New York debut for Scots plays

14th March 2015

Two shows to premiere at Brits off Broadway festival.

Two Scottish plays have been selected for New York premieres in this year's Brits off Broadway festival.

The Tailor of Inverness, produced by Dogstar Theatre from Inverness, and In My Fathers’ Words, by Dundee Rep, are two of the seven shows selected for this year’s festival at 59E59 Theaters in New York.

Brits off Broadway is an annual festival premiering British plays to New York audiences. Critically acclaimed, the festival is described as a showcase for innovative and provocative theatre and this year runs from April to June.

The productions are travelling to the US thanks to combined funding of £70,000 from Creative Scotland and the Scottish Government. Creative Scotland’s Open Project funding awarded Dundee Rep £58,000. Dogstar have received £11,457 through the Scottish Government’s Edinburgh Festivals Expo Fund.

Brits off Broadway opens with the Tailor of Inverness at the end of Scotland Week 2015, Scotland’s annual showcase of culture and creativity in North America. The Tailor of Inverness, the true story about how a boy from the Ukraine became a tailor in northern Scotland, will launch on April 14th. Following a 23-night run it will close on May 3rd.

Festival organisers have also chosen in My Father’s Words a play about dementia, the Gaelic language and family revelations that span the Atlantic. In My Father’s Words will run from June 4th until June 27th.

The festival has often drawn on plays first shown in Scotland and a highlight of this year’s programme, Tuesdays at Tesco’s starring Simon Callow, was first performed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2011.

Cabinet Secretary for Culture Europe and External Affairs, Fiona Hyslop said:"Scottish theatre and culture resonates across the world. This is great opportunity for two brilliant productions to make their mark in the USA. It’s exciting that Brits off Broadway will start at the end of Scotland Week with In My Father’s words; a great Scottish play with internationalism at its heart. This year’s Brits of Broadway demonstrates confidence in Scottish talent and the role of our world-renowned festivals as platforms for international success."

Brits off Broadway Executive Producer, Peter Tear said,

“As a Scot based in New York it is always a pleasure to present outstanding Scottish work at 59E59 Theaters.

“We have waited a few years to introduce the remarkable, inspiring story of The Tailor of Inverness to New Yorkers, and this year happily the stars aligned. Dogstar’s Matthew Zajac, Aidan O’Rourke and Grid Iron’s director Ben Harrison will be with us for the first time for Brits Off Broadway at the close of Scotland Week.

“When I called my dear friend Philip Howard in Dundee last year, to see if we could dream up a way for the venerable Dundee Rep to make its New York debut he said: “I have the perfect play for you! And he did!

“It was a thrill for me to fly to Stornoway to see the final performance of the tour of Justin Young’s In My Father’s Words, with Gaelic by Iain Finlay MacLeod - and indeed to meet Iain literally on his home turf in Lewis! Philip Howard has excelled himself as a director and a champion of new work with this eloquent, beautifully acted play, truly representative of what top quality Scottish theatre is all about.

“Neither of these productions would have happened without the enlightened support of Creative Scotland and the Scottish Government.

“I am confident that New Yorkers will warmly welcome both of these excellent Scottish exports!”