Paper Portraits and The Storm Watchers
The play The Storm Watchers was originally written as a short piece to be part of a pageant in the late Sixties in Stromness. The work was later performed in its own right with some additions. A powerful and poetic piece, the drama presents the lives, anxieties, regrets, fears and memories of women as they deal with the waiting and the aftermath of a storm with all their men at sea.
Filmed in lockdown in Orkney, this project has involved technology, remote rehearsal, mobile phone cameras and much more besides. In this year of Mackay Brown’s 100th birthday, it brings to life one of his early but also most powerful pieces of theatre.
The creation of this film was a triumph over difficult times with complex methods where the usual way would be simplicity itself. Filming was done personally by many performers or by their partners and homes, garages and beaches became film sets. Many contributed to the end product and the Festival would like to pay tribute to and thank all those named and un-named in the success of this project. This film was commissioned and produced by St Magnus International Festival.
Paper Portraits is a film about the paper makers of Penicuik, which, for almost three hundred years, was a leading paper-making town in the UK. Paper Portraits is a unique project, based on interviews with local paper makers, written and directed by Gerda Stevenson, with the cast of actors drawn from the local community.
The film vividly captures the landscape and way of life of the mill workers, their families and communities living along the Esk – the river which fed the mills – and the great pride these people felt in their local Industry.
This film was commissioned and produced by The Penicuik Community Arts Association (now operating as Community Arts Penicuik)
Running time (each film): 40 mins.
After each screening there will be a Q&A with Director Gerda Stevenson. There will be a short interval.
Part of the 2025 Nairn Book & Arts Festival
Select Performance
Please Note, this show is not booked through The Little Theatre Box Office.The links below will take you to the company's website.