And then we went to Applecross...

Wednesday, September 18th 2013

We set off for Applecross. Now, the Applecross Peninsula is one of the most gorgeous and remote places in Scotland. Lying between huge mountains on the mainland, and the Isle of Skye on the other, the only access to it is by two roads, both of which are known to be pretty hairy....The one we were taking, 'Bealach Na Ba' meaning 'Pass of the Cow' is particularly treacherous, and impassable in winter. And we had to get along it with a people-carrier and a big van. Fortunately our drivers, Aiyana and Susan, have BALLS OF STEEL and we did it nae problem! It was truly spectacular, driving through the mist and up through the mountain pass. This mist also meant that the 'viewpoint' which ought to offer views to the Outer Hebrides and south to the Kintail mountains, was totally obscured, but there was also something magical about that! Driving down the other side of the pass we encountered some cyclists having a whale of a time flying down the road - well earned after cycling up it :-) As we began to approach Applecross itself, we understood why it had first been given its Gaelic name, 'a Chomraich', meaning 'The Sanctuary'. The beaches, the calm waters, the hills above the crofts, Clachan Church built on the ancient site of St. Maelrubha's Church (673AD) - it appealed to us us with its majestic history. But first we had to EAT! And would you believe it? This outrageously isolated place is home to one of the best restaurants in Britain! Yum! Regularly awarded various accolades such as 'Best Pub Food in Britain', 'Best Seafood Pub in Scotland', to name a few, The Applecross Inn was a massive treat for this hungry troupe! You've never seen a bunch of actors shut up so promptly as they tucked into incredible fish pies and other seafood dishes. Truly delicious.

But what of the show?! We arrived at the hall and were delighted to find a lovely big playing space. An I.T. class which was going on kindly gave over the space so we could start throwing seaweed around etc. I had heard there were also Gaelic classes going on in the Hall, too, so I was interested to see what sort of crowd would show up to hear some Gaelic drama. When the time came for Annie and me to go out and start the pre-show ceilidh tunes, Annie hesitated as there were about 4 people in the audience. Hmm. We waited a little, and there was still only 4 folk out there! Oh well, out we went and started playing. Then at around 7.40, tons more people started coming in.'Ah', siad Annie, 'We're definitely in the West now - they're all on Hebridean time!' So we kept playing while more audience filed in - we really didn't mind when the show went up - we were in Applecross and so far from our cares of the city that we might've been on the moon. And then followed a brilliant show and massively courteous audience. We hear not too much theatre makes it out to Applecross - but we gotta tell you: it's totally worth it.

                             

Then after the show it was back to the Applecross Inn for a cheeky pint and a Hot Toddy. In fact, most of our audience had headed there too, so we had a lovely chat with folk about the show. And we saw LOADS of deer just hanging out on the road. Magic! I'm definitely going back someday.

Thursday, September 19th 2013

Though sad to leave Applecross early that morning, we were all excited to be on our way to the Outer Isles, and I was particularly eager to bring these wonderful people to an island I love very dearly, and where I spent many summers growing up: Berneray. Such fond memories of racing to catch the ferry to Skye, then the ferry from Uig to Lochmaddy, then another ferry to Berneray! Nowadays there's a bridge to Skye and a causeway linking Berneray to Uist, but you've still got a lovely crossing from Skye to enjoy - and we had just the finest weather for it. Glorious! Check out these happy producers!

We arrived on Berneray to a scrummy afternoon tea of cakes and scones and tea prepared by my amazing sister, Ruth. And Dad was there too, of course - ready to welcome us to the Turner house at Backhill. The house is almost exactly as it was when I was a child, and I love that it always has the same smell :-) Dad had been busy drumming up audiences for us - what a guy! He promised that if it came to it, he would drive around the island hustling people into a van just before the show ;-) In the end, this wasn't necessary as they turned out in HUGE numbers! I've got great memories of ceilidh dances, whisky drinking, and long, bardic songs being sung in that hall, and it has a wonderful energy. So seeing it full of people, many of whom I know/am related to, all gathered for our play, was really special. And of course, there was a strong feeling of the play being rooted in my memories of this place, and it was just wonderful to hear the audience enjoying the Hebridean setting of the play. I hoped they would be happy at the way I had represented island life, and their faces afterwards fulfilled that hope. Then after the show we all went to Dad's thatched hoose at Lamerig, for a wee ceilidh! Annie played 'Lexie Mackaskill', a favourite tune of my Dad's, written by John Napier who lived on Berneray, and we played a few more together, had a few drams, and told stories by the fire. Perfect end to the evening.

