EXCHANGE 2012
THE NATIONAL THEATRE OF SCOTLAND IN PARTNERSHIP WITH MACROBERT EXCHANGE 2012 PERFORMANCE PROGRAMME TUESDAY 3rd JULY 7.30pm CITIZENS THEATRE YOUNG CO. GLASGOW 9pm MACROBERT YOUNG COMPANY STIRLING
EXCHANGE RECOGNISES THAT THE FUTURE OF SCOTTISH THEATRE RELIES ON THE HARD WORK, DEDICATION AND TALENT OF ITS YOUNG PEOPLE. 2012’s programme once again unites young theatre makers with professional practitioners to present new work at a week-long festival of workshops, sharings and performance. Each of the eight companies attending Exchange presents a piece of new work, created in tandem with a professional theatre maker. Not only does the festival provide a showcase for the individual companies, it allows them to experience working on a larger scale. Islay Macrae of Seanachas is excited by the chance to reach new audiences. “Our company is bilingual,” she explains. “We are researching how two languages can sit together on stage and have equal status. Being involved in Exchange gives the young people a chance to present their work to a large, varied audience.” Arguably, the biggest Exchange success has been Eastwood Park Theatre 16–25 group who took their 2010 Exchange production Real Men Dream in Black and White (see page 19) to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe last year. The show is touring schools around Scotland as part of the National Theatre of Scotland’s Learning and Outreach programme (see page 25). Another theatre company building on past success is Rusty Boat, launched in 2008 in the wake of the large scale community project Transform Inverclyde: Bolt, with an emphasis on devised theatre rooted in the experiences of young people in Port Glasgow. Knox Academy, although participating in Exchange for the first time, are no strangers to the National Theatre of Scotland – they created five pieces of live performance for last year’s Five Minute Theatre. For John Naples Campbell, head of drama at Knox Academy, Exchange is a chance “to meet new people, develop and hone our skills, create dynamic work and really showcase the talent we have.” Gareth Nicholls, who graduated from the National Theatre of Scotland Associates programme in 2009, now leads Macrobert’s young theatre company. He stresses that Exchange is an opportunity for youth theatre to stake a claim for its own seriousness. “Our group actively places itself alongside any other piece of professional theatre. Thankfully, the brilliant work that’s made in Scotland by young performers is starting to be recognised as quality art in its own right. We hope to contribute to this change in perception by making work with young performers with as much integrity, rigour and value as any other performance.” If the companies have different inspirations, Exchange provides a shared opportunity. Neil Packham, director of the Citizens Young Theatre Co. explains: “I’m sure by the time we get to the end of Exchange in July we will have been on an extraordinary, inspiring journey, made many friends, and shared loads of skills and new experiences.” Also attending are Kinetic, part of a Fife initiative which helps young people get involved in media, sport and the arts, and two international visitors – The Saber Players from New York’s Uncommon Charter High School and Ireland’s Kildare Youth Theatre – ensuring that Exchange 2012 will be a jamboree of sharing, energy and imagination.
WEDNESDAY 4th JULY 7.30pm RUSTY BOAT PORT GLASGOW 9pm KNOX ACADEMY HADDINGTON FRIDAY 6th JULY 7.30pm THE SABER PLAYERS BROOKLYN, USA 9pm SEANACHAS SKYE SATURDAY 7th JULY 7.30pm KINETIC BUCKHAVEN
EXCHANGE EXCHANGE 2012
9pm KILDARE YOUTH THEATRE IRELAND
Image courtesy Brian Smith, Delph Wynd Daily/ Blipfoto
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