Past Events
What did you think of these past West Coast Arts productions? Let us know!
2 May Poolewe Hotel (note new venue!) 8pm
An Evening of Classical Music (in aid of Highland Hospice)
25 April Poolewe Hall 8pm
The Mick West Band
Combining one of the best voices in Scotland with a pedigree band to produce a sound rooted in the tradition but not confined by it. This band have been described as "a must for any fan of Scottish song". Mick West - :Vocals; Frank McLaughlin -Guitar,Vocals; Fraser Fifield - Low Whistles, Sax, Cahon.
"West is a wonderful singer with a big, rich, warm expressive voice - in approach and stature somewhat of a Scottish Christy Moore" - THE LIST
More info and music to listen to at Mick West's MySpace
22 April 2008 Aultbea Hall 8pm
Nunkie Theatre Company present Oh, Whistle: Two Ghost Stories by M R James
Over a century after they were first published, the ghost stories of M R James retain their power to terrify and amuse. Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad - a tale of nocturnal horror on the Suffolk coast - is considered by many to be author's masterpiece. It is beautifully complemented here by The Ash Tree, a story of witchcraft and vengeance down the generations. Suitable for 13 years and older.
"Lloyd Parry's beautifully modulated performance is perfectly judged to send an enjoyable chill down the spine". - METRO
More info at Nunkie Theatre Company's website
26 March 2008 Aultbea Hall 8 pm
Third Party's free adaptation of The Tragicall History of Dr Faustus by Christopher Marlowe
“There is enough dynamism, intelligence and unbridled glee onstage to ensure any audience a night of deliciously dangerous, testing theatre” - TIME OUT
More info at Third Party's website
21 November 7.30pm Gairloch Community Centre: Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh present Iain Finlay MacLeod's play THE PEARLFISHER
"1948. The North West Highlands. Jess has a fiery temper and a devil-may-care attitude that don't make fitting in easy, so it's no surprise she finds herself attracted to Ali, a travelling pearl-fisher and fellow outsider. But the jealousy and avarice of some of the village sets a dark series of events in motion. Nearly sixty years later, eighteen-year-old Jessie finds life just as hard. With a work-shy husband and a child on the way, she takes to the river, searching for pearls to try and make ends meet with the old way. The arrangement she strikes up with a local asylum seeker, however, makes waves in both their worlds. The friendships both women strike up with those on the edge of their experience create ripples in their worlds which have implications for them far beyond their present. Asylum and acceptance, longing and belonging - The Pearlfisher weaves these themes into a play with beautiful poetics, striking imagery and a story both wistful and warming. "
25 October 8 pm Aultbea Hall: Mull Theatre present Jon Pope's play about Gavin Maxwell, BRIGHTWATER
"Based on the life and writings of one of the most extraordinary Scots of recent times, the naturalist and explorer, Gavin Maxwell: social renegade, basking shark hunter, racing driver, wartime secret agent and poet – and one of the most popular authors of wildlife books this century. In Ring of Bright Water (1959), his depiction of the West Highlands captivated the world, but his success came, eventually, to haunt him. Now it’s time for a new generation to discover him and his work, which epitomises a wide range of ecological, bio diversity, sustainable development and conservation issues. Maxwell’s constant battle with the elements, and the wildlife – including the otters – contrast with the idealised picture that the film drew. Together with his failed relationships, lack of money and the eventual destruction of his “absolute paradise”, it makes a fascinating tale."
20 October 8 pm Aultbea Hall: Vocal cabaret group FLAMIN' DAMES
"Slick, sassy vocal cabaret combining song, dance, comedy & dramatics from cabaret artistes Hils & Hels. With accompaniment from one of their sensational concert pianists, this show will delight all ages."
