National Theatre of Scotland
Atlantic Chambers
45 Hope Street
Glasgow
G2 6AE
THE NATIONAL THEATRE OF SCOTLAND
IS DELIGHTED TO ANNOUNCE ITS FIRST INTERNATIONAL ENGAGEMENTS
WITH THE AUTUMN US TOUR AND AMERICAN PREMIERES
OF THE AWARD-WINNING PRODUCTIONS OF
BLACK WATCH BY GREGORY BURKE, DIRECTED BY JOHN TIFFANY
AND THE WOLVES IN THE WALLS, ORIGINALLY CREATED WITH IMPROBABLE
BASED ON THE BOOK BY NEIL GAIMAN AND DAVE MCKEAN
CONCEIVED AND MADE FOR THE STAGE BY VICKY FEATHERSTONE, JULIAN CROUCH AND NICK POWELL
BLACK WATCH
Following summer 2006’s sell out run at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, a sell-out Scottish tour this Spring, unanimous
critical acclaim and a stunning audience response, the US premiere of Black Watch will be presented by Los Angeles
based UCLA Live as part of its International Theatre Festival from 18th September -14th October, and at New York’s St
Ann’s Warehouse from 20th October -11th November.
Hurtling from a pool room in Fife to an armoured wagon in Iraq, Black Watch is based on recent interviews conducted
by Gregory Burke with former soldiers who served in Iraq. Viewed through the eyes of those on the ground, Black
Watch reveals what it means to be part of the legendary Scottish regiment, what it means to be part of the war on
terror and what it means to make the journey home again. John Tiffany’s production makes powerful and inventive use
of movement, music and song to create a visceral, complex and urgent piece of theatre.
The cast for Black Watch in US includes: David Colvin, Ali Craig, Emun Elliott, Ryan Fletcher, Paul Higgins, Henry
Pettigrew, Paul Rattray, Nabil Stuart and Jordan Young.
The full creative team is Stephen Hoggett - Associate Director Movement, Davey Anderson - Associate Director Music,
with Set Designed by Laura Hopkins, Costumes Designed by Jessica Brettle, Lighting Designed by Colin Grenfall,
Sound Designed by Gareth Fry and Video Designed by 59 Ltd.
THE WOLVES IN THE WALLS
The Wolves in the Walls has been seen and loved by children, families and the young at heart across the UK, winning
rave reviews, playing to sell out houses and has now been invited to play at The New Victory Theater in New York in
September. Scottish audiences will have another chance to catch this award- winning musical pandemonium at The
Byre Theatre, St Andrew’s from 7th to the 25th August.
Taken from the book The Wolves in the Walls by Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean (Sandman series, Mirror Mask) the
production has been brought to life by a team of innovative and celebrated theatre-makers led by Vicky Featherstone
(the National Theatre of Scotland’s Artistic Director and Chief Executive) and Julian Crouch (Improbable).
The Wolves in the Walls is the story of Lucy, who hears creeping, creaking, crumpling noises coming from behind the
wallpaper and knows that there are wolves in the walls of her house. Her mother is busy making jam, her father is busy
playing the tuba and her brother is busy playing computer games. They say the noises are mice, or rats or bats. But
they are wrong and she is right and everyone knows when the wolves come out of the wall it’s all over .
The full cast is: Paul James Corrigan, George Drennan, Helen Mallon, Anita Vettesse;
Wolves: Ewan Hunter, Sharon Smith, Jessica Tomchak, Jason Webb;
Musicians: Andrew Brown, Brian Molley, Robert Owen.
The international performances of Black Watch and The Wolves in the Walls have been made possible by the financial
assistance of The Scottish Government, who have agreed to contribute £195,000 from the International Touring Fund
which aims to help the National Performing Companies spread the message of Scotland’s cultural confidence and
ambition.
“This is a significant first for the National Theatre of Scotland, showcasing Scottish talent Stateside with the help of
funding from the Scottish Government.
“Scotland has world-class artists who deserve to be recognised and that is why I’m delighted that these two powerful
performances – Black Watch and The Wolves in the Walls – will be enjoyed by an international audience.
