Electric Theatre Workshop take acclaimed original production of Blood Orange to Prague
The play was successful in being curated for the 13th Prague Fringe Festival which features some of Europe’s top theatre companies each year.
One reviewer described the show as a ‘punch in the face, power and painful…which demands your attention throughout’, and international audiences were treated to 60 minutes worth of the Dumfries accent, which included some of the region’s top acting talent.
It’s yet another success for the Award winning company – under the leadership of the Artistic Director, Graham Main who are emerging as one of the top companies in Scotland.
The play documents a real event in Dumfries history – when the Scottish Defence League came to town to object an increase in accommodation to the Mosque on the Annan Road. The play was written last Summer to reflect a moment in our changing social environment.
Originally a commission for the first Environmental Arts Festival Scotland – the piece was created by Electric Theatre Workshop as a way to document the shifting change in the political landscape, and rise of the right wing in modern Britain.
The play will now take centre stage at Edinburgh Fringe Festival at the Summerhall venue where it will run for one month.
Graham Main, Artistic Director of the company who created the piece said,
“Given the recent rise of the right wing in the European elections, and the media obsession with UKIP, the play questions just what we define as prejudice, and what we don’t. It doesn’t offer us an opinion to follow, simply that our world is changing, and that here in Dumfries & Galloway – we have a story to share with the world. It is brilliant to think that international audiences are starting to connect with Dumfries in this way “
Diane MacLean, Chair of Electric Theatre Workshop, said
“The level of artistic output we are reaching in 2014 is nothing short of incredible. There is a real sense that the company has the potential to become one of Scotland’s leading performance companies. In the last year alone across our portfolio we have created six new productions ranging from Cabaret to solo live art, and three of which will be exported. “
“We don’t often think of the creative arts sector as a manufacturer, but the reality is we are a producer of product which is being exported out of our region, which is being sold on an international market place “
Cathy Agnew, Chair of the Dumfries & Galloway Chamber of Arts said
“We are extremely proud that something of this calibre has been created and produced in Dumfries and Galloway and is now being shared on an international platform. It is exciting to see how a quality theatrical production can transcend cultural barriers.”
Creative Team
Jordan Chisholm, Adam Rowland, Justin Hyslop, Kiaran Macglin & Catherine Major
Written and Directed by Graham Main, and Designed by Ryan Smith
