Media Release
National Theatre of Scotland and Aberdeen City Council present
A major new Aberdeen arts project celebrating the city and its people.
Across the city, September 2015 to April 2016.
Sponsored by Deloitte.
Supported by Aberdeen Inspired, Balmoral Group, Mackie’s of Scotland and Creative Scotland
Produced in association with Aberdeen Performing Arts, ACT Aberdeen, Citymoves Dance Agency,
Station House Media Unit and University of Aberdeen Music.
The National Theatre of Scotland and Aberdeen City Council are inviting the people of Aberdeen to take
part in a major new production that will explore the city’s rich history, celebrate the character of its citizens
and re-imagine its future place in the world. From September 2015 to April 2016, a National Theatre of
Scotland team of creative artists will produce a programme of performances, interactive multimedia
installations and events that will bring the city’s streets to life, before the project culminates in a series of
large-scale, site-specific performances within the quadrangle of the world’s largest grey granite building,
Marischal College.
National Theatre of Scotland Associate Director Simon Sharkey (The Tin Forest, Extreme) will lead the
project and has chosen a team of world-class creative artists to join his team, including costume and set
designer Becky Minto (Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games Ceremonies), lighting designer Colin Grenfell
(Black Watch), dramaturg Peter Arnott (Janis Joplin: Full Tilt) and video artist Graeme Roger (Culloden
Battlefield Artist in Residence).
In order to deliver the project, the National Theatre of Scotland team will work closely with some of the
city’s leading creative groups, who will lend their ideas, expertise and performing talent. These include
Aberdeen Performing Arts, ACT Aberdeen, Citymoves, SHMU and the Sound Emporium Research Group
(SERG) from the University of Aberdeen’s Department of Music.
In the nine years since its inception, the National Theatre of Scotland has built up an internationally
renowned reputation for its trailblazing approach to participatory arts projects. The pioneering model sees
teams of professional theatre artists working in towns and cities across Scotland for months at a time, to
co-create world-class pieces of theatre that leave a longstanding impact on the communities involved.
Most recently, as part of the Glasgow 2014 Cultural Programme, the Company produced The Tin Forest,
bringing together participants from across Glasgow, Scotland and the world, to create a festival of theatre
inside an iconic industrial building on the banks of the River Clyde during the fortnight of the
Commonwealth Games. The National Theatre of Scotland last worked with Aberdeen City Council in 2011
on Extreme, a similarly well-received production, whose finale involved audience members being
kidnapped into the back of a van, forced to escape from a prison cell and to finally perform as part of a pop
group, on stage, in front of the rest of the audience.
The theme and foundation of the project is granite: the stone from which the city is built, upon which the
city built its global reputation and the characteristics of which the people of North East Scotland are widely
held to personify – resilience, grit and robustness, but with an underlying sparkle and charm. In the course
of Granite, the team aims to dig out and present stories that describe local people’s personal relationships
to the city, which connect with the project’s overarching themes of tenacity and poetry.
The project will be launched in September 2015, at which point full details of how to participate will be
made available at www.nationaltheatrescotland.com/granite.
Laurie Sansom, Artistic Director, National Theatre of Scotland says “ As Scotland’s National Theatre we
pride ourselves on playing a significant part in the cultural life of Scotland’s major cities and creating
opportunities for communities nationwide to make work with us. I am delighted that our Learn team will be
co-ordinating this hugely exciting and ambitious cultural project in Aberdeen, working with key partners,
agencies and organisations without whose support this wouldn't be possible. I can't wait to see how
Aberdeen chooses to tell its story, and how its people will come together to celebrate this unique and
vibrant city”
Granite Director Simon Sharkey says: “It is a huge challenge and a great honour to be invited to help tell
the story of Aberdeen. To be given the gift of the Marischal College quadrangle to gather the people of
Aberdeen in, to tell and hear their own stories, is a dream come true. Granite is an ambitious project and
it’ll take grit, but I promise to do my utmost to make the city and the people shine. None of this would be
possible without the generous support and partnership of key Aberdonian companies and organisations. I
am really looking forward to continuing my love affair with one of Northern Europe’s greatest cities.”
Lord Provost of Aberdeen George Adam says: “Working in partnership with the National Theatre of
Scotland on the Granite project will provide a fabulous opportunity to tell Aberdeen’s unique story from a
range of perspectives. The National Theatre of Scotland will use their special skills to work with a significant
number of individuals and groups in the city, creative and not so creative, so that their stories can be turned
into unique theatre experiences. Granite will showcase and celebrate the talent already in the city and
encourage others to get involved and I am sure that this project will confirm Aberdeen’s place on the
cultural map and inspire even greater artistic ambition in the city. It’s a huge opportunity.”