I've rarely been so proud of anything as I was of our efforts to bring this show to Berneray. I'll never forget it. Thank you to all on Berneray for the warm welcome and all your help - Chrissie, my cousins Meg, Andrew, Hamish and Finbar, Gloria, and of course Dad and Ruth. nd thank you to the whole crew, especially our incredible producer, Aiyana, for coming on the journey working with such passion and patience. Much love and gratitude to you all. xxxx

Saturday, September 21st 2013

Then we headed to Stornoway! I'd heard great things about 'An Lanntair', and I think we were all excited to get into a theatre space again. There's something about the height and expansiveness of an auditorium which allows us to indulge in the epic nature of the play - especially when we reach the final beach scene. Tons of fun! After loading in the set, we headed back to our B&B for the night. Our hostess was a very colourful lady from the Ukraine, with an obvious penchant for stuffed animals, animal sculptures, and 1970s decor. She was quite nice but her dog was much chattier :-)

The Stornoway audience was lovely! It was harder for us to gauge how much they were enjoying Act I, as they felt so far away, but we heard later that they were indeed chuckling away at the jokes :-) At the end of the show, they clapped and cheered and had us out for two curtain calls, so we were mightily pleased! A few of the cast stayed and partied in the bar, but I had a heinous cold and my voice was a little ropey, so it was straight to bed for me, and nae chatting!

There isn't much open on the Sabbath in Stornoway. We all had a bit of time to wander around and kick back, but the streets were so empty, we all just kept bumping into eachother, haha! Simon took a wander through the grounds of Lews Castle - hopefully we'll see his pics soon! We then boarded the ferry that would take us to Ullapool, and settled in for some scampi tails and a wee nap. A lovely Sunday :-)

Right, I'm off! I'll be back soon to regail you with tales of Eilbeck vs. Highland Cow, lamb tagine, drinking with George Gunn, and some high-risk shopping in Inbhir Nis.....

Elspeth xo

Time to catch up....

Feasgar math!

So today I've decided to dabble in a little retrospective blogging. Partly because there wasn't time/wifi on the road, and partly because I've been SLEEPING a LOT since our return, I haven't yet re-visited my beautiful memories of the tour. So I'll get started....

I'll pop up pictures to accompany as they come in. We all took some gorgeous/hilarious shots on the road and I'm still gathering them a'thegither....

We'll begin with some shots from our time at the lovely Becaon Arts Centre, in Greenock, where we opened the show and had a wonderful time :-) Check out the glamourous Ms. Goldie fixin' her hairdo! And we enjoyed eating in the Beacon's restaurant - delicious food and warm hospitality overlooking the water....perfect :-)

 

Above you see the first pack of the van going on. Our production manager, Susan, is in charge, then behind her you see an army of brilliant and tough women - our musician Annie, Producer Aiyana, and Director Emily. I took this photo thinking: these women could RULE THE WORLD! And the van was packed!

After a few drinks (and happy tears, on my part), we say farewell to our director, Emily Reutlinger, and head to bed before heading NORTH!!

We were all very excited as we discussed what on earth it would feel like to do this show in a village hall.....not long to go!

We left on the Sunday morning to make our way north to Craignish Village Hall...en route we reveled in stories, jokes, and some creative navigational techniques...then look at the view as we stepped out of the car!

We were greeted by the lovely ladies who run the hall, who made us tea and fed us biscuits. Happy Idiots :-) Thrilled to be loading into our first village hall venue, we set about transforming the space into our wee croft house, with plenty of room for spectators :-) Haha, Goldie just lifted BOTH those boxes....they make 'em tough in  Rutherglen...

After loading in, we headed to our B&Bs for a wee nap....then it was back out to do the show!!

