Gorgeous Avatar by Jules Horne

Avatar on Tour - Lewis Writers' Workshop

Secret confession: when Suzanne (Graham, Literary Development Officer, on the left here) and I arrive at An Lanntair, we're horrified that only one person has signed up for the playwriting workshop. It seems a helluva way to go for such a small number. And yet everywhere, there's evidence of the marketing team at work - newspaper copy, ads, posters. And I've done a radio interview the week before. But Alex Macdonald, the programming officer, is reassuring: 'On Lewis, people don't book in advance. They just turn up on the day.' Oh yeah, we think. And hare to the office to knock out some flyers.
The lone playwright turns up: poet David Martin, whose first collection is due out shortly. He's an experienced writer with a clear sense of where he's going. We wonder whether to ditch the workshop and head for the An Lanntair cafe. But in the end, we needn't have worried. A great group of writers turn up, some of them bilingual in Gaelic and English. It's clear there's plenty of talent around. We work together on short scenes, character-building and some writing strategies. (An online version of the workshop will be posted here soon). Names and emails are exchanged, with hopes for the germ of a new playwrights' group. It's also a chance for Suzanne to find out more about the Highlands and Islands Theatre Network and Theatre Hebrides from one of its founder members, Maggie Smith. With more than twenty performing companies in the region, there's an unusual amount of opportunity for local writers - so every incentive to really work at it.
As the workshop is underway, we can see the Calmac ferry from the window, heading off for Ullapool. The cast and crew are on board. They're due in Achiltibuie on Monday night. It's the last chance to leave the island by boat, as everything closes down on Sunday. Suzanne and I are stranded on Lewis until the sole flight out on Sunday. But there are worse places to be stranded. As it turns out, the Calmac ferry is one of them...

posted by Jules Horne @ 6/04/2006 10:51:00 AM