Thursday 9 August 2007 8 pm Poolewe Village Hall
LUMINESCENT ORCHESTRII £7 adults, £5 concessions, £2 children
Lush! Raw! Sexy! Live from New York City - Gypsy Tango Klezmer Punk
"The Luminescent Orchestrii plays renditions of Appalachian and Gypsy tunes that run from lively and infectious to deeply melancholy. Its original compositions and varied interpretations of traditional melodies are like tiny, richly arranged musical adventures." -- Time Out, New York
With their many wondrous takes on folk roots and moonshine there’s a frantic, salty and irrepressible stomp to the Balkan hoedown; thrust this in the blender with the inherent punk cool of New York’s underground scene and you’ve a lit fuse for oblivion. Luminescent Orchestrii are an aspiring Romanian hotchpotch from the dirty Big Apple conspiring three fiddles, string bass and guitars with bullhorn harmonica, melodica and human beatbox into a fiery, mutant gypsy folk. With a common love of drinking music the various members of the outfit brought their various groundings in electronica, Goth, funk through Hungary and Romania, returning with what they could best describe as a ‘solitary-rock-band-string-chick-liberation-orchestra’ and have since set about furiously battling their instruments all over the US, charming and bombarding their audiences with their discord harmony and twisted tango. A sexy, reckless and unholy alliance, the LO can surely promise to stir even the most pious of souls - The List, Edinburgh.
See Luminescent Orchestrii's website here
Wed 8th August 2007 Poolewe Village Hall £6.00 adults £3.00 children
Family Ceilidh
a great night of traditional music, song and dance, with...
Òr
Brilliant new band from Edinburgh
Alex Urquhart-Taylor pipes, small pipes, whistles
Fiona Dalgetty, fiddle
Miles Vass, fiddle
Mark Neilly, guitar...... and local musicians
Supported by Highland 2007
Monday 6 August 2007 8 pm Poolewe Village Hall
ALI McCULLOCH & friends
featuring Ali McCulloch - fiddle, Marc Duff - whistles & bodhran, Aaron Jones - bouzouki & guitar
Three times former National Fiddle Champion, Alistair McCulloch is one of the busiest and best-known fiddlers in Scotland. As well as having a highly successful solo career, Alistair is lead fiddler in the band ‘Coila' and recently produced the band's third album. His annual tour of the Scottish Highlands has become an eagerly awaited event in the Scottish Music calendar with his high energy concert performances and infectious humour.
The past year has also seen Alistair perform at the Shetland Festival, Fiddle 2004, the Niel Gow Festival and Speyfest and in August 2005 he was asked to perform for Her Majesty the Queen at Balmoral. For several years he was a soloist with the renowned Scottish Fiddle Orchestra, with whom he performed in some of the UK 's major concert halls, including the Royal Albert Hall and Barbican, London ; Birmingham Town Hall ; the Ulster Hall, Belfast ; Glasgow Royal Concert Hall; and the Usher Hall, Edinburgh .
He also works widely as a session musician having performed, toured and recorded with many Scottish artists. To date, Alistair has appeared on over thirty commercial albums and regularly broadcasts for the BBC -- Alistair is the fiddler on the soundtrack of the hit BBC children's programme, Balamory.
His first book of compositions was recently released to widespread acclaim to follow his two solo albums, ‘Highly Strung' and ‘Wired Up'. Alistair's teaching roles include being musical director of the Ayrshire Fiddle Orchestra, which toured in the USA in July 2005, principal tutor at Glasgow Fiddle Workshop and external fiddler examiner at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama.
He is joined onstage by former Capercaillie member Marc Duff on whistles and bodhran and award-winning guitarists and bouzouki player Aaron Jones.
See Ali McCulloch's website here
Saturday 4 August 2007 8 pm Poolewe Village Hall £7 adults, £5 concessions, £2 children
A Night At The Musicals
Local singers and musicians take you through a showstopping selection of songs from the musicals. From My Fair Lady to South Pacific, Porgy and Bess to Cabaret.
Tuesday 24 July 2007 8pm Aultbea Village Hall £7 adults, £5 concessions, £2 children
Wayfarer Productions presents:
JOHN MUIR by Murray Watts
One-man show performed by Andrew Harrison
Murray Watts' dramatisation of the life and work of John Muir was commissioned by the John Muir trust for their 21st anniversary conference in November 2004. The venue was the Pitlochry Festival theatre and the impact of the play was immense.
Using minimal props - a table, a chair, some books, a blanket and a step ladder - Andrew Harrison recreates with startling and powerful simplicity both the character and the vision of John Muir and the context and the background to his achievements and aspirations.
We travel from Dunbar to Yosemite, from Wisconsin to Wyoming, encountering on the way poets, preachers and presidents; but best of all, we journey into the heart and mind and passion of Muir himself.
