As part of Scotland’s Year of Stories the team at Driftwood Cinema want to take storytelling back to its natural home, the Howff or Pub and provide a new form of entertainment to support you as the hospitality industry recovers from the pandemic.
For centuries pubs have been the centre of communities where people come together and the traditional place where epic tales are told often aided by a pint or two. Tales of bravery, tales of ghosts, tales of local mystery, tales of adventure or just tall tales, all taken from local legend and history.
The project will commission new works from local performers to take their tales out to pubs and engage with audiences there; reaching new demographics that may not otherwise venture to the theatre to see live performance and provide a unique experience for your customers. The work will be original script based on local legend or folklore or expand upon existing work written or created in Scotland to bring a new and dynamic performance. We will prioritise work that is local to Dumfries and Galloway and our rich history as a border land.
Performance Information
Each performance will consist of two 30-minute pieces which will be based on local legend or folklore or expand upon existing work.
The performer will adopt a character to tell the tale, for example to act out the drunk at the end of the bar telling of the time when they saw the mysterious beast whilst fishing in one of the forest rivers of Galloway, or the elderly person sat in the big armchair by the fire and tell of the Tall Airman of Bladnoch who walks the airfield to this day, or an historical character regaling the punters with tales of love unrequited in the 1750s that led to murder, revenge and a desperate attempt to escape the shire gaol before the hangman came.
Performers will be either solo or duo, with no backdrop, scenery or special lighting or staging so that performances can be accommodated in a wide variety of venues including where audiences may not have direct line of sight to the performer.
Your commitment:
This project is funded by the Scottish Museums, Year of Stories fund 2022 and therefore there is no cost to host one of our performances. All we ask is that we can work with you to promote the event to your customers and that you are on hand to support our performers on the night with access to an area to change. We will work with you to agree the best day and time for the performances.
There is also no charge for customers to watch the performances, however we would like to “pass a hat around” at the end as a traditional method of accepting donations appreciating the work of the performer.
Duration: 1st October to 31st December 2022
Location: Dumfries and Galloway
Number of Performance Venues: 24 (6 in each area: Annandale and Eskdale; Nithsdale, Stewartry, Wigtownshire)
Key Dates
Deadline for you to let us know if you want your pub to take part:
Fri, 26th August 2022
Performance Delivery:
1st October to 31st December 2022
Application Process
To let us know that you would like your pub to take part simply email us at: [email protected]
Or telephone Matt on 07981925629
Please let us have: a contact name, pub name, pub address, contact telephone number.
We will always send an email acknowledging receipt of any applications. If you require specific support when making an application, please let us know.
About Driftwood Cinema
Driftwood Cinema is a not-for-profit, community cinema support organisation operating in the South West of Scotland.
We have been established for eight years and support 21 Community venues screen films as well as providing one-off screening events both indoors and outdoors. We also support communities with live performance events.
Further information
For further information about this opportunity, or to ask us specific questions about this project, please email [email protected]
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