festival, scripted by David Harrower. The play dealt with issues facing looked after children in the UK.

The Bacchae

Playwright David Greig wrote an adaptation of The Bacchae for the 2007 Edinburgh International Festival. It starred Alan Cumming as Dionysus, with ten soul-singing followers in place of the traditional Greek chorus and returned in 2008, touring to the USA for a three week run at the Lincoln Centre in October 2008.

Tutti Frutti

John Byrne (Scottish playwright) adapted his own Tutti Frutti (1987 TV series) for this major stage musical production, directed by Tony Cownie and featuring a cast of well-known Scottish actors including Tam Dean Burn, Dawn Steele and Gavin Mitchell.

The Wolves in the Walls

The children's book by Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean was adapted into a family musical by Gaiman himself in co-production with the Improbable Theatre Company.

HOME

The National Theatre of Scotland's inaugural event was a series of ten shows by ten directors in ten locations around Scotland. The venues were: Shetland, Caithness, Aberdeen, Edinburgh, East Lothian, Dumfries, Glasgow, Dundee, Inverness and Stornoway. The directors were: Alison Peebles, Gill Robertson, John Tiffany, Graeme Eatough, Anthony Neilson, Wils Wilson, Kenny Miller, Scott Graham, Stewart Laing and Matt Lenton. The very first performance of the National Theatre of Scotland was Home Dumfries on 23 February 2006.

Little Otik

A Vanishing Point and National Theatre of Scotland co-production, in association with the Citizens Theatre. A couple, desperate but unable to start a family, develop an intense relationship with a tree stump carved to look like a baby. Believing it to be real, gradually their obsession brings the stump of wood to life. As the fixation grows, so does the ‘baby’ along with its monstrous appetite. Not content with baby food, it eats the family cat and then the postman. Things get stranger when the social worker arrives to see what’s going on. Taken from the wonderfully twisted imagination of cult Czech filmmaker Jan Švankmajer, Little Otik combines dark humour, surreal horror and an unnerving but tender family story.

The Emperor's New Kilt

In co-production with Wee Stories Theatre and written and directed by Wee Stories' Artistic Directors Andy Cannon and Iain Johnstone, this adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen's classic tale received vast praise from press and public, winning Best Production for Children and Young People at the [Critics Awards for Theatre in Scotland] in 2008 and nominated for five more awards including the TMA Award for Best Production for Children and Young People 2008.

See also

References

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