Meet the Cast!

In our second week of Meet the Cast, we're delighted to bring you Mark Wood, a wonderful actor who was born and raised in Torry, Aberdeen. It's a delight to hear him and Bridget revel in using their native Doric onstage. Read all about him and his work below, and click HERE to get your tickets for SPECTRETOWN this August!

 

Mark has appeared in VICTORIA at Dundee Rep, directed by Philip Howard and THE GINGE, THE GEORDIE & THE GEEK for Shed Media Scotland as well as the TV pilot WALKABOUT, a new comedy drama directed by Vito Millazzo. Other credits include the feature MY BROTHERS KEEPER directed by Lee Hutcheon; regular Angus Fergus in TRINITY for ITV; THE MEN OF PIPER ALPHA for Clan Films; HOW NOT TO LIVE YOUR LIFE for the BBC; SEA OF SOULS for the BBC; THE VERDICT for the BBC and TAGGART - DO OR DIE for SMG. Mark is looking forward to the release of two feature films later this year - THE REDWOOD MASSACRE and ASHES. At the Citizen's Theatre his credits include Laertes in HAMLET directed by Guy Hollands and BLOOD WEDDING, directed by Jeremy Raison.

Meet the actors!

Greetings from Cumbernauld! Our rehearsals are now in full swing, and we're having a great time exploring the play in the lovely studio here. Brilliant to see the actors at play....talking of whom, maybe it's time we introduced our cast.....first up - it's the wonderful Bridget McCann :-)

With over 40 years professional experience, Bridget has worked in many theatres in Scotland and England, appearing in ‘3 Sisters’, ‘Hay Fever’ ‘The Crucible’ ‘Travesties’, ‘The Importance of Being Ernest,’ ‘White Bird Passes’ ‘84 Charing Cross Road’ and ‘Trumpet’.

Her television appearances include ‘Plays for Today’, ‘High Road’, ‘Taggart’, ‘Rab C Nesbitt’, ‘Still Game’ and ‘The Last Laugh.’  She is currently appearing in ‘River City’.

 

Recent radio appearances include ‘With Great Pleasure’,  ‘Sunset Song’ and ‘The Mountain’ by Nan Shephard. Brought up in Aberdeen she is passionate about the rich but

untapped seam of writing of the area. She has recorded the bible in Doric with Robbie Shepherd, appeared in plays by Jessie Kesson and has recorded and showcased for radio

Scotland much Aberdeen writing. She has just finished filming ‘Sunset Song’ with director Terence Davies.Bridget also teaches presentation skills using her TV, broadcasting and theatre skills. Her book aimed at helping young lawyers in court, ‘The Advocacy Skills Book’ was released in January 2015, and is now available on Amazon and is on the booklist at five Scottish law schools.

Happy Birthday Aiyana!

This week, our Meet-the-Team series focuses on our wonderful producer, Aiyana D'Arcangelo. It just so happens to be Aiyana's birthday today, so we're glad to say she's galavanting around restaurants and things and not chained to her desk! A wee bit from our founder, Elspeth Turner, on working with Aiyana...

'Aiyana and I met at the Federation of Scottish Theatre Emporium of 2013. I immediately recognized somebody as hungry as myself, and I counted myself very fortunate when she joined forces with me to mount a first tour of The Idiot at the Wall. Boy, that was a challenge. We met in the February and we were mounting a tour for the September - 17 dates over 3 weeks. I was determined not to delay, but that wasn't much time to get it all up! We were so green, and unknown to people, that sometimes it involved just sitting with a huge map of Scotland, asking questions like 'Does anyone know anyone near Lochinver Village Hall, and can we get there from such and such a place in under 4 hours?!' Happily - we did, and we could. That tour was a huge success because we packed out theatres and village halls up and down the country, including some places which hadn't had professional theatre there in 20 odd years. We moved people with a story very much their own. On Berneray my Dad went around practically hustling people into a van headed for the hall - no one stayed home! We played one especially magical show for all 14 residents of the island of Canna. That tour was something special, and it was all down to Aiyana's guts and good sense, really.

It's a funny thing, trying to explain what a producer does. Pretty much everything that gets the show from your head / the page to a stage - they do. It's a lot, a lot, a lot of work! A good producer will find creative ways to reach audiences with the work - striving for a reach that matches your ambitions. A great producer will do all this with poise, tenacity, openness, and a big heart. All these things I am very lucky to have found in Aiyana, and I am so excited to see all of our work over the past year and half on SpectreTown come to fruition this August.'