With rare deftness, power and conviction, the compelling combination of Murray Watts' script and Andrew Harrison's acting bring a story alive that is in turns enchanting, chellenging, humorous, moving and inspiring.
Cyprus by Peter Arnott
from Mull Theatre
The play connects the islands of Mull and Cyprus, by a tangled route via Oman, Afghanistan and Iraq. As the War on Terror grinds on from failure to catastrophe, Brian Traquair, a retired civil servant with a remote home on Mull, finds that his old-style pragmatism is increasingly in demand. Traquair is a man with a secretive past and an ambiguous present - as well as dubious acquaintances. His former protégé, Michael Griffen, comes up to visit Traquair and his troubled daughter, Alison, and through the door with him come foreign and domestic wars, old and new. Terrorism and intrigue, corruption and covert action have all come home.
A modern political thriller set against the backdrop of British foreign policy, CYPRUS premiered on Mull in summer 2005 before transferring to London's West End where it ran for 5 weeks. 2007 sees a substantially revised script and new production which will reflect the constantly changing picture of life and events in Iraq, Iran and the middle east, not to mention the substantial implications for life in the west as a result of the "war on error" and its related activities.
"Cyprus is the first serious dramatic attempt to confront directly the issues of military and political intelligence raised by the Iraq War. This is theatrical thinking that matters mightily" Peter Stothard, The Times
"Arnott's fascinating play questions the morality of Britain's spies and the spooky underworld of intelligence agents. The dramatic noose tightens thrillingly as the tables turn to devastating effect" Nicholas de Jongh, Evening Standard (Critics Choice)
"It's well acted and totally gripping - as exciting as an episode of Spooks" Time Out - (Critics Choice)
Tickets available on the door £7.00 (adults) £5.00 (concessions) - not suitable for children under 16.
Wednesday 28 March 2007 8pm Poolewe Village Hall:
Sirens - an exciting new all female band showcasing astonishing instrumental prowess with three powerful vocalists. Their music features original compositions alongside a wealth of traditional and contemporary material ranging from Gaelic song to American Bluegrass.
Collectively the Sirens show an impressive array of musical achievements including BBC Radio Scotland's Scottish Young Traditional Musician Of The Year 2006, Scottish Young Traditional Musician Of The Year Finalist 2005 and winner of BBC Fame Academy 2004, as well as members performing with acclaimed traditional music groups such as The Unusual Suspects and Crosscurrent.
Laura Salter - Mandolin and Vocals; Lillias Kinsman-Blake Flute and Fiddle; Olivia Ross Vocals, Fiddle and Viola; Rachael Newton Harp, Vocals and Fiddle Shona Kipling Accordion; Shona Mooney Fiddle.
Listen to some examples of their music here.
Tickets available on the door £7.00 (adults) £5.00 (concessions) £2.00 (children)
Thursday 22 March 2007 8 pm Aultbea Village Hall:
The Unconquered by Torben Betts
from Stellar Quines Theatre Company
‘One day you will say something from the heart, a truth forced raw and screeching from the howling depths of your soul.’
"Inspired by a 1944 short story by Somerset Maugham, Torben Betts's The Unconquered is a bleak, brutal and frightening 80-minute verse drama, built around a contemporary political parable about a conventional family - boring middle-class parents, rebellious daughter - whose lives are thrown into chaos when revolution sweeps their country, followed by an invasion by western powers, and the intrusion into their home of an invading soldier." - The Scotsman
Under the direction of Muriel Romanes (The Memory of Water) and with a striking setting designed by visual artist Keith McIntyre, an ensemble of high profile actors will draw you into a surreal and compelling theatrical experience. The Unconquered follows Torben Betts’ most recent successes in London with The Lunatic Queen and The Biggleswades.
"An explosive, brilliantly daring new play... Betts is an uncommonly talented playwright.’ – Time Out
"Betts’ angry forensics, tempered as they are by a rich and rhythmic poetic language have much to say to this Tesco and Ikea-drugged generation." - The List
Playwright Torben Betts talking about the play in The List.
Tickets available on the door £7.00 (adults) £5.00 (concessions) - not suitable for children under 16.
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