'Aisling's Children: Tales of the Homecoming' - Performed at The Gathering in Edinburgh on 25 and 26 July 2009
Issued: 2 June 2009
The Gathering 2009 has today unveiled details of the historic pageant taking place to mark the culmination of activities for the action-packed weekend. Created and produced by an award winning production team, Aisling's Children; Tales of the Homecoming is sure to be an extraordinary event to end The Gathering 2009 in spectacular style.
Aisling's Children weaves a magical tale, starting from the very beginning of the Scottish nation and running through to the present day to tell the dramatic story of the clans' role in the history of Scotland,and takes its rightful place as the jewel in the crown of the Homecoming Scotland celebrations. The role of Aisling will be played by renowned Scottish singer and actress Annie Grace. Set on the esplanade of the historic EdinburghCastle, Aisling's Children; Tales of the Homecoming promises to bring together both Scotland's far reaching Diaspora and its native inhabitants as the story of Scotland's dramatic history unfolds in a bold and breathtaking finale.
Jenny Gilmour, Director of The Gathering 2009, states, "Aisling's Children is a fantastic celebration of Scotland's culture, heritage and the people who honour this all over the world.Our history and our ancestors have played a remarkable role in the making of the modern world.
"We are bringing together around 200 cast members from across Scotland and beyond to perform Aisling's Children, with music, dance and narrative and spectacular lighting and audiovisual effects, under the direction of a truly world-class production team.Their incredible expertise and enthusiasm for the pageant will make this a stunning event and a fitting finale to The Gathering 2009."
The production team behind Aisling's Children includes award winning director and writer Mark Murphy. Mark directed the opening night ceremony for the Liverpool Capital of Cultureto an estimated live audience of fifty thousandand a worldwide TV audience of millions. Together with Murphy, the script has been written by Edinburgh-based writer, journalist and academic Raymond Ross and the designer is Dan Potra, who designed for the opening ceremonies of the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games and the Sydney 2000 Olympics.
The creative team also includes lighting designer, Phil Supple, who is renowned for his work on outdoor and site specific events. The original soundtrack for Aisling's Children, commissioned from Scotland's award winning composer Jim Sutherland, sees the creation, by Jim, of a new bespoke ensemble for Scotland, The True North Orchestra, which brings together more than 36 musicians from the world of classical and traditional music. The producer of Aisling's Children is John Wassell, co-founder of Walk the Plank, and a renowned producer of site specific outdoor events throughout the world.
- Adapted for the stage and directed by Mark Murphy
- Script by Raymond Ross
- Score composed by Jim Sutherland
- Production design by Dan Potra
- Lighting design by Phil Supple
- Producer – John Wassell
- Executive Producer – Jennifer Gilmour
Name of Event: The Gathering 2009
Dates: 25th and 26 July
Venue: Holyrood Park, Edinburgh
Name of Show: 'Aisling' Children; Tales of the Homecoming'
Saturday 25th July - Starts 10pm and finishes 11pm
Tickets for Aisling's Children are available as part of The Gathering 2009 Passports, which provide unlimited access to the weekend of highland games, a place in the clan march and a seat for Aisling's Children
Gold Passports are sold out.
Silver Passort £95 (inc VAT) - seating in the North & South stands.
Bronze Passport £88 (inc VAT) - seating in North & South stands.
The Gathering 2009
The Gathering 2009 is a unique celebration of Scotland's culture, both contemporary and traditional, taking place in Edinburgh on Saturday 25 and Sunday 26 July. The centrepiece of Homecoming Scotland, this two-day World class Highland Games in HolyroodPark will feature piping, dancing, and the World Highland Games Heavy Events Championship. There will be the best of the nation's food, drink, crafts and textiles, with live performances from leading Scottish musicians and book readings from best-selling authors. The highlight of the weekend is a clan parade along the Royal Mile from the Palace of Holyroodhouse to EdinburghCastle Esplanade, ahead of the world premiere of Aisling's Children; Tales of the Homecoming which tells the dramatic story of Scotland's history. www.thegathering2009.com
Homecoming Scotland 2009
1. Homecoming Scotland is funded by the Scottish Government and is managed by EventScotland the national events agency in partnership with VisitScotland, the country's national tourism agency. Homecoming is part financed by the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund.
2. Homecoming Scotland 2009 aims to engage Scots at home as well as motivate people of Scottish descent and those who simply love Scotland, to take part in an inspirational celebration of our culture, heritage and some of the many great contributions Scotland has given to the world.
3. 2009 marks the 250th anniversary of the birth of Scotland's national poet, Robert Burns, with the programme's design guided by Scotland's unique position as the home of Burns himself, Golf, Whisky, Great Minds and Innovations, and Scotland's culture and heritage which lives on at home and through Scotland's global family.
4. The budget for Homecoming is £5 million and the target is for an 8 to 1 return on investment i.e. £40 million revenue additionality.
6. For more information on Homecoming Scotland please visit: www.homecomingscotland2009.com
The Production Team for Aisling's Children
Annie Grace grew up in the Highlands and has a rich and varied career in music and theatre. Notably she joined Iron Horse in 1992, which became one of the acclaimed "new wave" folk bands of the nineties. The group headlined at major festivals including Vancouver Music Festival, Celtic Connections and the Interceltique festival in Lorient. Musical projects with Iron Horse include the award-winning Voice of the Land ('95) commissioned by the BBC and tours with British Council projects in Central Asia; and a collaboration with Sogdiana, the national orchestra of Uzbekistan ('02).