Derek Henderson, Deloitte’s Senior Partner in Aberdeen, says: “It’s an absolute privilege to be part of a
cultural initiative of such significance to Aberdeen. Deloitte has a long history in the city and our support for
this project underlines our continued commitment and investment in the North East. We look forward to
working with the National Theatre of Scotland, and all of the partner organisations, in the weeks and
months ahead to help tell the story of the people of Aberdeen and demonstrate why its strengths lie not
only in business and energy, but also in its history and culture.”
Aberdeen Inspired Chief Executive Gary Craig says: “Aberdeen Inspired will continue to support such
productions that celebrate the unique attributes of our city, while also shining a creative light on our rich
history. One of our overriding aims as a company is to continue to increase footfall to our city centre, and
we believe Granite will provide an exciting programme of installations and events that will pull in captivated
crowds. We are looking forward to seeing the productions coming together in partnership with some of our
city’s artistic creative groups.”
Karin Hayhow, Marketing Director from Mackie’s of Scotland says “Mackie’s are delighted that the
National Theatre of Scotland team are coming to work their magic in our home town of Aberdeen. We look
forward to working with them to explore stories from the people of Aberdeenshire. As a fourth generation
family business we appreciate that the endeavours of our ancestors have helped create a vision for our
future generations. We are looking forward to a celebration of Aberdeen and its people from the creative
genius of the people of the National Theatre of Scotland and their local allies”.
Jim Milne CBE, Chairman and Managing Director, Balmoral Group says:
“As an Aberdeen-based company and very much part of the local community, we are delighted to be
working with like-minded innovators at National Theatre of Scotland on Granite. This is a huge and
ambitious project and we expect nothing less from our national theatre company. From the early days of
quarrying and exporting granite around the world to current times when companies such as ours operate on
a global basis, Aberdeen has always been a city of vision and ambition. The Granite project will learn from
the past, inform the future and focus on Aberdeen’s spirit in the best possible way.”
ACT Aberdeen Artistic Director Paula Gibson says: “Some time back Louise Baxter, current chair of ACT
Aberdeen and I went to National Theatre of Scotland in Glasgow with the seeds of an idea to tell the story of
the granite industry through the eyes of the people who worked in it. The National Theatre of Scotland
represents the very best of contemporary community theatre and we are delighted and privileged to be
working alongside Simon and his team of creatives as this sparkling project comes to fruition”
Citymoves Dance Agency says: “Citymoves' purpose is to make a difference through dance, whilst
participation, performance and collaboration sit at the very heart of the organisation. Granite is
exceptionally exciting as it offers two of our performance companies, Quicksilver (our over-50s company
who’ll be fresh from performing at Dance Live 2015) and Fusion (our nationally renowned youth dance
company) the opportunity collaborate and perform to our home crowd in one of the most iconic sites in the
city”
Station House Media Unit Chief Executive Murray Dawson says:
“We have been using media for many years to help the people of Aberdeen reminisce and to tell stories of
great personal value to them. This is not only a fantastic project from that perspective but it will also afford
an opportunity for our many volunteers to actively participate in a high quality collaborative project”
SERG Co-director, Pete Stollery says: “It’s great for students and researchers at the University of Aberdeen
to be working with the National Theatre of Scotland on Granite and, with them, to bring to life parts of the
City’s history through sound and music activities”
Claire Davidson, Drama Development Co-ordinator at APA says: “We are delighted to have our Senior
Youth Theatre take part in this exciting project with the National Theatre of Scotland. Aberdeen has a story
to tell and we are proud to have our young people take a role in telling it. It is exciting to have a new team
of artists come to the city to collaborate with the talent that already exists and provide the community with
a once in a lifetime opportunity to perform a story about Aberdeen, in Aberdeen, for Aberdeen.”
www.nationaltheatrescotland.com/granite
facebook.com/NationalTheatreScotland
Join the conversation: @NTSonline #Granite
National Theatre of Scotland Press contacts:
Adam McDougall, Press and Marketing Officer: adam.mcdougall@nationaltheatrescotland.com
Tel: +44 (0)141 227 9231 M: +44 (0)7738 153157
Emma Schad, Press Manager: emma.schad@nationaltheatrescotland.com
Tel: +44 (0)141 227 9016 M: +44 (0)7930 308018
Press Images available on request.
