Grey Coast Theatre Company: HOUSES OF THE SEA by George Gunn

Sometimes stories just need to be told.

Forged out of the tragedy of the Highland Clearances this is the story of one man’s quest for truth which, ultimately, is beyond human knowing. From Stoer in Assynt the fate of Norman Macleod takes him to Cape Breton where he has to settle, as thousands of Highlanders had to do, as a refugee, an immigrant.

But Norman Macleod is no normal refugee. He will never be an “immigrant”.

Fired by a sense of justice and a fanatical belief in God, Norman Macleod has the innate Highland capacity for survival. His is the story of the Highland people
themselves.

HOUSES OF THE SEA is the story of a class war and it is a war, which is still being fought in the hills and glens of the Highlands. The ruling elite forfeited their right to ownership of the land by displacing the native people. From this perspective the actions of a few short sighted and badly informed individuals seems criminal. The people of the north of Scotland can only overcome such injustice through art.

HOUSES OF THE SEA is an important and vibrant contribution to that process.

With a company of community actors themselves from the Highlands only Grey Coast Theatre Company is qualified to tell this story.

McCreadie Suite, Merkinch Community Centre
Monday 22nd at 7pm - £6.50 (concessions £5)

Book online at www.thebooth.co.uk or at the Eden Court Box Office on 01463 234234

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HOWARD MARKS

Born in 1945 in Kenfig Hill, a small Welsh coal-mining village near Bridgend, Howard Marks attended Oxford University where he earned a degree in nuclear physics and post graduate qualifications in philosophy.
Described by the Daily Mail (UK Tabloid) as 'the most sophisticated drugs baron of all time', Howard Marks has worked with the British Secret Service and has been connected with the Mafia, the IRA, MI6 and the CIA.

Busted in 1988 by the American Drug Enforcement Agency and sentenced to twenty-five years at America's toughest federal penitentiary; Terre Haute, Indiana. He was released on parole in 1995 after serving seven years.

In 1996 he released his autobiography, Mr. Nice, which remains an international best seller in several languages and was the best selling non-fiction book of 1997. On the subject of his book, he says: "Through a plethora of media interviews and several public book readings, it became clear that the predominant reason why so many adolescents and university students read and enjoyed Mr Nice was their frustration with the law prohibiting cannabis consumption and trade. Until then, I had no idea of the extraordinary extent of cannabis use by young people today." During 1997, he performed his first live shows, which discussed his life as a marijuana smuggler and his views on drug use and legalisation. The shows received excellent reviews throughout the national press, and his now legendary one-man comedy show, An Audience with Mr Nice, continues to sell-out at venues throughout Britain and Europe.

Howard Marks wrote a monthly column for Loaded for five years and has written features for the Observer, Daily Telegraph, Evening Standard, Time Out, GQ, and the Guardian. He continues to campaign vigorously for the legalisation of recreational drugs.

Ironworks
Saturday 20th at 8.00pm - 11.00pm. £15.00

Book online at www.thebooth.co.uk or at the Eden Court Box Office on 01463 234234

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The Nicolson Institute's Production of

Disney's

HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL

Book by 
David Simpatico

Original Songs by
Matthew Gerrard and Robbie Nevil; Ray Cham, Greg Cham and Andrew Seeley;
Randy Petersen and Kevin Quinn; Andy Dodd and Adam Watts; Bryan Louiselle;
David N. Lawrence and Faye Greenberg; Jamie Houston

Music Adapted, Arranged and Produced by  
Bryan Louiselle

Based on a Disney Channel Original Movie Written by
Peter Barsocchini

This amateur production is presented by arrangement with JOSEF WEINBERGER LIMITED on behalf of
MUSIC THEATRE INTERNATIONAL of NEW YORK.

The Nicolson Institute has had a series of successes with contemporary musicals such as The Lion King, Fame, Disco Inferno and the UK amateur premiere of the wonderful Smokey Joe’s Café. Each June since the year 2000 the musical has filled the School Assembly Hall to capacity over a run of four nights.

High School Musical features a burgeoning teenage romance in the mould of the ever-popular Grease – performed to great acclaim by the school in 2003. In Disney’s version, a brash basketball star and a shy transfer student find themselves drawn together (complete with mobile phones and iPods) to audition for their school musical. As expected from Disney, the show has a strong underlying moral message – look beyond your cliques, go for your dreams and don’t settle for doing anything less than your best.  Of course, this won’t be easy and there will be opposition, often underhand, from those who feel insecure and challenged.

The show is produced by Noel Eadie, directed by Muriel Ann Macleod of Theatre Hebrides, choreographed by Vickie Horn of Ballet West, and orchestra directed by Peter Marnoch. High School Musical was written for TV and was first broadcast by the Disney Channel in 2006.

Inverness High School
Monday 22nd at 7.30pm
£6.50 (concessions £5)

Book online at www.thebooth.co.uk or at the Eden Court Box Office on 01463 234234

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Out of Eden Drama Group - Thurso High School present CRUSH

Devised by the group
Director – David Hunter

CRUSH - How easy it is to crush something? An empty can of cola for example but what about people? What about hope, love, and trust? What happens then?

CRUSH, devised and performed by the Out of Eden Thurso High School Drama Group, asks those questions. The cast of ten have worked along side the Eden Court Drama Worker, David Hunter, as well as the local Community Police Officer, Guidance Teachers and Social workers to develop a play that is a combination of physical theatre, images and dialogue written by the group.

