July 2004 Feature: National Theatre 5

DO WE NEED a National Theatre of Scotland as currently constituted? Very early to say but broadly, yes. £7.5 million new money into drama in Scotland has to be good news, whatever niggles there might be about the constitution. Avoiding the unnecessary expense and geographical links of a building and resident company is a very good start, so I think the basis is good.

How it will be delivered remains to be seen and there has to be a worry that if it commissions existing companies to do something similar to what they currently do, then the NToS is little more than an extra, and unnecessary, chain in the funding pattern. However, if they commission existing companies to do something that would not otherwise have been possible and then take it to parts of Scotland and beyond that wouldn’t previously have been reached, then it will have started to do something very worthwhile.

If it goes further and puts together combinations of directors, writers and actors that wouldn’t otherwise be possible then it becomes a bit of a success, and if it then attracts writers, directors and actors who wouldn’t otherwise work in Scotland then I think we could all be very happy.

As regards benefits to the Highlands, it could bring talent here that wouldn’t otherwise be seen, and for the Highlands this must be what the NToS is judged on. If it attracts the best Scottish writers, directors and actors back to work in Scottish Theatre (or maybe for the first time) but fails to get them beyond the major cities, then it will not have reacted properly to Scotland today. If it aspires to be truly ‘National’ then it must find a way of taking the best and biggest of its work to some of the smallest places. It’s a considerable challenge, but their success must be seen everywhere.

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August 2008 Editorial

How Inspiring Is That?

Posted by Commissioning Editor, Kenny Mathieson, on Fri, 01 Aug 2008 00:01:00 GMT

Site updated: 29/08/2008 18:23:00

Colin MarrDirector, Eden Court Theatre

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Colin Marr
Director, Eden Court Theatre