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Theatre Alba was a Scottish theatre company founded in 1981 by Charles Nowosielski and Richard Cherns. With the aim of promoting diversity in Scottish theatre, it produced plays in the Scots language and encouraged new Scottish writing.[1]

The company's first production was Edward Stiven's Tamlane, staged in the open air on the Calton Hill, Edinburgh, in 1981. It then moved to The Astoria, a former dance hall in Abbeymount, where it presented The Jeweller's Shop by Karol Wojtyla, The Passion, Part One by Bill Bryden, Swanwhite by August Strindberg, and the world premiere of The Shepherd Beguiled by Netta. B. Reid. Programmed to run until 28 February 1982, the production was extended until 6 March by popular demand. It was revived at the Braidburn Park open-air theatre on the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August, and subsequently staged at the Traverse Theatre from 28 September to 2 October.[2][3]

Theatre Alba's production of The Puddok an the Princess by David Purves won a Fringe First Award in August 1985, was staged again at the Traverse Theatre in December, and was taken on national tours by the company in 1986 and 1988.[4][5][6][7] After he was appointed Artistic Director at the Brunton Theatre, Musselburgh, in 1986, Nowosielski continued to direct Theatre Alba productions at the Assembly Rooms on the Edinburgh Fringe.[8][9] The company toured Edward Stiven's Tamlane in the Borders during the Borders Festival of Ballads and Legends in the auntumn of 1987.[10] Stiven's The Cauldron was taken on tour in the spring of 1988.[11] David Purves' Whuppitie Stourie was taken on a tour of the Central Belt in the autumn of 1989.[12][13] Robert McLellan's The Carlin Moth was staged at Theatre Workshop on the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August 1990 and toured South-West Scotland in the Autumn.[14][15]

In 1998, the company was invited to mount its Festival Fringe productions in Duddingston Kirk Gardens. Its first production there was a revival of Netta B. Reid's A Shepherd Beguiled, and it continued to use the gardens as an August venue for more than twenty years.[16] In 2002, the company introduced work for children under the direction of Clunie Mackenzie and Keith Hutcheon.[17]

Productions

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References

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  1. ^ The Lass wi' the Muckle Mou theatre programme, Theatre Alba, 1986
  2. ^ Theatricalia, The Shepherd Beguiled
  3. ^ a b Little Red Riding Hood / Saint Joan theatre programme, Theatre Alba, August 2008
  4. ^ Theatricalia, The Puddok an the Princess
  5. ^ The Puddok an the Princess tour listings, 1986, The List, issue 15, 2–15 May, p. 7, ISSN 0959-1915
  6. ^ Puddok Prowess, The List, issue 16, 16–29 May 1986, p. 18, ISSN 0959-1915
  7. ^ a b The Puddok an the Princess tour listings, 1988, The List, issue 80, 28 October – 10 November 1988, pp. 21 & 23, ISSN 0959-1915
  8. ^ Obituary: Charles Nowosielski, visionary director behind Theatre Alba, The Scotsman, 3 June 2020
  9. ^ a b review of The Lass wi' the Muckle Mou by Helen Davidson, The List, Issue 23, 22 August - 4 September 1986, pp. 10 - 12
  10. ^ Theatre listings, The List, Issue 50, 18 September - 1 October 1987, p. 24
  11. ^ a b Theatre listings, The List, Issue 63, 1 - 14 April 1988, p. 19
  12. ^ a b "A Measure of Scots", The List, Issue 105, 29 September - 12 October 1989, p. 45
  13. ^ advertisement for the Theatre Alba production of Whuppitie Stourie, The List, Issue 105, 29 September - 12 October 1989, p. 4
  14. ^ a b review of The Carlin Moth, The List, Issue 128, 17 - 23 August 1990, p. 18
  15. ^ advertisement for the tour of The Carlin Moth, The List, Issue 131, 14 - 27 September 1990, p. 54
  16. ^ The Quest for Excalibur / The Shepherd Beguiled theatre programme, Theatre Alba, August 2016
  17. ^ a b The Fairy Queen / A Man for All Seasons / The Ootlaw theatre programme, Theatre Alba, August 2002
  18. ^ Dudley Edwards, Owen, "Cradle on the Tree-Top: the Edinburgh Festival and Scottish Theatre", in Stevenson, Randall & Wallace, Gavin (eds) (1996), Scottish Theatre Since the Seventies, Edinburgh University Press, p.42, ISBN 9780748607815
  19. ^ Theatre listings The List, Issue 27, 17 - 30 October 1986, p. 22
  20. ^ Advertisement for Theatre Alba's production of Tamlane, The List, Issue 47, 7 - 20 August 1987, pp. 10 & 11
  21. ^ Theatricalia, Whuppitie Stourie
  22. ^ Whuppitie Stourie tour listings, The List, issue 107, 27 October – 9 November 1989, p. 52, ISSN 0959-1915
  23. ^ advertisement for The Carlin Moth, The List, Issue 127, 10 - 16 August 1990, p. 18
  24. ^ Theatre Alba website
  25. ^ Theatre Alba website
  26. ^ Theatre Alba website
  27. ^ Theatre Alba website
  28. ^ Theatre Alba website
  29. ^ Theatre Alba website
  30. ^ Theatre Alba production programme, 2009
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