The National Theatre of Scotland has an international reputation for creating pioneering programmes that get right into the heart of communities, encourage participation and sometimes even change lives. Granite is the most ambitious project we've ever undertaken in our ten year history – a major piece of site-specific theatre, made by and for Aberdeen that will tell the story of an entire city, and its people.
With the support of Deloitte as our Headline Sponsor we've been working with hundreds of people from communities across Aberdeen since September. Taking inspiration from the many men of Aberdeen who took their North-east honed granite-cutting skills abroad to help build some of the most spectacular buildings in the world, we've been asking the following three key questions –
What is the most amazing thing that has ever happened to you?
What brings you home, what brings you here?
What do you need to get you through the day?
The responses have been varied, at times funny, poignant and unexpected. Together they have shaped our Sound, Theatre, Film, Video and Dance Trailblazers, pop up interventions that took place in the City Centre last year, to which some of you might have contributed. You may have seen your face or that of your Deloitte colleagues projected somewhere across the City as part of Granite Video – a major video piece that lit up the windows of Aberdeen just before Christmas.
We are now moving forward towards the main production and Marischal College – the largest grey granite building in the world - is shaping up to be an epic venue for our final performances. The neo-gothic quadrangle will provide a dramatic backdrop for professional actors and a huge cast of community participants to tell the city's story.
To assemble the people needed for this huge undertaking, we embarked on a mammoth recruitment drive for our community cast which currently includes participants from Aberdeen Performing Arts, Senior Youth Theatre, City Moves Fusion and Quicksilver Group, a new group who meet on a Wed evening which includes participants from Slovo School and Delisto Dancers from Nigeria. We are also recruiting for singers to form our choir and an orchestra – get in touch if you're interested!
We've got an amazing professional cast in place including combining some of the North-east's finest acting talent with names from across Scotland: Joyce Falconer, Elspeth Turner, Alan McHugh, Rodney Matthew and Mark Wood. We will also have an aerial artist who will help us create beautiful images within the quadrangle.
We are having a fantastic time in Aberdeen and I can honestly say we have never met such an enthusiastic bunch of people who put a smile on our faces every time we come to the City and make the journeys back and forth to Aberdeen from National Theatre of Scotland Headquarters in Glasgow more than worthwhile.
We have learned from our trailblazer events that the Aberdonian weather can be harsh but that Aberdonians won't be beaten by the weather - which is just as well as our final event is outdoors. Be prepared and wrap up warm – its Aberdeen in March so we could have rain, wind and possibly snow...but we're ready! Are you?
Finally we are also trying our hardest to learn Doric and our brilliantly talented writers group have been acting as our translators –
"Bit the cassies thole aa... a smaa piece o the pairt
That is Aberdeen's heirskip, its grey granite hairt"
Deloitte is Headline Sponsor of Granite
Performance Dates 31st March, 1st and 2nd April, 7.30pm, Marischal College, Aberdeen.
Graniteaberdeen.com
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