Founded in 2006, The National Theatre of Scotland has built an international reputation for its pioneering approach to participatory theatre.

In ten years the company has created over 200 productions, touring widely across Scotland, the UK and the world, and has nurtured the careers of hundreds of actors, playwrights, designers and directors.

Home Away

Back in 2006, The National Theatre of Scotland’s first project, Home, invited ten Scottish communities to explore the meaning of belonging and identity within different regions of Scotland. To mark the company’s 10-year anniversary, a new project, Home Away, asked groups from five different continents to consider their place in the world at a time when the boundaries of “Home” are being increasingly stretched by geopolitical, social and cultural forces.

For Home Away the company partnered with theatre makers and community arts organisations from Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), Brisbane (Australia), Chicago (USA), New Delhi (India) and Kingston (Jamaica). Professional artists worked with community groups to devise ten original theatre pieces, which premiered within their respective communities before being showcased at the Home Away Festival at Glasgow’s Tramway in October 2016.

Home Away Festival

One of the works created was The Hidden House, an immersive, performance installation which used projected artworks, storytelling, poetry and music to explore the challenges of making a home in an isolated rural community. In the video below, visual artist and filmmaker, Graeme Roger shares his experience of creating The Hidden House.

The festival also marked the first collective physical performance by members of The Adam World Choir, a group of more than 100 transsexual and non-binary singers from around the world who, until this project, had only ever connected with each other online. Watch highlights from the moving event below.

New Delhi-based Yuva Ekta Foundation presented Bargad Ki Chhaon Mein (In The Shade of the Banyan), which tells the story of life in Jahangirpuri, a resettlement colony in North Delhi. You can see a clip of their Home Away performance below and watch a video of its founder Puneeta Roy talk about the journey of self-discovery through creativity.

 

New beginnings

2017 marks a new beginning for National Theatre of Scotland. Previously known as a “theatre without walls”, on 23 January 2017 the company moved into its new home, Rockvilla, on the banks of the Forth and Clyde canal in Glasgow. If you want to catch a glimpse of the new space, there is a timelapse of its construction above.

This year also sees the arrival of new Artistic Director Jackie Wylie, one of the UK’s leading creative producers who is thrilled to be steering the company into the next decade:

“It’s an incredible privilege to be given the opportunity to lead the National Theatre of Scotland,” says Wylie. “Ten years ago it pioneered the groundbreaking model of a theatre without walls, and since then it has combined world-class artistic distinction with a particular commitment to involving the entire population of Scotland. I look forward to continuing that spirit of innovation, building on the organisation’s many existing successes and relationships whilst also bringing in new voices, seeking out exciting collaborations at home, as well as looking outwards across the world.”

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