A
TALENTED GROUP OF bright young writers and
actors have put a new twist on going to the pub.
Rather than just propping up the bar with a pint
and exchanging pleasantries with the regulars, the
Village Pub Theatre project has ensured that locals
and visitors are treated to a cultural experience which
is far more intriguing than that of the traditional pub
quiz. Caitlin continued: “The team works collectively, but the
writers have a lot of control. This allows them to take their
work in the direction that they want, rather than always
working to a director’s programming priorities.”
The idea behind the project was to support and
inspire dynamic new writing whilst also encouraging a
wider audience to experience drama in an informal and
accessible environment. With similarities to the highly
successful Glasgow born initiative ‘A Play, A Pie and a
Pint’, the Village Pub Theatre offers an intimate and raw
live theatre experience with gatherings taking place once
a month, and the audience being treated to short snappy
plays, some of which last no longer than 10 minutes. Rather
than a pie, the group often shares a delicious selection of
home baking, which ensures the audience feels welcome
and encourages them to come back for more. Looking at some of the stand out moments from 2014,
Caitlin recalls the days following the referendum. She
said: “The writers had to script a play before the 18th
September, about the referendum but knowing it would
be performed the day after the result was known. For
me, there was no better place to be the day after that
event than in the pub, making theatre and reflecting on
what had happened. It was an amazing experience – a
bit of a healing process.”
She explained: “These days, arts funding for theatre and
touring is changing and it’s been tough trying to build and
sustain a career in directing. However, I’ve always been
determined to steer my own path and I’m now working
as a full-time freelance director, juggling a mix of my own
projects with working for established companies.” Caitlin works with QMU graduates on a wide variety
of drama projects, but it is her Village Pub Theatre
collaboration with Louise E Knowles and Morna Pearson,
also graduates of Queen Margaret, that has captured
the attention of theatre critic Joyce McMillan. Joyce
described the collective as having developed “a brand
new vortex of powerful theatre activity in Edinburgh”. It
doesn’t really get much better than that!
Unsurprisingly, there is a smattering of QMU talent
involved in the Leith based drama project that aims to share
cultural experiences with different audiences. Twenty-nine
year old Caitlin Skinner is one of the driving forces behind
the project, which was initiated by playwright James Ley
in 2012. The model encourages the actors and writers to be
experimental. Each month there is a different theme. In
March 2012, the team extended a challenge to fellow
writers on social media platform Twitter to write a play in
one tweet. There was a massive uptake of people who
attempted to produce a story in 140 characters. The
social media theme was so successful, that the company
collaborated with the Lyceum Theatre to produce two
performances of Tweet Plays inspired by the main stage
productions on the Lyceum stage.
Caitlin, a Drama and Theatre graduate from QMU, is Artist
Director of the Village Pub Theatre. Following graduation in
2008, Caitlin went on to New York to study an MA Applied
Theatre, before returning to her home city of Edinburgh
and beginning a directing career in the capital. Directing the Village Pub Theatre is just one of Caitlin’s
jobs. In 2014 she created devised show ’Sanitise’ co-
created with fellow QMU graduate Melanie Jordan and
was awarded a Fringe First. The play is now touring
Scotland. She also directed ‘The Strange Case of Jekyll
and Hyde’ with Lung Ha Theatre Company, which was
performed at the Traverse Theatre and Dundee Rep in
March.
Discussing the pub-based theatre project, Caitlin said:
“James wanted to create theatre that was cheap, quick and
informal, but was based on excellent writing. The project
now has a core group of writers who have developed a
specialism for short plays. The raw emerging storylines
allow the audience to enjoy the buzz of live theatre with
new and exciting work virtually unfolding in front of their
eyes.”
For more details of the Village Pub Theatre visit:
https://www.facebook.com/PubTheatre ❒
A core group of writers have developed a specialism for short plays
QMYOU / Graduate Interview
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