2011

Bank of Scotland Imaginate Festival

Starcatchers brought four performances to the Festival in 2011, proving that work for very young children (0-5) is every bit as beautiful and necessary as theatre for older children and adults. The Starcatchers project was born in 2007, under the leadership of Rhona Matheson, and thanks to Inspire funding was supported by Imaginate from 2008 – 2010. Today it is Scotland’s foremost organisation for the creation of performance and creative activity for babies, toddlers and young children and the adults who care for them. Scroll through the media gallery to see images from Icepole, Oops a Daisy, First Light and The Attic – “There was a real sense that something important was going on”, remembers Rhona.

Initially the Festival had little on offer for its youngest audiences, other than a crèche. “The crèche was just the wisdom at the time”, explains Tony. “But I once did the slip of saying, ‘Ah yes, the children go into a cage…’ and then I thought, actually, it is a bit like a cage. It was a case of festival directors like myself having to get over our own prejudices and just going for it, finding those pieces that worked. As with all things, it was a case of following the art and following the artists.”

Did you know…?

Clockwork was the result of a collaboration between Visible Fictions and Scottish Opera, based on an original story by Philip Pullman.

Netherlands theatre company Het Filiaal’s Miss Ophelia is still vividly remembered by Scottish artists.

Stevie Dante was born! He is an interactive virtual theatre critic created as a learning resource to help enrich post-show discussions in schools, and you can meet him here.

White makes a colourful splash

In 2011 White made its Children’s Festival debut, after premiering the year previous at the Fringe. Created by Catherine Wheels, Andy Manley and Ian Cameron, the show went on to tour the world, from New Zealand to Hong Kong, Denmark to Los Angeles, and its prizes include a Herald Angel, a Scotsman Fringe First, a Total Theatre Award, and three CATS Awards. The Guardian called it “as cleverly executed as a conjuring trick”, with Alice McGrath describing it as a “crucial piece of work” in Scottish theatre.

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Jeugdtheatergroep Het Filiaal met de voorstelling 'mevr. Ophelia', naar het boek 'Ophelia's Schaduwtheater' van Michael Ende. Met Ramses Graus en Mirthe Klieverik.