Hansard

For a number of reasons, I am delighted to have the opportunity to participate in this debate. I will start by focusing on what I see as the significance of the interrelationship between the national performing companies and other professional companies and amateur groups, using theatre as a model.

In January, I lodged a motion to congratulate Crossmichael drama club in Dumfriesshire on winning a United Kingdom competition and gaining the opportunity to perform in London’s west end. I am delighted that a group with fewer than 10 members from a small village in my region won the competition, especially as there were entrants from throughout the UK—all amateur groups—on a scale up to Regent Rep in Bournemouth, which has more than 100 members. Amateur dramatics are far from amateur and are thriving throughout Scotland and Britain. They make a big contribution to the arts in Scotland.

I also highlight and pay tribute to our many professional theatre companies. Grey Coast Theatre does not exist any more, but it brought challenging and relevant work to some of our remotest islands. At that time, my partner was lucky enough to be an actor in the company when it toured to community halls across the islands of Scotland. We also have the innovative work of urban companies such as the Tron Theatre in Glasgow, which is now led by director Andy Arnold. Complementing the Edinburgh international festival is the Edinburgh festival fringe, which gives students and community groups an opportunity to explore and experiment and audiences an opportunity to see performances from around the world.

Those companies are all part of a symbiotic creative relationship that stretches right into our national performing companies and also connects with our drama and music training in institutions such as the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. With two acting and singing family members, I know how tough careers in this area can be, and all opportunities for people to develop their chances need to be taken up. I hope that the cabinet secretary will comment on the training aspects of the performing arts in her closing remarks.

I also want to focus on the enormous value of the national performing companies’ outreach work, as other members have done, and we should not forget the role that is played by our theatre-in-education companies. As Malcolm Chisholm highlighted, opera is accessible. I still have a vivid memory from my time as a teacher in a rural primary school in Clydesdale of a series of workshops that were held by Scottish Opera. No one who experienced the coming together of children from several small primary schools to bring alive a Viking myth in shared song could doubt the impact on all concerned. The sense that opera was a remote, elite pursuit was dispelled for the many families and children who attended that performance, which I saw in the Memorial hall in Lanark. The comment about the ticket lines for opera being closed proves that opera is a popular performing art nowadays. The cabinet secretary also highlighted that.

I support Patricia Ferguson’s remarks on the value of the support that local authorities can provide to make the arts and our national companies real to children. It was reassuring to hear from the cabinet secretary that all local authorities have been involved recently.

As a parent, I was lucky enough to have the chance to take both my children—a girl and a boy—to Scottish Ballet’s summer schools for children from all over Scotland. For a small minority, they lead to a professional career but, for many others, they are an opportunity for self-exploration and working together beyond language. At the best Christmas outing ever, I was lucky enough to go with a rural primary school to Scottish Ballet’s production of “The Snowman”. We were all transported into a world of magic as the dancers literally flew through the air, and the young boys’ attitudes to dance changed as the snowflakes fell and the story unfolded. Theatre is so important for the breaking down of stereotypes in society.

The outreach work and performances for children bring a sense of growing understanding of the value of participating in the arts and enjoying being part of an audience.

I also want to highlight the value of our national performing companies expanding beyond the national framework and helping to develop shared understanding with other countries. As a member of the cross-party group on China, I heard about Scottish Opera’s visit to Beijing to perform “The Tale o’ Tam”. The universality of that work again went beyond language in the strict sense of the word. Cultural sharing of that kind is a vibrant way in which to develop understanding between countries.

Finally, I highlight the work of Òran Mór and the National Theatre of Scotland, which this week brought together writers from the middle east to perform in Scotland. The challenging situation in the middle east has meant that developing the plays has not been an easy task, and the writers have often not wanted their names to be revealed. Others have struggled to get visas to come here at all.

Abdullah Alkafri, who is the author of “Damascus Aleppo” said on Radio Scotland this week that he is glad to be here and is delighted that his stories have been given a platform. He said that the audience

“know the stories from the news ... but don’t know the human part of the Middle East. It is good to get in touch more with the human side of the people ... more than the terror and the blood and misery ... we are like normal humans.”

Abdelrahim Alawji, the author of “Sleeping Beauty Insomnia” commented:

“At the first level I feel guilty to be here involved in the theatre because the situation there is really tough. The theatre gives a chance to give a real picture about the people there avoiding clichés or stereotyping thoughts from the media ... and create real dialogue with the people”.

Those plays are a precious opportunity for Scotland to explore and better understand the challenges that are faced by people in the midst of a stark struggle. For all those reasons and those highlighted by other speakers, we must protect funding for the arts.

On accessibility to the arts, including the work of our national performing companies, the most recent national indicator shows that the percentage of adults who have either participated in a cultural activity or attended or visited a cultural event fell slightly in 2010. It is only a small drop, but it is important that we support the arts when they come under pressure in challenging economic times, as other members have highlighted in the debate.

The Scottish Government stresses the importance of the national indicator. It states that

“Cultural engagement impacts positively on our general wellbeing—”