Garioch Theatre Festival
The Garidge Theatre Company was set up in 2004 by Rhona Mitchell with the express purpose of running a theatre festival in Inverurie bringing a mix of amateur and professional work to the town. As well as providing an opportunity for her own students to perform, the company will introduce a range of touring professional productions to a local audience.
This will be the fifth Garioch Theatre Festival, firmly establishing it as an important annual arts event in the North-East. The committee have all brought their own skills to the project - Rhona Mitchell, Pamela Barrie, Charles Barron, Ashley Forbes, Kenny Fraser, Claire Gauld, Tina Olsen, Alison Telfer, and Michael Watt.
The 2009 Festival ran for two weeks starting on the 18th June.
Aberdeenshire Youth Theatre (MSD) premiered their production 'Our Scotland'
Directed & choreographed by Rhona Mitchell with songs by Ashley Forbes & Robert Burns
Their take on Homecoming year and all things Scottish, in the style of the nation’s favourite form of entertainment – the television. Fiddles, bagpipes, sheep, castles, whisky, golf, Burns, tatties, tartan, porridge and a look at the life of the ordinary Scot.
The 2008 Festival included the Garidge Theatre with Mitchell School of Drama performing a new work based on the records of the Poorhouses of the North-East - 'Lottie'.
There also was a professional show for children - "Jabberwocky", a further professional production from Cultural Connections and two new theatre pieces. There was Puppetry and Physical/Mime workshops, a performance featuring 'Oceans 3', plus a Community Open Day and Art and Heritage Exhibitions.
Provisional Programme 2009
18th – 20th June Our Scotland
18th onwards Photography Exhibition
21st June Briar Rose
22nd June In a Thousand Pieces
23rd June Dance Workshop 1
25th June Pint & A Piece of Theatre
26th June Ceilidh
27th June Community Day
27th June Guts
28th June At Aden
28th June Dance Workshop 2
This year's festival also included Folding Theatre Company’s ‘Briar Rose’ and for Scotframe’s Community Weekend, a family ceilidh, dance workshops, community day (a chance for young people to get together and create some theatre in one day), Fleeman Productions’ ‘Guts’, and open-air theatre at Aden Country Park.
