Take Five: Theatre invites help to celebrate birthday

IT IS a once in a lifetime opportunity for Scotland's amateurwriters to take centre stage.

Dozens of five-minute bursts of dramatic works are to beperformed by actors, directors and producers as part of the NationalTheatre of Scotland's (NTS) fifth birthday celebrations.

The company's appropriately titled Five Minute Theatre, whichwill also be broadcast, aims to uncover the latest talent in thecountry.

The NTS is seeking submissions from amateur dramatists, screenand playwrights, theatre enthusiasts and anyone who has an idea forthe scheme, which has a final deadline of March 25.

The pieces will be either broadcast live or recorded for 24 hoursfrom June 21 to 22, but all must have live audiences for theirperformance.

More adult or challenging material will be broadcast late atnight or early in the morning on the NTS website, and companydirector Vicky Featherstone said there may also be a short delay onthe live performances in case anything goes awry.

Yesterday, at a press conference to mark five years of the NTS'sexistence, Ms Featherstone said: "It's the NTS's birthday present toScotland and the rest of the world, if they are good enough. This isus inviting everybody in Scotland to make a piece.

"What is theatre? We don't know the answer to that and we keepasking that question.

"What we do know is that for theatre to work, there has to be anaudience, so all they have to do is prove there is an audience fortheir work.

"This really is Scotland's chance to make the theatre that theywant to make. I am thrilled we are able to do this, I think it ispart of the maturing of a national theatre."

The maximum number of five-minute performances will be 288, butwith four live shows an hour that could overrun, this number couldvary.

The live shows will be broadcast over the internet from fourstudios spread across Scotland.

In its five years, the NTS has had a number of critical andcommercial hits, most notably Black Watch and Beautiful Burnout,with only a few notably less successful shows, such as last year'sCaledonia, which was troubled, and the controversial Wall Of Deathshow.

Ms Featherstone noted that yesterday the NTS was performing orrehearsing in venues all over Scotland and the world: The StrangeUndoing Of Prudencia Hart at the The Ceilidh Place, Ullapool;Beautiful Burnout is opening in New York; Extreme in Aberdeen; GirlX is being rehearsed in the Glue Factory in Glasgow, andSomersaults, by Iain Macleod, is in rehearsal at the NTS base inSpier's Lock, while Black Watch has just finished in Texas, US.

"That's just what we are doing today, and that is just the tip ofthe iceberg, we have so many more audiences to seduce," she said."So many artists and companies to work with, places to go andstories to tell." Of the five-minute shows, Ms Featherstone added:"You can write your own script, create a scene or a situation, itcan have music or dance, a director and actors, props and costumesor something no-one has thought of yet.

"You can interpret this in any way you like, any style you like.It can be a thriller, a drama, a romance, a monologue, anything. Itcan be on a stage, in a living room, a park, village hall, communitycentre, library, office, class room, football pitch - the choice isyours."

Fiona Hyslop, the Culture Minister, said: "Over its first fiveyears, our National Theatre has grown into a remarkable culturalasset, celebrating the work of our many artists and bringing theatreto communities across the country.

"We have also seen our National Theatre flourish on theinternational stage, touring acclaimed productions and showcasingour cultural excellence to new audiences.

"The fifth anniversary programme shows innovation, ambition and agenuine commitment to engage with audiences - all of which signals agreat future for theatre in this country."

The NTS is also launching its Staging the Nation "nationalconversation", which will spark a series of debates about theatrethrough lectures, debates, curated events, websites and book clubs.

Andrew O'Hagan, David Greig, and Anne Bonnar are alreadyscheduled to deliver lectures, and other events including a debateabout the Traverse Theatre and new writing, the Citizens' Theatre,Scottish political theatre and debate about variety, pantomime andtheatre "for the people".

l Visit www.fiveminutetheatre.com to submit ideas