With a jam-packed season of spring theatre coming up, The List takes a look at some of the twentysomething generation of Scottish theatremakers who are pushing things forward. What unites them all is bags of talent and a refusal to be pigeonholed, finds Mark Fisher Photography: Jannica Honey. Shot at The Arches, Glasgow
YOUNG THEATREMAKERS
Name: Gary McNair Age: 25 Where will I know him from? Having graduated from the contemporary practice course at Glasgow’s RSAMD in 2007, McNair worked on community projects in the Learn department of the National Theatre of Scotland before spending a year as a company associate and developing Crunch, a solo show about money. After winning Platform 18, the Arches new work award, he presented How Soon is Nigh? on the theme of the apocalypse. Other shows include Outside of a Pod and Equal and Opposite. What is he appearing in? He’ll be presenting his analysis of the voting system, Count Me In, as a work-in-progress for the NTS Reveal season at the Traverse, Edinburgh, (2–5 March) and the Citizens, Glasgow (16–19 March). He plans to revive Crunch on the Edinburgh Fringe and will perform alongside Kieran Hurley in Pause with a Smile (Traverse, Edinburgh, 14–17 April and the Arches, Glasgow, date tbc). With Hurley, he will develop a piece called Man Test, in which they compete to prove their manliness. What he says: ‘I’ve been billed as playwright, actor, live artist, experimental performance maker, monologist . . . If I was to label it anything, I’d say theatremaker. That’s the best terminology because you just do what you have to do to make it happen. There is a solo-show generation – young people, one voice – but there is no camaraderie like the Glasgow Boys art movement, we’re not a collective, but it’s good to see other work doing well.’ What they say about him: ‘McNair’s talent for turning hilarious gambits into
instances of genuinely moving and profound insight into his – and our – humanity is a joy to watch.’ Mary Brennan, The Herald, on Equal and Opposite. Name: Gemma McElhinney Age: 25 Where will I know her from? The Glasgow-born McElhinney got her first break on the graduate scheme at Dundee Rep. After studying at Edinburgh’s Queen Margaret University, she appeared in Mother Courage and Her Children, Beauty and the Beast, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, Quelques Fleurs and Peer Gynt. Her fresh-faced look makes her a shoo-in to play younger characters (‘I don’t know if I’ve hit puberty yet’): most recently, she has been seen at the Citizens, Glasgow, as Duck in David Greig’s The Monster in the Hall, the lead role in Beauty and the Beast and a schools tour of an anti-violence play. What is she appearing in? She is developing a sitcom idea with a filmmaker friend and hoping funding comes through for a revival of Monster in the Hall: ‘I do believe in that show and we got such a wonderful response from it.’ What she says: ‘There’s a generation now that don’t want to wait for work, they want to create it for themselves. Social media has helped; on Facebook you’re constantly aware of other things going on, people writing things, actors producing work for themselves. It’s really useful in terms of collaborating with each other. I hate not being creative because that’s what you trained to do.’ What we say about her: ‘Gemma McElhinney has a gift for the silky high note
APRIL MAY
as the honest Beauty.’ Lauren Mayberry, The List, on Beauty and the Beast.
Name: Katy Wilson Age: 28 Where will I know her from? She is coming to the end of a year as artist in residence with Starcatchers, a theatre company for pre-
schoolers. Based at Glasgow’s Tramway, she has put her art-school background to inventive use, not only as a designer but as an originator of work for the very young. ‘The whole year has been trying to stretch the definition of what is suitable for little children,’ she says. In performances such as Multicoloured Blocks From Space, Sprog Rock and Icepole – and with collaborators including Kim Moore of Zoey Van Goey – she has drawn together installation art, live music, acting and audience interaction. What is she appearing in? She is planning to revive Sprog Rock, an attempt to create a credible gig for kids, in August. Before that, she is working on This Sucks, a love story between a Hoover and a piece of dust. What she says: ‘I’ve not ever made a conscious decision not to be a designer, it just kind of happened, but I think that is because of the sort of work that’s happening. The reason I appeared in Icepole myself was I wanted to draw and I didn’t want it to be an actor who was drawing. So I’m involved as a designer, but live. I get excited about everybody having an input into the work no matter what discipline they’re from.’ What they say about her: ‘An enticement to young imaginations, with some simply gorgeous visual effects.’ Mary Brennan, The Herald, on Icepole.
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EDUCATING AGNES Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh, 8 Apr–7 May This reworking of Moliere’s L’Ecole des Femmes offers a great opportunity to reassess the work of its author, Liz Lochhead, now elevated to the status of Scottish Makar.
SIX BLACK CANDLES On tour, 15 Apr–22 May Playwright Des Dillon was so delighted with the Royal Lyceum’s hilarious 2004 staging of his story about six sisters with a black magic fixation that he has set up a theatre company of his own and reunited the original cast for a Scottish tour. Spooky.
PANDAS Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, 15 April–7 May Rona Munro is the author of Jim Loach’s movie Oranges and Sunshine and the RSC play Little Eagles, as well as this comedy-thriller set in Marchmont and China.
MAYFESTO Tron Theatre, Glasgow, 4–28 May A second festival of politically themed theatre, this time with a Celtic edge. As well as work from Irish theatre companies, the Tron is staging its own production of Crazy Gary’s Mobile Disco by Welsh writer Gary Owen and, from Scotland, the premiere of David Harrower’s Day Long.
BANK OF SCOTLAND IMAGINATE FESTIVAL Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, 9–15 May Forget how old you are: anyone with a serious interest in theatre will find bountiful treasures in the annual international festival for younger audiences.
MY FAIR LADY Pitlochry Festival Theatre, 13 May–Oct 15 The theatre in the hills begins its summer season, introducing one play at a time to build up a rolling repertoire. As well as this musical adaptation of Shaw’s Pygmalion there are productions of Henceforward, See How They Run!, Trelawny of the ‘Wells’ and Privates on Parade.