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Wednesday, October 9, 2024

Community Driven Live Performance Project is Taking Shape

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Eden Court announces the four artists and community partners the organisation will work with across the Highlands for a dynamic new creative project.

Earlier this year, Eden Court launched a search for community partners and Artists for In On The Act, a new project that has received funding from Esmée Fairbairn Foundation and will produce original pieces of live performance reflecting local people’s experiences and hopes for the future.

Partners and artists were selected on the basis of a track record of delivering community-led work and a desire to use live performance as a creative tool.

The community partners will invite individuals and groups in their local area to engage in creative conversations with the artists and Eden Court, exploring their stories and aspirations for their communities.

The artists and community partners selected for the project are:  

David McNeish and Lairg and District Learning Centre (Lairg and Sutherland)

David McNeish is a disabled playwright, songwriter, poet and story maker.

His most recent play, The Boy Who Thought He Could Swim, was commissioned by Unlimited and An Tobar and Mull Theatre and performed in May 2024.

David’s debut album Weathering is due out in October 2024.

Lairg and District Learning Centre is a creative organisation focused on the delivery of community learning in the village of Lairg and beyond, with everything from Gaelic, upcycling and filmmaking to foraging, woodwork and patchwork.

Daniel Cullen and Balmacara Community Trust

Daniel Cullen is a writer, actor, director and journalist from Skye.

His play The Chariot, The Flag and the Empty, Empty Houses, which he wrote, directed and performed in, was created around conversations with communities on the Isle of Skye (through a project supported by SEALL through the Culture Collective).

The play will tour in 2025. 

Balmacara Community Trust lies by Balmacara Bay near Kyle of Lochalsh and is part of the National Trust for Scotland’s Balmacara Estate. 

The trust intends to create a community space by restoring the Old Mill Hall, a 200-year-old building which is a former sawmill.

Helen Woolston with Aukje Delnooz and Veronique Walraven (Morvern Peninsula)

Helen Woolston is a multi-disciplinary artist working in animation, moving-image, puppet-making, photography and writing.

Helen studied filmmaking in Bournemouth and animation in Estonia.

Since 2021 she has worked in habitat restoration work and makes natural inks from foraged material.

Aukje and Veroniquemet at university, where they both read Theatre Studies, specialising in Dance and Drama respectively.

Their combined experience includes intergenerational community arts and drama projects, location theatre and creative movement workshops for all ages.

They are committed to creating more access to performance arts the Morvern community.

Ailie Robertson and SEALL (Skye)

Ailie is a multi-award winning composer and performer who has been commissioned by some of the world’s most prestigious cultural institutions, including the BBC Proms, the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Scottish Ensemble.

Her composition work ranges writing concert music to film scores.

SEALL (meaning to look or to show in Gàidhlig and pronounced shàal) is a performing arts organisation based in Broadford on the Isle of Skye that aims to provide year-round access to world-leading arts and cultural events for its local communities, furthering arts education, heritage and cultural offering in the Skye, Raasay and Lochalsh region. 

These four teams of artists and community partners are now tasked with engaging different groups and individuals within their local communities to join creative conversations with Eden Court about the stories and topics that matter most to their local community.

Eden Court has also commissioned Highland filmmaker Benjamin Hastings to document the project and produce a film charting the development and production of the performances.

Benjamin Hastings has worked on a variety of impactful projects, including a documentary with Moniack Mhor, capturing the creative journey of young aspiring artists across Scotland.

Anyone interested in getting involved with any of the projects can find out more at eden-court.co.uk/in-on-the-act

Rebecca Holt, Chief Executive, Eden Court, said:

“Eden Court is delighted to be working with Ailie, Daniel, David and Helen on In On The Act.

“I’m really looking forward to seeing the live performance pieces that are developed by these four artists who bring such varied skillsets – spanning animation, playwriting, poetry and musical composition – but who, importantly, share a commitment to amplifying the voices of community members through creativity and culture.

“I would encourage anyone who lives, works or has a connection to Lairg, Balmacara, Skye or Morvern Peninsula to get involved with the community consultations taking place over the coming months, as the outcome of In On The Act will only be as good as the input that we get from community members along the way.”

Susannah Armitage, Senior Producer at Eden Court, said:

“We are privileged to be working with four brilliantly enthusiastic and committed community partners who are all embedded within their local communities.

“All four partners bring unique skills and experience of community-led engagement within different rural Highland communities.

“We are looking forward to working with our partners on exploring themes and stories pertinent to them and on creating four new pieces of performance in response to these themes.” 

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