So here's a bit more about Aiyana....




Aiyana D'Arcangelo, Producer - Project Management and Touring



Aiyana is a freelance producer and project manager living in Fife and working in Glasgow and Edinburgh. Born and raised in southern Oregon, she has been slowly moving east over the years. After completing her undergraduate studies in Theatre at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, Aiyana lived in New York for 6 years where she did production work for New York University (Tisch School of the Arts and Villa La Pietra), Robert Wilson (Watermill Center for the Arts), Lincoln Center Festival, ‘Inside the Actors Studio’ (Pace University), Cynthia Hopkins (‘Must Don't Whip 'Um’ - National Tour), and St. Ann's Warehouse. Since moving to Scotland in 2011, Aiyana has completed a post-graduate degree in Managing in the Creative Industries at the University of St Andrews and worked with the Dundee Rep, Derby Playhouse, Graeae, Edinburgh International Science Festival, Poorboy Theatre, David Leddy / Fire Exit, and Scottish Dance Theatre. 

Who's Who in SpectreTown? Week 3!

On Monday we were immensely excited to take part in a design meeting for SPECTRETOWN, featuring our hugely talented designer, Richard Evans. Having been working all over the UK, Richard has now settled in Glasgow (yay lucky Scotland!) and we're thrilled to have the opportunity to collaborate with him on this project. Wonderful to look at some early design ideas.....which we'd better not give away on here!

Anyway, here's some more info about Richard's work. Come see us in August and be mesmerized by his craft, artistry and visual feasts!

Richard Evans, Designer

Richard trained at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. Recently Richard's scenic design for Addams Family was shortlisted for the 2014 Broadway World Awards and his set design of The Merchant Of Venice was nominated for the 2013 Off West End Award. National Touring credits include: Avenue Q (2015 and 2016), Jekyll and Hyde (2015), Kidnapped (2014), A Midsummer Nights Dream (2013), The Man Who Had All The Luck (2012) and Lord of the Flies (2011 and 2012).

Theatre credits includes: Urinetown (Assembly Hall), Seussical (West End and International Tour), 12:1 and Changing Stages (Chickenshed), Avenue Q (Lyric Theatre, Hong Kong), The Girl Who (Speigeltent), Addams Family (Assembly Hall),  St Finnigan's Elbow and Dial M (Eastern Angles), The Merchant Of Venice (Jack Studio), Little Shop Of Horrors (Polka Theatre), The History Boys and Hound of The Baskervilles (Greenwich Theatre), The Seagull (York Theatre Royal), Company (RCS), Spring Awakening (Pleasance Beyond), Oedipus (BAC).

Opera and Dance includes: Hansel and Gretel (Belgrade Theatre), 125 (Groundswell) and VITA (InBetween).

Film and TV includes: As Production Buyer;  Bill (Horrible Histories/Cowboy Films), Moving On (BBCOne), Justice (BBCOne), AMINA (African Film Tour) and More Than Words (BBC Learning/BBCOne).  As Art Director: Windscreen Wimps/1930s Car Design (Riverside Museum), Make A Musical (BBCTwo).

Look who's making our beautiful score for SPECTRETOWN...

We've been working with the lovely Matt Regan since summer 2014 - exploring bothy ballads with our own voices :-) Not only is he extremely gifted as a musician, writer, performer and teacher, but he's also possessed of a gorgeous, compassionate, creative soul. Come see SpectreTown and let him carry you through some trippy, luscious places with his music :-)

A wee bit more about Matt and his work...

Matt Regan is a freelance musician/writer living in Glasgow. He creates his own music, makes music for performances and teaches. He facilitates drumming, singing, and music workshops in communities, hospitals and prisons across Scotland. He was nominated for a CATs Award for his work for Theology, awarded young innovators funding for Swim Team and was part of Enormous Yes' Platform 18 Award at The Arches. His own work is under the name 'Little King' which involves spoken word, poetry, and song performed with a string quartet. More information found at www.reganmatt.com  

Meet the Team! Matthew Lenton, Director.

We are massively excited to introduce the artist directing our production of SPECTRETOWN, Matthew Lenton. Read all about him and his work here....

 

 

Matthew is a freelance director and the artistic director of Vanishing Point, the company he founded in 1999. He works from Scotland, across the UK and internationally. His shows have been performed in over 20 countries.

