YOUNG THEATREMAKERS ➺
N E W T A L E N T i a l c S p e
Name: Scott Fletcher Age: 22 Where will I know him from? You will know him best as Charlie Smith, one of Greg McHugh’s hapless sidekicks in Gary: Tank
COLLECTIVE TALENT
Lauren Mayberry profiles Flatrate, the company behind The 13th Note’s Initial Itch nights
Flatrate are a Glasgow-based theatre and arts collective run by theatre graduate Rob Jones and writer Stephen Redman. Their modus operandi is supporting local artists while also staging interesting, stripped-back productions on next to no budget. ‘We started Flatrate in 2008 by performing plays in flats,’ Jones explains.
The team began to develop an audience which led to Initial Itch, their monthly performance night at 13th Note. From spoken word, music and scratch performance to poetry, dance and film, the informal events offer a platform for emerging artists to try new material and meet like-minded potential collaborators.
‘We wanted to use the community we had already built to make bigger projects and the fact that it’s a group vision makes it all the more exciting.’ Jones and Redman also host a weekly radio show under the Initial Itch umbrella on Subcity Radio.
Flatrate’s mission is to create relevant,
innovative theatre that is engaging and entertaining. ‘You always want to make something that resonates with people and is grounded in real life,’ 24-year-old Jones explains. Following performances at The Ramshorn Theatre (Some Explicit Polaroids, 2009) and The Tron (The Zeros Keep Going, 2010), their latest production, The Belief Project, brings Flatrate back to The Tron this month. ■ Initial Itch, The 13th Note, Glasgow, first Monday of every month. www.flatratestate.com
Commander, but even while studying at Glasgow’s RSAMD, Fletcher was developing an impressive CV. As well as parts in Taggart and Monarch of the Glen, he starred in The Dogstone opposite Andy Gray for the NTS, took the lead in the Royal Lyceum’s Peter Pan as well as parts in David Harrower’s 365 and Lucky Box, and Davey Anderson’s Clutter Keeps Company. ‘That’s where you learn your craft, working with professionals and older actors who are much more experienced,’ he says. What is he appearing in? Sticking with the military theme, he is playing Kenzie in the latest world tour of Black Watch and calling into Rothes Halls, Glenrothes (16–19 March). If another series of Gary Tank Commander is commissioned, he’d jump at the chance. ‘I’d love to do some more TV, some drama, something a bit gritty,’ he says, phoning in from Austin, Texas. What he says: ‘Being in the Black Watch cast just now shows how talented Scotland’s actors are. Jack Lowden is 20 and he’s playing the lead in one of Scotland’s biggest shows. It’s great to see. It gives you a confidence that you can make it. And Black Watch is great – it’s the fittest I’ve ever been.’ What we say about him: ‘Scott Fletcher [creates] an appropriate mix of gung-ho bravado, puckishness and vulnerability as the boy who never grows up.’ Allan Radcliffe, The List, on Peter Pan.
Name: Nicola Roy Age: 26 Where will I know her from? After graduating from London's Rose Bruford College, the Edinburgh-born Roy landed the part of Frances McPherson in two episodes of BBC drama Hope Springs. She also played journalist Jen Lewis in River City. Returning to Scotland full-time, she played So-Shy with the late Gerard Kelly in Aladdin at the King's, Glasgow; all the female roles in A Clockwork Orange at the Citizens, Glasgow; and Dolina in John
Byrne's hilarious translation of The Cherry Orchard at Edinburgh's Royal Lyceum. What is she appearing in? Back at the Royal Lyceum where she started out as a teenager in the youth theatre company, she is playing the closeted Agnes in Liz Lochhead's Educating Agnes (8 Apr–7 May), a reworking of the Molière comedy L'ecole des Femmes. 'I'm lucky Liz Lochhead exists,' she says. 'She makes you proud to be Scottish. Her plays have always inspired me. Not only does Liz understand what it is to be Scottish but she understands what it is to be a woman.' What she says: 'I feel part of a generation that is really willing to take risks. It's not all about, 'What can I do to better my career?' – people are willing to stretch themselves and do work that is relevant, that's now.' What we say about her: 'Nicola Roy’s So- Shy – an Ugly Betty lookalike who chatters like a parrot on speed.' Mary Brennan, The Herald, on Aladdin.
Name: Helen Darbyshire Age: 22 Where will I know her from? She’s on Dundee Rep’s graduate scheme, which gives a year-long contract to promising actors
straight out of college. Brought up in nearby Cupar, she introduced herself to Dundee audiences in a minor part in A Doll’s House before taking the lead in Sleeping Beauty. What is she appearing in? Right now, Darbyshire is taking the lead role in Jim Cartwright’s The Rise and Fall of Little Voice (until 19 March) while rehearsing during the day for the part of a princess in the ‘Tim Burton- esque’ children’s show The Firebird (28 March–9 April), followed by a part in Anna Karenina (23 May–11 June) and then the female lead in a site-specific version of Dennis Kelly’s post-apocalyptic two-hander After the End (16–25 June). What she says: ‘It’s a funny time to be in work in this industry with the recession, but it makes you work harder and it makes you appreciate the work you’re doing. I feel positive about my generation of theatremakers because it’s pushing boundaries and there’s so much stuff that’s really great out there.’ What they say about her: ‘Helen Darbyshire brings a delightful child-like quality to her role as Briar Rose, the nap-induced beauty.’ Peter Cargill, The Stage, on Sleeping Beauty. JUNE
DUNSINANE On tour, 14 May–11 Jun Concerned we shouldn’t miss out on a new play by David Greig, the National Theatre of Scotland has kindly bought into this RSC production of his sequel to Macbeth.
AFTER THE END Citizens’ Theatre, Glasgow, 17 May–4 Jun; Dundee Rep, 16–25 Jun You wait ages for a new production of Dennis Kelly’s apocalyptic two- hander and then two come along at once. Both the Citz and Dundee Rep have decided this thriller first seen at Edinburgh’s Traverse deserves a wider audience.
THE INTERMINABLE SUICIDE OF GREGORY CHURCH Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, 19 & 20 May A second chance to catch the peerless Daniel Kitson performing his Fringe First-winning story from 2009 about a man forced to postpone his death because of how long it takes to write his suicide notes.
ANNA KARENINA Dundee Rep, 23 May–11 Jun A second airing for Jo Clifford’s adaptation of the great Tolstoy tragedy about an illicit love affair in an Imperial Russia that is moving from a rural to an industrial economy.
KNIVES IN HENS On tour, 3-20 Jun More from David Harrower, this time in the form of his astonishing debut play set in an unspecified ancient past and revived by the National Theatre of Scotland.
AVENUE Q King’s Theatre, Glasgow, 28 Jun–2 Jul The long-running West End and Broadway puppet musical arrives with a clutch of rave reviews. Imagine a politically incorrect Muppet Show, then add more songs and considerably more puppet sex.
22 THE LIST 3–31 Mar 2011