ENDS
NOTES TO EDITORS
1. The National Theatre of Scotland is dedicated to playing the great stages, arts centres, village halls,
schools and site-specific locations of Scotland, the UK and internationally. As well creating groundbreaking productions and working with the most talented theatre-makers, the National Theatre of
Scotland produces significant community engagement projects, innovates digitally and works
constantly to develop new talent. Central to this is finding pioneering ways to reach current and
new audiences and to encourage people’s full participation in the Company’s work. With no
performance building of its own, the Company works with existing and new venues and companies
to create and tour theatre of the highest quality. Founded in 2006, the Company, in its short life,
has become a globally significant theatrical player, with an extensive repertoire of award-winning
work. The National Theatre of Scotland is supported by the Scottish Government.
www.nationaltheatrescotland.com
2. In this press release references to Deloitte are references to Deloitte LLP, which is among the
country's leading professional services firms.
Deloitte LLP is the United Kingdom member firm of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited
(“DTTL”), a UK private company limited by guarantee, whose member firms are legally
separate and independent entities. Please see www.deloitte.co.uk/about for a detailed
description of the legal structure of DTTL and its member firms. The information contained
in this press release is correct at the time of going to press.For more information, please
visit www.deloitte.co.uk.
3. Balmoral Group Holdings Ltd is a privately owned company based in Aberdeen, Scotland.
Employing over 600 people Balmoral has been providing solutions to the oil and gas, marine,
construction, environmental engineering and processing sectors since 1980.
4. Aberdeen Inspired is Aberdeen’s Business Improvement District within the city centre, funded by
levy payers Aberdeen Inspired works on behalf of 700 (approx.) city centre businesses.
www.aberdeeninspired.com
5. Citymoves Dance Agency nurtures a diverse programme of dance classes, performance groups,
workshops, residencies, targeted partnership projects across Aberdeen and the North East of
Scotland. It produces DanceLive – Scotland's only annual festival of contemporary dance which is
celebrating its 10th birthday in October 2015. Citymoves' purpose is to make a difference through
dance and we aim to forge strong partnerships, increase participation, develop audiences and
nurture talent. Citymoves Dance Agency receives strong support from Aberdeen City Council and is
a Creative Scotland Regularly Funded Organisation. www.citymoves.org.uk
6. Mackie’s is a pioneering family business from Aberdeenshire which has diversified into making icecream, crisps and most recently chocolate - all under the ‘Mackie’s of Scotland’ brand. Mackie's is a
vertically integrated, fourth generation family business who have been farming at Westertown,
Aberdeenshire since 1912 and making ice cream in a "sky to scoop design chain" since 1986. The
award winning environmental business is powered by renewable energy from Mackie’s wind
turbines and a solar panel farm. The 1500 acre arable farm supports a 450 cow dairy herd which
supplies fresh cream and milk for their real dairy ice cream. Mackie's now produce over 11 million
litres of ice cream per annum in several tub sizes for both retail and food services markets and also
make their own plastic packaging on the farm. 61 staff, with an average tenure over 12 years, work
for the company. Mackie's ice cream is the No.1 brand in premium ice cream in Scotland. In 2009
Mackie’s diversified into premium crisps, made in a joint venture company under license and now
exporting to over 20 countries worldwide. Mackie’s are currently building a chocolate factory at the
farm to make their latest new product- a range of four flavours of chocolate – with a hint of
Scotland provided with Scottish malt, Scottish-grown mint and their home-made honeycomb.
Mackie’s chocolate is available in selected Scottish Tesco and Sainsburys outlets and online at
www.mackieschocolate.co.uk
7. Station House Media Unit (shmu), established as a charity in 2003, is one of the core cultural
organisations in Aberdeen, and is at the forefront of Community Media development in Scotland,
supporting residents in the seven regeneration areas of the city in the use of a range of media for a
variety of purposes. shmu is actively involved in radio and video production, traditional and on-line
publications, music production and digital inclusion programmes. The organisation also supports
other disadvantaged communities, both geographic and communities of interest, with an
employability and training arm and a programme for offenders, both pre and post-release.
www.shmu.org.uk
8. Aberdeen Performing Arts is a charitable trust managing Aberdeen’s His Majesty's Theatre, Music
Hall and The Lemon Tree. APA's vision is to reach for the stars in everything we do. Through staging
and producing a wide and diverse range of work we aim to touch emotions, lift the spirits and
expand the minds of both residents and visitors to the North East of Scotland.
9. Creative Scotland is the public body that supports the arts, screen and creative industries across all
parts of Scotland on behalf of everyone who lives, works or visits here. We enable people and
organisations to work in and experience the arts, screen and creative industries in Scotland by
helping others to develop great ideas and bring them to life. We distribute funding provided by the
Scottish Government and the National Lottery. For further information about Creative Scotland
please
visit
www.creativescotland.com.
Follow
us
@creativescots
and
www.facebook.com/CreativeScotland