Recent work for Vanishing Point includes TOMORROW, a co-production with Cena Contemporanea Festival (Brasilia), Brighton Festival, Stanislavsky Festival (Moscow) and Tramway (Glasgow); THE BEAUTIFUL COSMOS OF IVOR CUTLER, a co-production with The National Theatre of Scotland; WONDERLAND, a co-production with Edinburgh International Festival, Napoli Teatro Festival Italia and Tramway; SATURDAY NIGHT, a co-production with Teatro Nacional Sao Joao (Porto), Teatro Sao Luis (Lisbon), Centro Cultural Vila Flor (Guimaraes) and Tramway (Glasgow); THE BEGGAR'S OPERA, a co-production with the Royal Lyceum Theatre in Edinburgh and the Belgrade Theatre in Coventry; INTERIORS, a co-production with Napoli Teatro Festival Italia, Traverse Theatre and Lyric Hammersmith; LITTLE OTIK (a co-production with the National Theatre of Scotland); SUBWAY, commissioned by The Lyric Hammersmith and MANCUB, a co-production with Soho Theatre.

Other recent work includes MISTER HOLGADO for the Unicorn Theatre, A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM for the Royal Lyceum Theatre in Edinburgh and HOME for The National Theatre of Scotland.

Matthew works regularly at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, developing work with acting students and most recently directing DRACULA by Liz Lochhead. He recently directed his first film, BOY, for Touchpaper Television and Channel 4. In 2010, Matthew was chosen to be the first British director of the Ecole des Maitres, a European theatre laboratory previously associated with Jerzy Grotowsky, Peter Stein, Emuntas Nekrosias and Jan Fabre.

Current work includes a number of projects with Vanishing Point, BLUEBEARD'S CASTLE with Scottish Opera and a new project for the Stanislavsky Festival in Moscow and the National Academy of Chinese Theatre Arts in Beijing.

News from the North East!

Our Artistic Director is currently up in Portsoy, Banffshire. She's been tucked away working on the latest draft of SPECTRETOWN and also visiting some more folks to practice some Doric! Here's the latest...

'Yesterday I visited Aden Country Park, near Mintlaw. I don't have a car, so I took 2 buses over a scenic route ;-) via Turriff, but didn't mind at all as I was entertained and regaled by a lovely Polish bus driver all the way - thank you Michael for all the stories! Michael moved to the North east of Scotland direct from Poland 13 years ago. Back then he had not a word of English, but taught himself and now spiks the Doric jist fine! I say this all the time, but people who immigrate here in search of a better life make all of our lives richer, and I certainly found that yesterday :-)

Now owned and run by the council as a community project, the place has a fascinating history. The barony of Aden (pronounced Aa-den) was given to Robery Keith, the Earl of Marischal, in 1324 as a reward for his services in the Wars of Independence. It remained in the Keith family for 400 years before it was bought - along with the nearby village of Old Deer - by a Banffshire laird called Alexander Russell in 1758. Russell had been bitten by the bug of improvement farming, and set about re-structuring the tenant farms, building woods for shelter, and building a house for himself and his family which would later become extended into a mansion known on the estate as 'the Big Hoose'. By the mid-nineteenth century, the house was a beautiful example of neo-classical splendour, and by late Victorian times the house and estate were served by a huge army of staff. Like Downton Abbey, but probably chillier ;-) They even had their own laundry building, ice house and gas-works, and so life was probably not too shabby for the laird and his family :-)

One brilliant testament to the Russells' endeavours is the Home Farm building. A bigger and grander version of the old fairm-toun structure, it's a long curved building over 3 levels, and housed much of what kept the estate going - the stables, grain stores, lodgings for the Head Horseman, Grieve, and familes, the chaumer (sleeping quarters for unmarried farm servants), and Doocot up abeen :-)

From inside 'the chaumer'

The lives of servants on the estate was difficult. Whether working 14 hour days as a maid in the big hoose, or labouring on one of the estate's farms, survival was a sair fecht, and servants would be lucky if they had a half-day off per week. That being said, the Russell family seems to have been looked on kindly by their workers, as described in the testimony recorded in local accounts and songs. In the early 20th century one tenant, in great difficulty due to falling prices, approached the laird for a reduction in his rent, stating that he had not had a new suit since he was married some 25 years before. In a spirit of compassion, the Laird agreed.

Feeing market at Turriff, where farm servants looked for a 'new fee'...

 

Unfortunately, after the First World War, these falling prices translated to unsustainable loss of farm income. Combined with rising maintenance costs, the Russells could not keep up, and in 1937 the 8th and last laird of Aden sold the estate, including its 52 farms and most of Old Deer.

