There's something of a homecoming feel to Tony Cownie's appointment as associate director of Cumbernauld Theatre while artistic director Ed Robson goes on sabbatical for a year, sourcing theatre abroad.
It was in the former farm cottages situated in the local park that the director and actor made his professional debut in the late Tom McGrath's play The Flitting. That was back in 1990, since when Cownie has carved out a successful career as a comic actor with edge, with roles varying from the Porter in Macbeth to an award-winning turn as the troubled Kenny in Mark Thomson's play A Madman Sings To The Moon.
In the mid-1990s, Cownie moved into directing with Liz Lochhead's play Shanghaied which was later presented with a second act as Britannia Rules. This led to a fruitful relationship with the Royal Lyceum Theatre in Edinburgh, where he was encouraged by the late Kenny Ireland, and latterly under Thomson, Ireland's successor as artistic director. Cownie has had two stints as associate director at the Royal Lyceum, first between 2000 and 2003, with his current tenure beginning in 2007.
Taking over Cumbernauld Theatre's far more bijou confines looks like quite a leap, especially as Cownie has recently returned to the stage after the best part of a decade away, appearing in period dramas Union at the Royal Lyceum and The Libertine at the Citizens Theatre in Glasgow.
"I've always wanted to have a go at running my own building." says Cownie, "I know Ed and I know the work that he's done in Cumbernauld in turning it around when it had no money, so coming into the building like this is the ideal grounding for what's required. Having worked here, I know the space already, and working on a smaller scale is something I've always wanted to do. You can experiment more, but in a way that gives people a chance. The community work at Cumbernauld is really important, and my own priority here is to develop more projects and to push forward with everything else that's going on here."
Cownie's arrival in Cumbernauld comes at a crucial stage in the theatre's development. With resident company Stoirm Og developing a new show for 2015, the theatre has also just launched the Scotland Short Play Award, designed for new scripts up to 15 minutes long.
As Cownie arrives, two associate artists have been appointed, with performer, director and musician Sita Pieraccini and director Claire Prenton receiving bursaries to develop their work. Also ongoing are plans for Cumbernauld Theatre to move into new purpose-built premises.
This is all a far cry from a few years ago, when Cumbernauld Theatre, founded in 1960, was on the verge of closure, before Robson turned things around.
"It's all go," says Cownie, "so there's lots to do. It's a brilliant organisation I'm working with, and everybody here is really keen to make things happen".
The first shows directed by Cownie for Cumbernauld Theatre are Intimate Secrets, a series of three devised works-in-progress based around the home. The first, The Street, was directed by Robson prior to his departure, with Cownie picking up both its follow-up, The Bedroom, and next week's premiere of The Garden, performed by Michael Mackenzie.
Beyond The Garden, Cownie will direct the theatre's annual Christmas show, this year a version of Aladdin.
While Cownie is planning an unspecified production for autumn 2015, his ideal play for Cumbernauld would be a Scots-accented take on Michael Wynne's comedy The Knocky, originally set on a Birkenhead council estate.
"That's a great play," he says, "and it's really funny, but it has got quite a big cast, so I think finding the resources to do it would be quite hard."
Given the commitment and determination already shown by Robson and picked up by Cownie, such ambitions aren't impossible.
"Cumbernauld Theatre is the hidden gem of Scottish theatre," Cownie says. "Once my year here is up I'll obviously keep a very close affiliation with the place, and I'll see where that takes me. While I'm here, the crucial thing about my job is being able to have an idea which I can pursue and make it happen."
Intimate Secrets 3: The Garden, Cumbernauld Theatre, October 23-25; Amazing Adventures of Aladdin and the Magic Lamp, Cumbernauld Theatre, November 28-December 24.
www.cumbernauldtheatre.co.uk
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