After Iron Horse retired in 2001, Annie performed in the award winning Accidental Death of an Accordionist, The Celtic Story (Wildcat 2001), The Wedding Homers (Traverse theatre 2002), Mum's the Word (R.C. Kelly productions 2003), Miniatures, her first one-woman show Poker Alice (Play, pie and a pint series, 2004) and Story Nation, four plays in four days, (Dumfries and Galloway Arts 2005).
In February 2004, Annie released her solo debut album Take me out drinking tonight to an overwhelming response, including a 5 star review in the Sunday Herald.
Mark Murphy is an award-winning director, published writer, film maker and movement specialist.
His directing credits include seven shows for Vtol Dance Company; A Clockwork Orange and 1984 for The Northern Stage Ensemble; S.W.A.L.K. for Walk The Plank; the multi-award winning On The Case for Australian company Legs On The Wall; work for National Theatre of Scotland, The Royal Shakespeare Company, NVA, Boilerhouse and The Lyric, Hammersmith.
In 2008 together with producer John Wassell and designer Dan Potra, Mark directed the opening night ceremony for the Liverpool Capital of Cultureto an estimated live audience of 50,000and a worldwide TV audience of millions.
Raymond Ross is a playwright, freelance writer, editor, journalist, education correspondent and an Associate Lecturer with the Open University in Scotland. He is also an OU Prisons Tutor.
He is a co-founder and the Editor of Cencrastus magazine (Scottish and International Literature, Arts and Affairs); funded by the Scottish Arts Council since 1979 and contributing co-editor of critical books on poets Sorley MacLean and Norman MacCaig.
Raymond writes for the Times Educational Supplement Scotland and has contributed articles, interviews, poetry, prose, theatre and book reviews to most Scottish literary publications and newspapers including The Scotsman, The Herald, Chapman, Radical Scotland. From 1989 – 1995 he was Theatre Editor of the Edinburgh Evening News. A member of the Scottish Society of Playwrights, the National Union of Journalists and registered with the General Teaching Council, Raymond teaches creative writing at Edinburgh University's Centre for Continuing Education, tutors therein Scottish Literature summer schools and is a Scotsman Festival/ Fringe reviewer.
Award winning composer Jim Sutherland's career ranges across a vast spectrum of musical genres, as well as a string of major commissions for film, TV and theatre including Annie Griffin's British Comedy Award winning film Festival and the first Gaelic feature film Seachd
Jim received the Creative Scotland Award for artists of distinction and originality for La Banda Europa, an extraordinary orchestra of 35 virtuoso musicians from all over Europe, who play the ethnic instruments indigenous to their own European country of origin.
He has produced more that 70 albums including, Aberfeldy , Salsa Celtica, Shooglenifty and his influential folk tune compositions have been recorded on over 100 CDs by artists all over the world.
Dan Potra moved to the UK from Australia where he graduated from National Institute of Dramatic Art in 1992, having previously graduated from Bucharest Art Institute in 1985.
Dan has designed extensively for theatre, opera, film, television and large scale events across the world.
He has worked with companies including Opera Australia and Sydney Theatre Company as well as designing for the opening ceremonies of the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games and the Sydney 2000 Olympics.
His work in the UK includes L'incoronazione for Garsington Opera; Samson for Buxton Festival; Sweeney Todd at the Royal Festival Hall; As you like It; Merrily we roll along; The Importance Of Being Earnest and Moon Landing at Derby Playhouse and the opening ceremony and Portrait of a Nation events for Liverpool 08.
He is also designing large scale events for Bollywood in India and across the world.
Phil Supple specialises in lighting design for outdoor and site-specific projects. Recent work includes Sticky for Improbable Theatre; Before the Wolf for UZ events; Full Circle for The World Famous fireworkers; Glow 2008 for the Newcastle Gateshead Initiative and Northumberland Lights for Northumberland Strategic Partnership.
Phil works regularly in Scotland for some of the Nation's leading companies and artists. Projects include Half Life for NVA and the National Theatre of Scotland; Spirit for NVA and The Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh; and Iconic Burns the launch event of Homecoming Scotland 2009 for UZ events.
John Wassell co-founded Walk The Plank in 1992, setting up Britain's first theatre ship, which toured the UK coast for 16 years. He has since developed the outdoor work of the company, creating more than 100 shows all over the world.
His previous work includes Theatre of Fire, Emergency Exits Arts and Welfare State International, with whom he became project director for the company's largest site specific shows, in the UK, USA and Europe.
John produced the Lantern section of the 2002 Commonwealth Games, the Opening and Closing nights of Liverpool 08, and is currently producing three large-scale summer events on the Liverpool Waterfront.
Jennifer Gilmour, co-director of The Gathering 2009, has almost two decades of experience in event management, starting with her role as co-ordinator of Fringe Sunday, a major part of Edinburgh's Fringe Festival, which attracted 200,000 visitors.
Since then she has worked in the UK and around the world as a freelance event director on major sporting and large corporate events at some of the world's great venues including the Sydney Opera House, London's Wembley Stadium and EdinburghCastle, showcasing many stars from the worlds of sport and entertainment.
Jenny is the owner and Managing Director of Edinburgh-based event management company 'Red Sky at Night' who were responsible for the creation of the First Minister's Homecoming Burns Supper in Alloway last January. Her small but expert band of event managers is the production team behind 'The Gathering 2009'.
