We caught up with playwright Ellie Stewart to find out about writing and creating Hope & Joy – here’s what she had to say:
We’re in rehearsals for Hope and Joy, and Caitlin Skinner (Director) shouts across the room ... ‘Suse, have you got any music for the Pigeon Party?’ Susan Bear is like SUPER cool ... she’s a drummer, and a sound designer and I’m a bit in awe of her. But she doesn’t bat an eyelid. ‘What about this?’ she asks and plays her composition that somehow sounds EXACTLY like I imagine a Pigeon Party to be.
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After years of living with imaginary characters inside your own head, being in the rehearsal room is one of the best and most intense moments of playwriting. A team has come together to deliver a show, and the script becomes a blueprint for something much bigger than words on a page.
Following the warm reception at Eden Court for The Return, I feel extremely lucky to have two projects happening in Inverness. Hope and Joy comes to Eden Court on Tuesday 29th of October, the first tour date of the show (opening in Cumbernauld) before it goes on to Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Mull, Stornoway, Lyth and Findhorn.
And simmering on the stove, there is a script for a play with music that tells contemporary Highland stories. Thanks to Eden Court and Playwrights Studio Scotland, we were able to work with some actors and musicians from the Highlands and Islands in May, and there will be another development session in February. It’s early days, but the banter in the studio is already promising. ‘OK Ellie ... so how do you imagine this shinty game working on stage?’
This blog was written by the fabulous Ellie Stewart.
📷by Jessy Earl