After the sale, the estate was sorely neglected and fell into disrepair.

Wandering around the grounds of the old mansion, now a ruin, is very sad. Though of course I know it represents an era of huge inequality - sadly not unlike the kind we're living in now - its walls nevertheless ring out with the echoes of a family who cared deeply about this place and wanted to make the best of a system which made their tenants' largely dependent on them. Their efforts to improve and build it up over 400 years were undone in 40 through the carelessness of their successors. In what you might see as the kind of plundering land-owning greed which scourged much of rural Scotland even in the 20th century, they used it for shooting and hunting, and cared for little else besides.

In 1974 the estate was purchased by Banff and Buchan District Council, and the following year they designated it a country park. Over the past 40 years, it has gone from strength to strength, undergoing a huge renovation project to restore the Home Farm to its former glory. It now houses a brilliant farming museum, probably the best I've seen, a lovely café, and much more besides. The place is really so impressive. 

My favourite part of the day was visiting The Horseman's House. The last man to be head horseman here was Jimmy Thompson, and he was hired for the position in 1919. He and his family moved into this cottage, which was 2 rooms at one end of the farm steading, or 'home farm', built in the early 19th century. His daughter, Miss Mary Thompson, was extremely generous in helping with the presentation of her former home as a museum, and also donated many of their original furnishings. In some old photos, you can see her showing school children around in the 1980s! As a family of 4, living in a 2-roomed cottage like this was relatively grand for a horseman, and they seem to have had a happy time there. The place is full of photographs, rugs made by Jimmy himself, their own furniture, and just gallons of memories and magic. Entranced and quite alone in the place, I tarried there for some time.... :-)

 Traditional cooking range in the Horseman's House

Original implements, The Horseman's House

Also featured at Aden is the Book of Deer - one of Scotland's most important manuscripts - which alaas I had to save for another day. But, I was fortunate enough to visit the North East Folklore Archives, now in the old laundry building along with a purpose-built recording studio. Thanks to the foresight and talents of musician and archivist Gavin Sutherland and the team there, they've been working with digital technology for storing archival material since the mid-90s, way ahead of the curve. Back then the digital recorder was something still confined to Tomorrow's World, but these guys - a wealth of experience in music, recording, and science between them - got themselves one of the first, taught themselves programming, and got these materials online and into the public domain before people were even dreaming we'd all have a computer! As Gavin said:

"Back then people were saying things like, 'There will come a time when there will be a computer in every city"

 I really take my hat off to them! Huge thank you to Gavin for the lovely chat, hospitality and books. I'm sure I'll be back!

Lastly, I want to mention Hareshowe Farm - this project is amazing! It's a typical Buchan farm of the 1890s, bought and moved in its entirety from near New Deer, to its new location at Aden. In 1990 it was bought by the Aden project. They photographed, catalogued, and labelled every single brick, shed, tea towel and dresser, and rebuilt it exactly as it had been - and it hadn't been re-decorated since 1950 so as one of the last example of the old ways of farming - ie horses not tractors etc - it is incredibly precious. But I won't go on and on - this page can tell you all about it.

Awaiting a bus at Turriff on my way back, I took a stroll around the old Kirkyard. Some might say a fascination with graveyards is slightly morbid, but as I read the headstones, I find myself pulled through the stone into the lives of these families, many of which were tragically short. Especially in the 19th century North East, so many parents buried child after child under 20 - disease and near starvation being the cause. How lucky we are today to live with modern medicine, and I really think we can learn a lot from the resourcefulness, self-care, and neighbourly generosity of our forebears. And how horrific and shameful that in this time of plentiful resources, after 200 years of admirable progress as a country, so many people should be living on the bread-line once more. Time for change indeed.

The 'Aul Kirkyard' at Turriff

There's so much more I could say about Aden, and how invaluable this visit was as I go deeper and deeper into farm-town life in the North East. For now, I highly recommend a visit!

Next week I'm off to Aberdeen for a chat with Sheena Blackhall and a visit to the Elphinstone Institute, then out to Kemnay and Alford - really looking forward to hearing the voices of those places again. I want to thank the Tom McGrath Trust for supporting this trip, and this time to write - it makes all the difference to the development of a voice in your writing, if you have time and space to absorb and reflect on the voices of past and present all around us.'

 Sunset in Portsoy

Stay tuned for more tales from Elspeth's adventures!

And don't forget, tickets for SPECTRETOWN are now on sale. Just click HERE!

Stoirm Òg xo