 And what a show it was. The set looked so beautiful against the natural wood interior of the hall, Susan did a brilliant job lighting it, and the audience were enthralled. They had us out for two curtain calls! Super chuffed we were! We all commented afterwards on how great it was to be so close to the audience, and how it felt much more as if we were inviting folk to a ceilidh. Annie and I were getting into the swing of playing tunes together at the top of the show, and we loved the acoustics of the hall. Here she is afterwards practicing on the dulcimer!

We went to bed happy, and woke up to a YUMMY breakfast of the best smoked salmon I'd ever tasted....if you're in Ford, head to Murrays for some smoked fish....AMAZING! With happy tummies, we carried on northwards to the Isle of Skye. I remember having to get a boat over as a kid, but of course there's a spectacular bridge now. By this time we were all finding our etiquette for requesting CDs in the car... (Can we change this now? / Who brought this? / Do you have anything cheerier? / What's this pish?) and Kenny suggested we needed some Rolling Stones to cross the bridge to. Good call Mr. L!

We had the evening off in Portree, so we headed out for some seafood on the shore...

A few of us headed to a local pub afterwards, too, for a cheeky dram or two. But alas there's are nae pics of that ;-) I got back to the Portree Hotel and attempted to find my way around the hotel's industrial washing machines which the staff very kindly let me use....I didn't shrink anything! Even after the whisky!

On Tuesday morning, we all enjoyed wandering around Portree and then we gathered at the Aros Centre to load in ahead of our show! We were met by Dave, who gave us a warm welcome and helped Susan get all the lights set up. After unloading and taking advantage of some wifi, Aiyana, Kenny and I put our faces on ahead of doing interviews for BBC Alba's 'An La'. They also filmed some of the show, and the feature went out on Thursday the 19th. It made us quite famous on Berneray by the time we did our show there on the Friday! Anyway, back to Skye....a lovely audience; it was strange to be further from them, and not to be sitting in their laps (ahem) as we had been two nights prior, but it was a great show - what a great thing for Skye that theatre is. Kenny told me afterwards that the distinguished poet Meg Bateman had been in the audience. We were dead chuffed to hear that she enjoyed the show, and described the writing as 'bàrdail', which is Gaelic for 'poetic'. I wore a huge grin after that :-)

Time to sign off for today....tune in a-màireach for tales of infamous roads to Applecross, Tuairnear hospitality on Berneray, and a trip back in time in a Stornoway B&B......

Oidhche Mhath!

Ealasaid xo

Thank You for sponsoring the making of our set!

Having had a chance to draw breath after our incredible Scottish tour of 'The Idiot at the Wall', we'd like to issue a huge THANK YOU to two very important supporters of the show.

CAMIRA FABRICS very generously donated a MULTITUDE of beautiful felt, which the wonderfully gifted designer JAN BEE BROWN then cut into what became our seaweed. Those of you who have seen the show know how much seaweed there was...it was everywhere...escaping from jackets and chests and all sorts....so a big thank you for helping us to create that.

A big thank you also, to THE STEPHEN JOSEPH THEATRE in Scarborough, for your help with carpentry - it made such a huge difference for Jan Bee to have that sort of support, and we truly appreciate it.

Thank you, both, for supporting Jan and us in making the production something which was not only stunning to look at, but also tourable. It all worked so well. Images to follow!

Elspeth xo

Hello from Clashnessie!!

It's been ages since I wrote, because we've been out even FURTHER into the wilds of the Highlands! We arrived this evening at the house of Vanessa and David - two wonderful and lovely friends of my mum's, who have created an idyllic paradise near Clashnessie. We're staying with them for two nights while we do a show in Lochinver tomorrow night. We were greeted with wine, beer, Lamb and Prune Tagine, Veggie Tagine, and a phenomenal dessert!! Happy happy Idiots. Thanks so much Vanessa and David. Lochinver - see you tomorrow!

Since last I wrote, we've done four shows! Aros Centre on Skye, Applecross Village Hall, Berneray Community Hall, and An Lanntair in Stornoway. I've got LOADS to say on each, so look out for separate blogs for tales of 70s Guesthouses and Ukranian land-ladies, treacherous mountain passes, ceilidhs in blackhouses, excellent seafood, stags roaming around our vans, sheep napping in the road, and the most wonderful audiences!!

