Theatre Alba Explained

Theatre Alba was a Scottish theatre company founded in 1981 by Charles Nowosielski and Richard Cherns, with the aim of promoting diversity in Scottish theatre. With nearly 70 productions over four decades, it promoted new Scottish plays by Scottish authors incorporating Scottish traditional music,[1] staged plays in the Scots language and encouraged new Scottish writing.[2] Some of its most successful productions were works which drew on folklore or fairytale.

Early Years

The company's first production was Edward Stiven's Tamlane, staged in the open air on the Calton Hill, Edinburgh, in 1981.[3] It then moved to The Astoria, a former dance hall in Abbeymount, where it presented Outside the Jeweller's Shop by Karol Wojtyla,[4] The Passion, Part One by Bill Bryden, Swanwhite by August Strindberg[5], and the world premiere of The Shepherd Beguiled by Netta. B. Reid.[6] Programmed to run until 28 February 1982, the production was extended until 6 March by popular demand. It was revived at the Braidburn Park open-air theatre for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August, and subsequently staged at the Traverse Theatre from 28 September to 2 October.[7] [8]

Expansion and Key Milestones

Theatre Alba's production of The Puddok an the Princess by David Purves won a Fringe First Award in August 1985, was staged again at the Traverse Theatre in December, and was taken on national tours by the company in 1986 and 1988.[9] [10] [11] [12] [13] After he was appointed Artistic Director at the Brunton Theatre, Musselburgh, in 1986, Nowosielski continued to direct Theatre Alba productions at the Assembly Rooms on the Edinburgh Fringe.[14] [15] The company toured Edward Stiven's Tamlane in the Borders during the Borders Festival of Ballads and Legends in the autumn of 1987.[16] Stiven's The Cauldron was taken on tour in the spring of 1988.[17] David Purves' Whuppitie Stourie was taken on a tour of the Central Belt in the autumn of 1989.[18] [19] Robert McLellan's The Carlin Moth was staged at Theatre Workshop at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August 1990 and toured South-West Scotland in the Autumn.[20] [21]

During the 1990s, Theatre Alba, basing itself in Edinburgh's Netherbow Theatre, staged several new Scottish plays including Wallace's Women, Thenew and Josef, as well as adaptations of Chekov and Shakespeare classics, and reworkings of the Scots language favourites it had become known for, like The Shepherd Beguiled.

Move to Duddingston

In 1998, the company was invited to present its Festival Fringe productions outdoors in Duddingston Kirk Manse Gardens, on the banks of Duddingston Loch. Its first production at the site was a revival of Netta B. Reid’s A Shepherd Beguiled, and the gardens continued to serve as an August venue for more than twenty years. Although exposed to the unpredictability of the Scottish summer weather, the outdoor setting proved well suited to promenade and immersive sunset performances, aligning closely with the faerie and folklore themes for which the company had become known.[22]

From 2002, Theatre Alba expanded its Fringe programme to include regular children’s theatre. Under the direction of Clunie Mackenzie and Keith Hutcheon the company developed a series of promenade productions performed in Dr Neil's garden. Mackenzie wrote and directed most of these plays, including Baba Yaga and the Girl with the Kind Heart, The Magic Quest, Quest for Excalibur (which was listed as one of the Guardian's 21 unmissable shows for Children and Families 2016[23]) and The Garden o’ Delight (which received the Primary Times Children’s Choice Award in the 2018). This period further cemented a long-running musical collaboration with composer John Sampson. Theatre Alba’s children’s theatre programme continued until 2021.

Between 2003 until 2018, the company also mounted four quinquennial Passion Plays, which were large scale productions performed on Easter Sundays at locations around Duddingston village.[24] [25] [26]

Closure

Theatre Alba ceased regular operations following its 2018 season. Founder and artistic director Charles Nowosielski died on 5 May 2020.[27] The company was revived briefly in 2021 with a restaging of The Garden o' Delight at Dr Neil's Garden, adhering to COVID-19 restrictions. Clunie Mackenzie died in December 2025.