“These tours of New York and Los Angeles will boost Scotland’s international image and attract new audiences to
Scottish cultural life.” Minister for Europe, External Affairs and Culture Linda Fabiani
“The National Theatre of Scotland is delighted to take these two pieces of very different theatre to an audience beyond
Scotland. In order for us to fulfil our national status it is vital that we create work which, as well as communicating to
audiences at home, has a universal appeal. It is an honour that, in our first year, these two pieces have been singled
out and are receiving such support from our partners at The Scottish Government, the British Council and in the US to
make this happen” Vicky Featherstone (Chief Executive and Artistic Director of the National Theatre of Scotland)
The tour of Black Watch has also been supported by the British Council. The UK’s international organisation for
educational and cultural relations, the British Council builds long-term relationships between the US and the UK and
fosters appreciation of the UK’s creative ideas and achievements. Through transatlantic artistic partnerships, they
introduce the American public to high-quality, ground-breaking creative achievements from the UK. They also develop
initiatives that give a voice to the next generation of leaders on both sides of the Atlantic, encouraging them to work
together to explore solutions to current and future global issues.
Accompanying their support for the performances, the British Council will be hosting a series of events stimulated by
Black Watch. Audiences will be given an opportunity to explore, along with leading commentators, military personnel
and artists, some of the profound issues emanating from the production: our relationship to soldiers in the field, the
nature of patriotism, the language of war and the state of the “Special Relationship”.
US TOUR INFORMATION
BLACK WATCH AT UCLA LIVE
Dates:
18th September -14th October; Tue-Fri at 8pm, Sat at 2pm & 8pm, Sun at 7pm;
Preview Tue, 18th September
Venue:
UCLA Live, Freud Playhouse, Hilgard Ave (UCLA Campus), Los Angeles, CA 90068
Festival Information: www.uclalive.org / 310.825.2101
About UCLA Live:
UCLA Live is one of the one of the most daring and provocative cultural presenters of
performing arts in the United States under the leadership of David Sefton. UCLA Live’s programs occur in a number of
venues on University of California, Los Angeles’ campus and beyond. An incubator of innovative ideas, UCLA Live
presents a wide-ranging, world-class program, and is dedicated to radical, genre-bending collaborations and the
development of new work. UCLA Live is home to the International Theatre Festival, entering its sixth successful
season in 2007, which will feature Black Watch alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company with Sir Ian McKellen in
King Lear and The Seagull, among other productions.
BLACK WATCH AT ST ANN’S WAREHOUSE
Dates:
20 October – 11 November
Venue:
St Ann’s Warehouse, 38 Water Street, Brooklyn NY 11201
Venue information:
www.stannswarehouse.org
About St Ann’s Warehouse: For over 27 years, St. Ann's has commissioned, produced and presented a unique and
eclectic body of innovative theater and concert presentations that meet at the intersection of theater and rock and roll.
Since 2001, the organization has helped vitalize the emerging Brooklyn waterfront neighborhood, DUMBO, where St.
Ann's Warehouse at 38 Water Street has become one of New York City's most important and compelling live
performance destinations. Among the many highly acclaimed St. Ann's productions are Lou Reed's and John Cale's
Songs for Drella, Marianne Faithfull's Seven Deadly Sins, Artistic Director Susan Feldman's Band in Berlin, Charlie
Kaufman and the Coen Brothers' Theater of the New Ear, The Royal Court Theater's 4:48 Psychosis, The Wooster
Group's Hamlet, The Emperor Jones, House/Lights and To You, the Birdie; The Globe Theatre's Measure for Measure;
Antony's Turning, Mabou Mines Dollhouse and Lou Reed's Berlin, both of which continue to tour the world; and this
year's Drama Desk Award-nominated productions of Les Freres Corbusier's Hell House and Gate Theatre London's
Woyzeck.
THE WOLVES IN THE WALLS AT THE NEW VICTORY THEATER
Dates:
5 – 21 October
Venue:
The New Victory Theater, 209 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036
Venue information:
www.newvictory.org
About The New Victory Theater: The New Victory Theater is New York City’s premier theater for kids and families.
Built by Oscar Hammerstein in 1900, it established 42nd Street as the heart of New York’s theater district. Today it is
one of the City’s most respected cultural institutions and has “pioneered a new, sophisticated vision of family
entertainment” (Time Out New York) with sensational shows like Tony Kushner and Maurice Sendak’s But the Giraffe
and Brundibar; cutting-edge productions like Shockheaded Peter, The Junebug Symphony and Rain; dynamic dance
companies like the Seán Curran Company and Lizt Alfonso Dance Cuba; puppetry masterpieces like Kwaidan from
Ping Chong and Company and Peter and Wendy from Mabou Mines; new vaudeville/circus spectacles like
AntiGravity’s Crash Test Dummies and Circus Oz; and Tony-nominated, Broadway transfers like A Year With Frog and
Toad and It Ain’t Nothin’ But The Blues.