We've had an amazing journey so far. This is an amazing group of people. Every morning we get in vans, drive several hours straight to another venue, unload the set and equipment, then Susan and Aiyana work tirelessly to make the set work in whatever space we're in, while the actors go have a wee break. Then we do the show - every night so different - pack up, load out, go to bed, and repeat! This can only be done with incredible patience, generosity, and mountains of passion for telling stories....all of which this group has in abundance. So honoured to be on the road with them. A wee tid-bit from Berneray ahead of a longer report....at the end of the show, the lights went dark and nobody - I mean, nobody - breathed/moved for the longest time. It was as if the outside world didn't exist. We were all - the audience, the players, the crew, utterly connected in the unfolding magic. Then we did a few curtain calls. None of us will ever forget that night!!

Off to bed....more soon...

Oh wait!! Vanessa just produced a bully beef tin from the 1st World War, that had been hidden in the wall of the house in 1951. It had belonged to a Mr. Mackenzie, who once lived here, and had fought in the War. We just passed it around. Holding history in our hands....AND the family in the play are Mackenzies!! Synchronicity rules.

Night night xxx

Idiots on the road!!

HELLO!!

THE IDIOT AT THE WALL is now on the road! Discovery of past few days: blogging/tweeting about a Highlands and Islands Tour is tricky due to lack of reception in some parts of the Highlands and Islands!! So let's get caught up!

Last week we moved out of our rehearsal space at The Arts Complex in Edinburgh. Thank you to Dale, Doreen, and all who made us feel so welcome - we had loads of work to do and we had a blast rehearsing there. It was such a privilege to be in a safe place to explore and rediscover this story with such a talented bunch of people.

From there, we moved to the gorgeous Beacon Arts Centre in Greenock, where we began tech-ing the show. Thank you SO much to Julie, Brian, Iain in the restaurant, and all at the Beacon for such a warm reception and for all your support. A marathon of work began here - for the cast, working and re-working scene changes and getting used to the space, and for Emily Reutlinger (our director), Susan (our Production Manager and also our Lighting Designer!) and Jan Bee Brown (our Designer) it was time to make the show look focused and beautiful - and what an amazing job they did. Talk about master-craftswomen! After several long days, and some great work on music with Annie Grace and Aly Macrae, we performed our first preview to a fantastically receptive audience on Saturday afternoon. It was sizzling - a great start!

On Saturday evening we officially opened the show - and I can't remember ever performing to a more lively audience....laughs, gasps, swoons, and TWO CURTAIN CALLS! What a thrill! It's so hard to tell what sort of show you've got on your hands until you get to play to a whole new audience, and so it's a privilege for us all to be telling this story anew each night :-)

Massive thanks to our Press and Marketing Officer, Jane Hamilton, and to the localGreenock press for helping us to draw a crowd. Especially touching to see so many locals coming out. And Tim Barrow, Lucy Goldie and I had a blast talking to Inverclyde Radio about the show! Lucy Goldie was a natural!

On Wednesday I headed into Glasgow for a live chat with Janice Forsyth on the BBC Culture Studio...how nervous was I??! But it turned out really well. Dead chuffed :-)

We were also joined on Friday by our Videographer, Robbie Jones, and our Production Photographer, Eoin Carey...can't wait to see the results!

Thank you so much to the Turner clan who helped so much during production week - Mum and Dad for ferrying props around and helpng us book B&Bs, Dad for helping us with our Gaelic, and my sister Ruth for being on hand to help with nutritional/medical emergencies - so thankful you were around :-) And thank you Murdo Turner and Tim du Feu for easing our musical transition into this production. I hope you caught the broadcast of 'Odhran's theme on the Culture Studio. Janice loved it! xx

After the show on Saturday, we packed our set, lights, and luggage into our van, and then Emily cracked open some bubbly. She and I have worked very closely together over the past year and a half to get the script where it is, and to get to this point - and it was pretty emotional to realize she was cutting us loose, and giving the show over to us to take on the road. Thank you, Emily, for your dedication, patience, generosity and PLUCKINESS!! We'll see you again soon. Sleep well!!

