June Carter Cash: The Woman, Her Music and Me

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We are delighted to set free today the news of our new show, June Carter Cash: The Woman, Her Music and Me, in co-production with the National Theatre of Scotland.

The production is the first play from actor Charlene Boyd who, through it, shares a very personal story of her own relationship with the music of country icon June Carter Cash and their common experiences as performers and working mothers.

Performed by Charlene, directed by Cora Bissett and designed by Shona Reppe, this is much more than a simple biography of June’s life and music, it is a shared tale of empowerment, endurance and perseverance.

This play with songs will premiere at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe before touring in Scotland to venues where, performed in cabaret style, we take inspiration from Nashville’s legendary Bluebird Café as Charlene gets to grip with a life less ordinary in a raw, honest and authentic piece of gig theatre.

For more information head on over to our Current page or to the National Theatre of Scotland website.  We’ll also be sharing more information here about the show, the rest of the wonderful production team, and our Fringe and tour venues and dates as as we move closer to the production.

Photo credit: Jess Hardwick

It’s Edinburgh’s festival season again!

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Although we don’t have a show at the Edinburgh festivals this year, we want to send all our love and best wishes to all the talented and brave souls making this city the most exciting and glorious place to be in August!

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Recently returned from the Bethlehem Site-Specific Theatre Festival

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Our Co-Artistic Director, Ben Harrison and Artistic Director Allie Butler, have recently returned from the Bethlehem Site-Specific Theatre Festival.

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We’re looking for a new Board member

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Would you be interested in coming on board to help guide Grid Iron as we head towards our fourth decade of making new, world-class site-specific theatre productions?

If you are new to our work, please take a little trip around our website to see what we’re all about but here is some brief information about us, what we’re ideally looking for from a new board member and how to apply:

Grid Iron is a new writing, theatre company specialising in site-specific and promenade productions; working across Scotland and also internationally for 28 years, garnering over 30 awards.

We are a charity registered in Scotland, receiving Regular Funding from Creative Scotland, and are members of the Federation of Scottish Theatre, the Independent Theatre Council, The Green Arts Initiative and Arts & Business Scotland.

We are looking for dynamic individual(s) to join our established Board of Directors, who meet quarterly in Edinburgh. Directors are expected to devote a small number of hours between meetings to board business. This is a voluntary position and board members receive no remuneration.

We are keen to hear from a wide range of people and particularly encourage applicants who are from underrepresented groups. However you identify and whatever background you bring with you, we welcome you to apply for this role with Grid Iron.

We are particularly interested in people with some or all of the following attributes:

  • an interest in the arts, particularly theatre
  • a knowledge of the cultural scene in Scotland
  • digital life/social media engagement experience
  • legal experience (particularly charity and/or employment law
  • board experience in public, private or voluntary sector
  • business and cultural connections

HOW TO APPLY:
Please contact us at [email protected] supplying a short cover letter and CV. (On receipt, we will send you an Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form to complete).

Closing date for applications: 4th December 2022

Please do think about coming to join us.  There are responsibilities.  There is also fun.

Photo credit: Jess Shurte. Muster Station: Leith.  Grid Iron and Edinburgh International Festival.

Grid Iron at the 75th Edinburgh International Festival

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Having kept it secret for quite a long time we are delighted to finally be able to announce that Edinburgh International Festival have commissioned us to create a brand new show for this year’s festival, their 75th.

The new show, Muster Station: Leith, will be performed in promenade around Leith Academy, marking the culmination of EIF’s four year residency within the school. We are also honoured to have been asked by the Festival’s Learning and Engagement team to be Artists in Residence during this final year, which will see us working with pupils in a number of different ways, not only creatively but also by providing professional training and paid work opportunities in Front of House and stage management/technical roles.

For more information about the show as well as dates, times and how to book, please visit our CURRENT page or go directly to www.eif.co.uk/events/muster-station-leith.

PLEASE NOTE: Tickets will go on sale to the public on 8th April 2022.  As capacity is quite limited we advise booking early!

And If Not Now, When?

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Grid Iron are delighted to be supporting new Edinburgh art collective, And If Not Now, on the presentation of their first project which will run in the National Museum of Scotland during COP26.

