Focus: NTS HOME
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What does 'Home' mean to you?
The place where you lay your head at night? A tenement flat? A high rise? Something more than that, perhaps? A whole island. A community. A set of values... |
To mark the launch of the National Theatre of Scotland, ten of the most ambitious and inspirational directors working in theatre in Scotland today have addressed themselves to that question. HOME is their answer – a series of ten not-to-be-missed events premiering around the country on 25 February 2006.
Performances take in a range of venues from Shetland to Dumfries, and the diversity of spaces will reflect the many different facets of Scottish life, demonstrating that theatre can happen almost anywhere.
Each location will see a brand new piece of site-responsive theatre commissioned especially for the launch, and each director will offer his or her own unique vision and interpretation, drawing inspiration from the local surroundings. Sites include a shop front, a tenement, a museum, a ferry, a Nissan hut and a factory.
In Shetland, for example, director Wils Wilson and a cast of mostly local performers will commandeer an entire ferry berthed in Lerwick harbour and will transport audiences from deep in the hold through the cabins to the upper deck. In Glasgow, John Tiffany – Associate Director of New Work at the National Theatre of Scotland – will spectacularly transform an 18 storey tower block in Easterhouse into what will certainly become the country’s tallest live theatre venue.
Many of the projects are being created in partnership with local communities: involving young people, care home residents, craft practitioners, youth theatres and amateur performers working alongside professional actors.
The projects include physical spectacle, intimate storytelling, multimedia installations, verbatim theatre, children’s theatre, live music, documentary film and soundscapes.
The ten planned events will involve:
- in Sheltand - a hundred fiddlers on a ferry directed by Wils Wilson
- in Stornoway - a shop front window becomes a Doll’s House directed by Stewart Laing
- in Caithness - an octogenarian odyssey directed by Matthew Lenton
- in Inverness - a living photograph album directed by Scott Graham
- in Aberdeen - asylum seekers in a derelict tenement directed by Alison Peebles
- in Dundee - an unforgettable dance in a 1950s ballroom directed by Kenny Miller
- in Edinburgh - First Minister’s Question Time through the eyes of children directed by Anthony Neilson
- in East Lothian - a secret journey through enchanted woods directed by Gill Robertson
- in Glasgow - a spectacular tower block siege directed by John Tiffany
- in Dumfries - a powerful meditation on memory and death directed by Graham Eatough
Ultimately, HOME considers our relationships with where we live. These can be at once difficult and comforting, often frustrating, sometimes terrifying. HOME ranges from the rooms in our houses, to the place we occupy within our communities and the nation as a whole; from our memories of past houses and the secrets that may lurk in dark corners, to the aspirations we have for our ideal living spaces.
HOME not only promises to be an exciting display of theatrical innovation, it will offer people all over Scotland a chance to join in celebrating the launch of the National Theatre of Scotland.
Full listings can be found on the National Theatre of Scotland website, or to find out what is going on and where call the 'HOME Helpline' on 0141 227 9003. |