On Sunday morning we set off for Craignish Village Hall in Ardfern. Many of the cast were strangers to this part of the country, and so the lessons in local history along the way from Mr. Kenny Lindsay were most welcome! And the jokes, too. We like Kenny's jokes :-) We seemed to pass through at least 4 kinds of weather (and some floods!) on the drive north....a sign of things to come! But that's the thing about Scotland - our landscape looks stunning/dramatic/inviting in all kinds of weather. Anyway, our drivers, Producer Aiyana and PM Susan, are feisty behind the wheel!

Our show at Craignish was just wonderful. Thanks Diane and all for the welcome :-) We were all nervous/excited to do our first performance in a village hall, and we couldn't have had a better show. The set and costumes against the wood of the hall's interior looked absolutely tremendous under the lights - well done Susan. And the audience! They were so close (after adding an extra row of chairs)! Brilliant! They were absorbed throughout, and we were once more delighted to do two curtain calls! Thank you Craignish, for coming out to see us, and for your lovely comments after the show. Hope to see you again sometime!

After a very pleasant night and amazing breakfast of Murrays Smoked Salmon, in Ford, we set off for the drive up to Skye. Great bunch of folk to travel with. Great chat, great tunes, and I am learning new toons from Annie Grace as we go - what a treat. We'll try not to drive her mad with our 'deedliy-dee-ing' of new tunes! We arrived in Portree last night, and had a lovely dinner. Thanks so much to Sharon and all at the Portree Hotel for taking such good care of us.

And now here we are at Aros!! There's been loads of tickets sold for tonight - woop woop! I'm getting ready to chat to the BBC ahead of them filming some of the show here tonight - a wee feature will go out on the local news on Thursday - I'll keep you posted!

Lovely to meet Dave at last - thanks for having us, and here's to a great show!

Tomorrow we head to Applecross for our show there tomorrow night. Connection-depending, I'll write more then :-)

And pics to follow!!

Els xo

Moran Taing, Alba Chruthachail

Thank you!!

We have been awarded funding from Creative Scotland for our tour of The Idiot at the Wall and we're so delighted! As we have to forgo a newsletter this month in order to make way for an AWESOME E-invite to our tour dates (WOOP!), we won't have the opportunity to make a heartfelt thank you as we usually would, in a letter to all of our followers and supporters! However, we really want to express what a huge difference this makes to us: not only in terms of much-needed financial support, but also because of the weight carried by a vote of confidence from another supporter. It means a lot. An aspirational spirit can carry you a long way - and then you need serious backing. We're so thankful to be getting it from our National funding body. Thanks, Creative Scotland and The National Lottery, for helping us reach some of the farthest-flung corners of our much-loved country on this tour. And thanks, especially, to Brian Ó hEadhra, who has been guiding us since the start, and our funding officer Nicola Hislop.

Elspeth and Aiyana
Stoirm Òg

Have you met our John Mackenzie yet?

You can't tell from the picture, but this is a very tall man! Welcome Kenny!

Kenny Lindsay, 'John Mackenzie', The Idiot at the Wall

Kenny has worked as an actor with many theatre companies across Scotland, including seasons with Dundee Rep, Perth Theatre, The Brunton, Musselburgh and two seasons with Mull Theatre as well as work at the Tron, Pavilion, Cumbernauld, the Kings Theatre, Glasgow and Tosg Gaelic Theatre Company with whom he appeared in A' Chuirt. He worked, too, as actor/deviser with Theatre Hebrides on Roghainn nan Daoine:The People’s Choice. As a playwright he has worked with Mull Theatre, Grey Coast Theatre and Perth Youth Theatre. His play, The Dogstone, set in his hometown, Oban, was presented as a co-production by the Traverse Theatre and the National Theatre of Scotland in 2008.His short Gaelic play, Fon Choill – On the Run was seen at An Lanntair in 2009 and his most recent play The Wrapping in the Hide, was performed at Queen Margaret University. His bilingual book of Gaelic oral history interviews, Mas Math Mo Chuimhne – Reflection of the Gaels, was published recently by Clì Gàidhlig. Earlier this year he founded Theatar: Camus Beag, the Oban Gaelic drama group, with whom he has just directed two plays for local radio.