And If Not Now, When? is an immersive, reactive, sound and film installation by Edinburgh artists Philip Pinsky and Karen Lamond which invites you to experience a transformed urban reality, inspiring hope and possibility.

The work is a provocation for each of us to respond to the climate emergency by asking if we want to return to where we were before the global pandemic or use what we have learned to create a different, more sustainable reality.

We have the power to transform our cities for the better, to make our streets more equal and accessible for everyone and, most importantly, to address the climate crisis.

Grid Iron audiences will recognise Philip’s work from the MANY shows he worked on with us, including Roam, Decky Does a Bronco and Leaving Planet Earth, to name a few.  We are delighted to be supporting him, and film-maker Karen Lamond, on this new and important enterprise as part of our New Ideas programme.

 

And If Not Now, When?
National Museum of Scotland, Chambers Street, Edinburgh
1 – 14 November 2021

10.30 – 16.30.  Free.
www.nms.ac.uk

Doppler is back… And this time he’s live!!

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We are beyond delighted to announce that we are finally able to bring you LIVE performances of Doppler during the first two weeks of this year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Following all the twists and turns we experienced trying to bring our new production Doppler to you last year, all documented in our film Doppler: The Story So Far, we are delighted to finally be able to confirm that we will be giving live performances in the woodland of Newhailes House and Gardens, a beautiful National Trust for Scotland estate on the outskirts of Musselburgh.

For dates, time, how to book tickets and much more information please visit our CURRENT page.

PLEASE NOTE: ADVANCE BOOKING IS ESSENTIAL

Socially Distant, *Yet Digitally Close – a few days left to view

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In a normal year, the HND Acting and Performance graduating students at Edinburgh College would be currently performing their final showcase project on stage at Edinburgh’s Traverse Theatre.  This, of course, is far from a normal year.

In place of a live showcase the students were each charged, by their Course Leader Scott Johnston, with creating a 60 second film reflecting the fact that, in this past difficult year, our relationships have been conducted largely through laptop and computer screens.

Their brilliant work, which they have written, performed and edited themselves, with added graphics from HND Visual Communications students, has been edited together by Plum Films, into a 35 minute film that you can view for free on the Traverse Theatre’s online venue, Trav Three, until midnight on Friday 28th May.

Grid Iron and Plum Films have been supporting the students on the journey to making the film with workshops and mentoring and are very proud of everything they have achieved.

Individually excellent, the films viewed together give a touching, funny and thought-provoking snapshot of student life in this most unusual year so please don’t miss the opportunity to support Edinburgh College’s freshest new talent.

 

View the film here: www.traverse.co.uk


Doppler: The Story So Far is ready and free to view!

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We are delighted to announce that Doppler: The Story So Far, our documentary film about the challenges we faced trying to put on a live theatre show in the midst of the pandemic will be available to view on our website from 7pm on Friday 26th March until midnight on Sunday 9th May 2021.

Please head on over to the CURRENT PRODUCTION page for more information and for the link to view.

Throughout, this has been a real labour of love for everyone involved and you can now follow us through the Zoom-meeting planning stages, to having our hopes of live performances dashed, and then to Storm Francis arriving just as we switched to our film plan B. Wrapped up with interviews with the cast and creative team, as well as leading arts industry figures, Doppler: The Story So Far brings you a unique insight into the trials and tribulations of trying to make theatre in the time of Covid.

Age recommendation 14+

 

Welcome to our new site!

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We are delighted to welcome you to our brand, spanking new website, designed by the mighty Paul Galbraith at Edinburgh’s 16K Design Works.  

Many of you will be aware of 16K’s work already.  In the past they have designed publicity images for us for Decky 2010, Bingo!, South Bend, The Brunch Club and most notably Fierce, when, as well as designing the publicity image and gorgeous comic-book programme, they also delivered the graffiti art that was so central to the whole production.

It has been a mammoth undertaking for Paul, given the fact that the site holds information on every production we’ve created over the past 25 years, so we are very grateful to him for all his incredible hard work and also for the beautiful site he has designed for us.  You’ll find more of 16K’s amazing work on their website 16kdesign.com.  We can’t recommend them highly enough.

Please take a good look around the site and, if you spot any typos or snags, please let us know (be gentle)!