Websites: www.nationaltheatrescotland.com
www.britishcouncil.org/usa-arts.
www.scottishexecutive.org.uk
NOTES TO EDITORS
ABOUT BLACK WATCH
Black Watch opened at The Edinburgh Festival Fringe on 5th August 2006, at The University of Edinburgh of Drill Hall
and played to 6703 people over 23 performances.
In Spring 2007 Black Watch toured 5 Scottish venues from 14th March – 18th May. Venues included a former hydraulic
plant at Port-Na-Craig House in Pitlochry, Harlaw Academy Gym in Aberdeen, the Old Fruitmarket in Glasgow,
Loreburn Drill Hall in Dumfries and The Highland Football Academy in Dingwall. The production sold out virtually every
performance and was seen by 10,740 people.
The production has won the following awards: A Herald Angel, a Scotsman Fringe First, a Best Theatre Writing Award
from The List, a Stage Award for Best Ensemble, a Critics Circle Award for Best Director, and The South Bank Show
Theatre Award.
Black Watch won 4 Critics Awards for Theatre in Scotland 2006 -2007: Best Director, Best Production, Best Ensemble
and Best Technical Presentation.
Black Watch, in a special version for radio was broadcast on June 10th on BBC Radio 3 and two BBC Scotland
ArtWorks programmes, a documentary and a filmed performance, will be broadcast on BBC Scotland this summer.
The script of Black Watch with director annotations and colour plates is published by Faber & Faber and is available to
purchase from specialist bookshops.
ABOUT THE WOLVES IN THE WALLS
The Wolves in The Walls was the first stage production presented by the National Theatre of Scotland, in a coproduction with Improbable, in association with Tramway, Glasgow. The show played to sell-out audiences at
Tramway and Lyric Hammersmith, London and subsequently toured to Perth Theatre, Macrobert Arts Centre, Stirling,
Adam Smith Theatre, Kirkcaldy and Ayr Gaiety Theatre. In 2007 the production was revived at Platform at The Bridge,
Easterhouse and then toured to venues across England.
The Wolves in the Walls has been seen by 21,939 people to date.
The Wolves in The Walls won the TMA Award for Best Theatre for Children and Young People 2006.
Vicky Featherstone has also directed Mary Stuart for the National Theatre of Scotland. She is a champion of new work
and’ prior to her appointment at the National Theatre of Scotland, she directed new plays by David Greig, Sarah Kane,
Mark Ravenhill, Linda McLean and Abi Morgan.
Julian Crouch is one of the Artistic Directors of Improbable, where he has co-created such work as 70 Hill Lane, Spirit
and The Hanging Man. He also designed and co-directed Shockheaded Peter, and designed Jerry Springer the Opera.
Neil Gaiman and illustrator Dave McKean collaborated on The Wolves in the Walls, a children's picture book in 2003,
having first collaborated on the best selling modern comics series Sandman. Gaiman is also a novelist for adults and
children, including Fragile Things, Coraline, and has co-written the script for Robert Zemeckis’ new film Beowulf,
starring Angelina Jolie, Anthony Hopkins, Ray Winstone and John Malkovich. Gaiman’s website, www.neilgaiman.com,
has over 500,000 visitors per month and is linked to more than 2,500 other websites.
ABOUT THE NATIONAL THEATRE OF SCOTLAND
“It is not hyperbole to say that the National Theatre of Scotland is one of the most exciting things to have happened in
British arts this decade” The Financial Times
Since its launch in February 2006, the National Theatre of Scotland has been involved in creating more than 30
productions in over 60 different locations. With no building of its own, the Company takes theatre all over Scotland and
beyond, working with existing and new venues and companies to create and tour theatre of the highest quality. It takes
place in the great buildings of Scotland, but also in site-specific locations, airports and tower blocks, community halls
and drill halls, ferries and forests.
Scottish theatre has always been for the people, led by great performances, great stories or great playwrights. The
National Theatre of Scotland exists to build a new generation of theatre-goers as well as reinvigorating the existing
ones; to create theatre on a national and international scale that is contemporary, confident and forward-thinking; to
bring together brilliant artists, designers, composers, choreographers and playwrights; and to exceed expectations of
what and where theatre can be.
For further information please contact Emma Schad on 0141 227 9016 / 07930 308018 or email
emma.schad@nationaltheatrescotland.com.