The story follows a young girl, Emma, through a number of scenes. Her dream date with the coolest guy in town is the talk of her friends. She starts to get out of her depth; a car journey leads to a disco where she is convinced to get drunk. What happens next is sadly a familiar tale. Emma’s story is a simple one but one with a straight forward message.

The group recently represented the Highland region in the 2007 Scottish Finals of the SCDA one act play competition. The play has also been filmed to be show as a discussion starter for 3rd and 4th year pupils.

McCreadie Suite, Merkinch Community Centre
Thursday 18th at 7.30pm
£6.50 (concessions £5)

Book online at www.thebooth.co.uk or at the Eden Court Box Office on 01463 234234

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PlanB - INSIDE – OUT
A Double Bill of Brilliant Dance

plan B presents two very original dance pieces, - one created and performed only by women; the other only by men – presented in one evening of exquisite entertainment:  Re: Newal  and  Far Horizons both reveal the importance of the inside, even when we are on the outside.

Re: Newal
Louise Marshall has been commissioned to create a new work which will communicate the excitement of impending birth with the group of people best placed to communicate that expression – expectant mothers.

There is considerable evidence to suggest that women who sing to their babies in the womb create strong bonds with the child after birth. In a collaboration with community midwives and working with a group of pregnant women, this project will look at a similar model through dance.

Far Horizons
Frank McConnell performs solo dance, accompanied by the electric improvisations of five of Scotland’s best jazz musicians and performed live. Through a tight improvised structure, Far Horizons guides the audience from excessive comic vaudeville to an expansive serenity.

Based on a series of photographs and haiku, created by Frank McConnell (as part of his Fellowship from Nesta), Far Horizons is the result of a collaboration between Frank and the Traditional/jazz musician Fraser Fifield. Audience reaction has been overwhelmingly positive and described as “one of the most beautiful pieces to have been created in Scotland in over a decade” .

the far horizons
often reveal the layers
hidden deep within

Far Horizons was commissioned by Dance Base with funding from City of Edinburgh Council.
 
“McConnell’s company are worth seeing for the joy alone”   The Stage

McCreadie Suite, Merkinch Community Centre
Thursday 18th at 2pm / Friday 19th at 7.30pm / Saturday 20th at 7.30pm
£8 (concessions £6)

Book online at www.thebooth.co.uk or at the Eden Court Box Office on 01463 234234

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PlanB - fork in the road
Six Short Performances to Change Your Life

plan B presents a series of dynamic performances, in promenade through the streets of Inverness City Centre, using every tool available including mobile phones and the web.

We are all at a crossroads, and we all know we can turn one way or another. In fact, maybe every moment of our lives we face these same dilemmas - that for every decision someone makes, a parallel life continues in the opposite direction. With an ensemble company of twenty young performers, plan B will create with the performers, a series of brand new theatre performances at specific sites in the City Centre in dance and song and style – and with the colossal energy of youth.

Major scientists now believe that parallel universes really do exist. In fact there may be any number of universes with great similarities to our own and, possibly even with versions of our own selves co-existing, though not in the same time and space.

Join plan B as the company stands at the fork in the road with some big decisions to make.

Inverness City Centre
Saturday 20th at 4.00pm / Sunday 21st at 4.00pm - FREE

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Talking Inside Out - written and performed by Vivien Maule

directed by Laura Pasetti
pianist Philip Sterwart

Daphne, at 51yrs, is in transition, packing up her life as she has known it, to move on. As she does so, she finds herself unpacking ‘who she is’.

In Vivien Maule’s moving performance, it is as if Daphne is being viewed through a magnifying glass, revealing the alchemy of the human mind and behaviour, and poignantly showing how painful and funny it is to be ‘ordinarily human’.
 
Talking Inside Out is a new work, incorporating four very different monologues beautifully woven together through the themes of ‘time’ and ‘identity’, and laced together with variations on a melodic theme improvised live by jazz pianist Philip Stewart.

Spectrum Centre 2
Sunday 21st at 9.30pm / Monday 22nd at 5pm
£6.50 (concessions £5)

Book online at www.thebooth.co.uk or at the Eden Court Box Office on 01463 234234

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The Walking Theatre Company - The Campbells are Coming, Hurrah!

This is a new work inspired by historical record and oral tradition and depicts the might of the Campbell Clan in the 17th century through their rise and fall.  Woven through the changing political and religious climate in Scotland, the story tells of love, betrayal and bloody murder.

As the monarchy briefly fell into dissolution Archibald Campbell took the chance to rid the earth of some difficult neighbours, only to be called to account some15 years later when he was eventually brought to court. 

By then Archibald, now Marquis of Argyll, was called to stand trial in Edinburgh for crimes against the crown. The new King Charles was inclined to pardon his enemies to promote harmony through out his United Kingdoms.  Campbell was sure of a full pardon treating the trial as a mere formality. The dramatic arrival in court of the banished Lady Isabel Lamont, provided hard evidence of the real extent of his true crimes, crimes the king could not ignore.

This interactive guided walking play leads the audience through stunning landscape connecting the art directly to the environment.  The Walking Theatre Company specialises in enhancing your outdoor experience and come rain or shine we invite you to join us for a walk.

Ness Islands
Thursday 18th at 1pm / Friday 19th at 3pm
£6.50 (concessions £5) (Tickets must be booked in advance)

Book online at www.thebooth.co.uk or at the Eden Court Box Office on 01463 234234