IT will be a show that will want everyone on board.
A new ‘pop up’ musical theatre show is to be staged on ferries by the National Theatre of Scotland as part of a year-long celebration of the nation’s coasts and waters.
The drive to promote Scotland’s coastline and waters, led by tourism body VisitScotland, is to involve the theatre company (NTS), which will produce Ferry Tales.
It will take the form of “pop up music theatre”, which will be performed on three ferry routes in Scotland, with operators Caledonian MacBrayne supporting the project.
The show, the NTS said, will be performed in the spring of 2020 on the routes, and will “fuse music and song, Gaelic and English.”
The project, produced to tie-in with the official Year of Coasts and Waters 2020 initiative, will also involve a community engagement programme in port communities.
The theatre has performed on a ferry before, in Shetland, in 2006, when the NTS was launched, but the new production is to be larger in scale.
Jackie Wylie, artistic director of the NTS, said: “The community, informality and sociability of the Cal Mac ferry journey, in terms of the potential audience experience, lends itself beautifully to this style of pop-up gig theatre.”
She added: “Our participatory work with communities, and our desire to find stories that celebrate people and place is at the heart of our commitment to delivering theatre for everyone across Scotland.
“Thousands of Scots and visitors make ferry crossings every year and we are excited about the opportunity, with the support of Caledonian MacBrayne and their ships, to create Ferry Taless, a theatrical project which explores the personal stories behind these journeys.”
The theatrical production is one of six events revealed by VisitScotland as part of its drive to inspire tourists with the waters of Scotland.
The Edinburgh International Film Festival will stage a “special outdoor coastal experience” and show films related to the theme in its Scotland’s Shores programme.
The Clydebuilt Festival will expand in 2020 in its fourth year, and there will be a Fife Regatta - named after the type of yacht, rather than the region of Scotland - which will start and finish in Largs, taking in locations around the Clyde including Holy Loch Marina, Dunoon, Rothesay, Isle of Bute and Tighnabruaich, Argyll.
Other events will include a River of Light on the evening of 10 October and the RSPB’s DolphinFest.
DolphinFest 2020 has the aimed of helping Aberdeen become recognised as a destination for dolphin watching.
Fiona Hyslop, culture secretary, said: “Following on from the success of our previous themed years, I am pleased to see Scotland’s natural assets take centre stage as we celebrate Scotland’s Year of Coasts and Waters in 2020.”
“Delivered by our skilled and passionate industry these six initial events, taking place right across Scotland, will help to promote the upcoming year-long celebration and encourage participation not only from Scotland’s communities but also our visitors from near and far.”
Malcolm Roughead, the chief executive of VisitScotland, said: “From fishing and textiles, to whisky and wave power, Scotland’s waters have shaped our history and influenced our culture, our stories and our way of life.”
“Our coasts and waters are host to an amazing array of riches and are greatly valued and cherished by visitors and locals alike, so it’s fitting that we have a full-year placing them in the spotlight. Scotland’s distinctive scenery, landscape and our unique history and culture continue to remain the key motivations that drive visits to the country, so the Year of Coasts and Waters 2020 presents a fantastic opportunity to play to our strengths.”
VisitScotland is to highlight other developments that are linked to the sea and the coasts of Scotland.
A Hebridean Whale Trail, the first of its kind in the UK, is set to launch later this year and Greenock will see a purpose-built gallery celebrating the work of artist George Wyllie, who died in 2012, with views across the Clyde.
The Scottish Seabird Centre in North Berwick has also reopened following completion of the first stage of their refurbishment.
The Scottish Government and VisitScotland has been celebrating “themed years” since 2017.
The first celebrated history and heritage, and 2018 was the Year of Young People.
The year 2022 has been designated as the Year of Scotland’s Stories.
That celebration will be a “showcsase of the country’s rich literature, film, oral traditions and myths and legends” and is likely to involve several cultural institutions.
Sadie Gorvett, the Dolphinwatch Community Events Officer said: “Aberdeen is one of the best places in Scotland, and in Europe, to watch bottlenose dolphins because they are regularly seen from the harbour shore.
“Following this year’s inaugural DolphinFest, plans for next year’s festival include activities across the city that will celebrate Aberdeen’s dolphins; from interactive games, to conservation talks and citizen science projects.”
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