Productions

Notes and References

  1. News: Gilchrist . Jim . 2 December 1985 . Theatre Alba Aims For A More Secure Future . . 5 . britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk.
  2. The Lass wi' the Muckle Mou theatre programme, Theatre Alba, 1986
  3. News: 20 February 1897 . Music Work That Became Drama . . 10 . britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk.
  4. News: 8 February 1982 . Marriage Lines from the Vatican . . 2 . britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk.
  5. News: 25 March 1982 . Swanwhite . . 2 . britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk.
  6. News: Donaldson . Gill . 22 February 1982 . A Minister Under A Spell . . 2 . britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk.
  7. Theatricalia, The Shepherd Beguiled
  8. Little Red Riding Hood / Saint Joan theatre programme, Theatre Alba, August 2008
  9. News: Howe . Richard . 19 April 1986 . Weaving a magic spell for survival . . 11 . britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk.
  10. Theatricalia, The Puddok an the Princess
  11. http://backcatalog.list.co.uk.s3-website.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/the-list/1986-05-02/9/index.html The Puddok an the Princess tour listings, 1986
  12. Puddok Prowess, The List, issue 16, 16–29 May 1986, p. 18,
  13. http://archive.list.co.uk.s3-website.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/the-list/1988-10-28/25/index.html The Puddok an the Princess tour listings, 1988
  14. Obituary: Charles Nowosielski, visionary director behind Theatre Alba, The Scotsman, 3 June 2020
  15. http://archive.list.co.uk.s3-website.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/the-list/1986-08-22/11/index.html review of The Lass wi' the Muckle Mou by Helen Davidson
  16. http://archive.list.co.uk.s3-website.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/the-list/1987-09-18/26/index.html Theatre listings
  17. http://archive.list.co.uk.s3-website.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/the-list/1988-04-01/21/index.html Theatre listings
  18. http://archive.list.co.uk.s3-website.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/the-list/1989-09-29/47/index.html "A Measure of Scots"
  19. http://archive.list.co.uk.s3-website.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/the-list/1989-09-29/6/index.html advertisement for the Theatre Alba production of Whuppitie Stourie
  20. http://archive.list.co.uk.s3-website.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/the-list/1990-08-17/20/index.html review of The Carlin Moth
  21. http://archive.list.co.uk.s3-website.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/the-list/1990-09-14/56/index.html advertisement for the tour of The Carlin Moth
  22. The Quest for Excalibur / The Shepherd Beguiled theatre programme, Theatre Alba, August 2016
  23. News: Gardner . Lynn . 22 July 2016 . Edinburgh festival 2016: 21 unmissable shows for kids and their families . The Guardian.
  24. News: 12 April 2025 . Edinburgh Retro: 29 great pictures of Easter in the Capital through the years, from giant eggs to passion plays . Edinburgh Evening News.
  25. https://www.passion-plays.co.uk/dudingston-kirk/ Duddingston Kirk Passion Play, 1st April 2018
  26. News: 18 April 2003 . TO THE CROSS . . 2 . britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk.
  27. News: 3 Jun 2020 . Obituary: Charles Nowosielski, visionary director behind Theatre Alba . The Scotsman.
  28. News: McLeod . Donald . 26 September 1984 . Traverse Theatre: Rhymer's Promise . . 2.
  29. [Owen Dudley Edwards|Dudley Edwards, Owen]
  30. http://archive.list.co.uk.s3-website.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/the-list/1986-10-17/22/index.html Theatre listings
  31. http://archive.list.co.uk.s3-website.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/the-list/1987-08-07/10/index.html Advertisement for Theatre Alba's production of Tamlane
  32. Theatricalia, Whuppitie Stourie
  33. http://archive.list.co.uk.s3-website.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/the-list/1989-10-27/56/index.html Whuppitie Stourie tour listings
  34. News: Ross . Raymond . 18 July 1990 . Theatre Raymond Ross . . 14 . britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk.
  35. http://archive.list.co.uk.s3-website.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/the-list/1990-08-10/22/index.html advertisement for The Carlin Moth
  36. News: 20 August 1998 . Netherbow -Wallace's Women . . 24 . britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk.
  37. News: 20 August 1998 . Netherbow - Good Morning Mr Burns . . 24 . britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk.
  38. News: 7 August 2000 . Hour by Hour Guide . . 64 . britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk.
  39. News: 22 August 2000 . Charles Edward Stuart: A Prince without a realm . . 57 . britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk.
  40. News: 21 November 2001 . Theatre Thenew/netherbow theatre, Edinburgh . The Herald Scotland.
  41. News: 15 June 2001 . Fab Fringe Fun . . 26 . britishnewspaperarchive.
  42. News: 19 August 2002 . Fringe Reviews - Macbeth . . 62 . britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk.
  43. News: 29 August 2003 . Musselburgh News . . 3 . britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk.
  44. News: 31 July 2003 . Fringe Listings . . 35 . britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk.
  45. https://theatrealba.neocities.org/2004 Theatre Alba website
  46. https://theatrealba.neocities.org/2004 Theatre Alba website
  47. https://theatrealba.neocities.org/2005 Theatre Alba website
  48. https://theatrealba.neocities.org/2006 Theatre Alba website
  49. https://theatrealba.neocities.org/2006 Theatre Alba website
  50. https://theatrealba.neocities.org/2006 Theatre Alba website
  51. The Fairy Queen / A Man for All Seasons / The Ootlaw theatre programme, Theatre Alba, August 2002
  52. Theatre Alba production programme, 2009
  53. News: 24 April 1987 . Alba on Tour . . 24 . "britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk]]}}

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