Five writing teams from across the UK are celebrating their achievements as finalists for The Highland QUEST.

The successful finalists have been selected following an intensive day of judging with their submissions being examined by a panel of seven QUEST judges. It is the penultimate stage of the search for a new Scottish Musical created by The Highland QUEST and launched over fourteen months ago.

The five entries were selected by the panel for having the greatest potential for development combined with storylines that were both creative and appealing. The finalists for the Highland QUEST are:

1) The Sundowe, by Edinburgh based brothers John, James and Gerry Kielty. This musical has been described as a cross between Thriller and Shaun of the Dead.

2) Balloons, by Arran-based writing team Alison Prince, Jon Hollingworth, David Boni and Heather Gough. Their musical was set on Arran, sometime in the future as global warming and rising tides threaten the island communities.

3) Marrying Meg is by Blairgowrie based writer Mark Robertson. His story is based on faerie tales from the Scottish Borders.

4) Whisky Kisses comes from the Highlands-based writing team of Euan Martin, Dave Smith and James Bryce. The judges were attracted to this musical about the competition between two fanatical whisky collectors for a bottle of very rare malt.

5) Shenachie was created by classical composer Sally Beamish and poet Donald Goodbrand Saunders. Their musical, set in a remote glen follows the Shenachie (storyteller) who casts a magical spell that lasts throughout history.

As they enter the final and most exciting stage of The QUEST each team receives a prize of £1000. Highlights from each of the musicals will now be developed and be professionally produced at a special showcase in July in Ullapool. This showcase will be performed before the judging panel alongside a live audience on both the Friday and Saturday nights. There will be an opportunity for the audience to vote for their choice after the first performance on the Friday with the judges having a second performance from which to select their winning musical on the Saturday.

The outstanding prize for this entry will be for the entire musical to be professionally produced for a three-week run at the newly constructed second theatre at Eden Court before embarking on a four-week tour of the Highlands.

Members of the judging panel, who met behind closed doors on 23 March, spoke of the difficult decision they had in choosing the five finalists. The Director of Eden Court, Colin Marr, a member of the judging panel commented,

“The selection process to determine the five finalists for The QUEST took a day. Throughout the entire process we had a fantastic discussion and are really pleased with the final decision. The five musicals we have chosen all have massive potential for development in to a final product”.