PRESS RELEASE
For immediate release
Byre Theatre in partnership with Playwrights’ Studio, Scotland and Pitlochry Festival Theatre present
WATER COLOUR
Written by Milly Sweeney
Winner of the St Andrews Playwriting Award
- New play by Glasgow-based playwright Milly Sweeney
- Water Colour is the Winner of the St Andrews Playwriting Award 2024,
- The St Andrews Playwriting Award encourages and supports the next generation of playwrights living in Scotland. The award provides a key opportunity for an emerging professional playwright’s career development.
- Directed by the CATS award-winning actress and director Sally Reid (Scot Squad, BBC Scotland and Shirley Valentine, Pitlochry Festival Theatre)
- Co-produced in partnership by Pitlochry Festival Theatre, Byre Theatre and the Playwrights’ Studio, Scotland.
- Runs in the Studio at Pitlochry Festival Theatre from 9 until 17 May and then heads to Byre Theatre on 28 and 29 May
- Press performances on Tuesday 13 May at 8pm & Wednesday 14 May at 2.30pm
Pitlochry Festival Theatre and Byre Theatre to stage the world première of the award -winning new play Water Colour
Pitlochry Festival Theatre is set to open its 2025 Studio season with the world première of Milly Sweeney’s debut play Water Colour, winner of the St Andrew Playwriting 2024 Award which aims to support and develop the next generation of Scottish playwrights.
Produced in partnership with the Byre Theatre and Playwright’s Studio Scotland, Water Colour is directed by award-winning actor and director Sally Reid (Scot Squad, BBC Scotland and Shirley Valentine, Pitlochry Festival Theatre). It will be at Pitlochry Festival Theatre’s Studio from 9 until 17 May and then head to the Byre Theatre for 28 and 29 May.
Esme is at an all-time low, struggling with her studies and her art. She finds herself standing on the railing of one of the bridges that crosses the Clyde, which leads to a chance encounter with a boy who changes her life forever. A boy who she may never see again. Could Esme now finally find the road to recovery, healing, and self-acceptance?
Meanwhile, Harris is thriving. He is finally moving out of his mum’s house and starting a new job in a high-end restaurant kitchen. One night, whilst walking home from work, he sees a girl about to do something awful. A girl who he may never see again. If Harris were to struggle with his mental health, who would be there for him? Would his mates take him seriously?
Water Colour is a story about connection, mental illness, and opening yourself up to the world.
Established in 2022, The St Andrews Playwriting Award encourages and supports the next generation of playwrights living in Scotland. The award provides a key opportunity for an emerging professional playwright’s career development. The winner of the Award received a commission and a professional production, co-produced by Pitlochry Festival Theatre and the Byre Theatre, which is performed in the main auditorium of The Byre Theatre and in Pitlochry Festival Theatre Studio Theatre.
The production’s cast will feature Molly Geddes (Lockerbie, Netflix) as Esme and Ryan J Mackay (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, West End, Kidnapped, National Theatre of Scotland and Lockerbie, Netflix) as Harris. All other roles will be played by the cast.
Director Sally Reid said:
“I’m thrilled to be coming back to Pitlochry this year to direct Water Colour, Milly Sweeney’s debut play. The first time I read it the characters sprung off the page and I was immersed in their vivid worlds.
Milly’s play delves quickly and succinctly into the heads and hearts of the characters as they navigate through the complexities of staying afloat in their young adult lives, surviving in Glasgow, a new city to both of them. A city which they traverse through in the action of the play. It brings hope when the characters believe there is none and hopefully the audience will feel that sense of uplifting hope when they leave.”
Water Colour runs in the Studio at Pitlochry Festival Theatre from 9 until 17 May and then will head to the Byre Theatre on 28 and 29 May.
Tickets and further information are available from the Box Office on 01796 484626 or online at pitlochryfestivaltheatre.com
-Ends-
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NOTES TO EDITORS
Press performance: Tuesday 13 May at 8pm & Wednesday 14 May at 2.30pm
Creatives:
Byre Theatre in partnership with Playwrights’ Studio, Scotland and Pitlochry Festival Theatre present
WATER COLOUR
Written by Milly Sweeney
Winner of the St Andrews Playwriting Award
Directed by Sally Reid
Set and costume design by Natalie Fern
Lighting design by Peter Fennell
Sound design by Ross Brown
Movement direction by Steve Lauder-Russell
Cast: Molly Geddes and Ryan J Mackay
Supported by the University of St Andrews MLitt in Playwriting and Screenwriting
Pitlochry Festival Theatre Listings:
Studio
Eve perf at 8pm:
May: 9, 10, 13, 14, 15, 16 & 17
Mat perf at 2.30pm:
May: 10, 14, 15 & 17
Ticket prices: From £15
Box Office and group bookings: 01796 484626
email boxoffice@pitlochryfestivaltheatre.com
Website: pitlochryfestivaltheatre.com
Address: Pitlochry Festival Theatre, Port-Na-Craig, Pitlochry, Perthshire PH16 5DR
Byre Theatre:
Dates: 28 & 29 May at 7pm
Box Office: 01334 475000
Website: byretheatre.com
Tickets: Pay What You Can £20.00 / £18.00 / £16.00
Address Byre Theatre, Abbey Street, St Andrews, Fife KY16 9LA
Pitlochry Festival Theatre. A Theatre for Everyone. A Theatre for a Lifetime.
Since 1951, Pitlochry Festival Theatre has been the artistic heart and soul of Highland Perthshire. Attracting over 100,000 visitors every year, we’re more than simply a place to come and see a show – we’re Scotland’s leading producer of musical theatre, a champion of ensemble practice and the country’s only rurally-located, major arts organisation. Our purpose is to improve lives by sharing Pitlochry with the world and the world with Pitlochry. Our aim is to create life-enhancing experiences in our Theatre and its glorious eleven-acre campus that encompasses the magical Explorers Garden. In everything we do, we are committed to nurturing an exciting creative and cultural future for Scotland.
Pitlochry Festival Theatre is a charity supported by funding from Creative Scotland and Perth & Kinross Council. It is also grateful to the many individual donors, and trusts and foundations who support us; without their generosity we could not continue to produce exceptional theatre.
Byre Theatre
The Byre Theatre has been a part the fabric of St Andrews for over 90 years and has been managed and funded by the University since 2014.
Its programme which includes theatre, dance, film, opera and music attracts and engages with people of many different backgrounds, who come from right across the region. Both national touring and local companies value the Byre as a venue to share their work and to connect with its audiences.
The Byre also produces Sands: International Film Festival of St Andrews, leads the biennial national St Andrews Playwriting Award and co-produces its renowned annual pantomime with Bard In The Botanics.
This broad ranging programme aims to connect people, ideas and experiences through its renowned live and big screen events.
Playwrights’ Studio, Scotland
Playwrights’ Studio, Scotland was established in 2004 at the behest of playwrights to provide artistically independent career support to the playwrights of Scotland.
We are the only arts organisation in the UK exclusively dedicated to the artistic development of writers for live performance. Centering the voice and autonomy of playwrights, we support writers of all levels of experience to reach their creative potential by connecting them with peer support, world-class industry excellence, and opportunities for artistic growth. We do this through structured support programmes, open access resources, networking opportunities and events.
Through partnerships, through advocacy and through listening to the evolving needs of playwrights, we exist to be a home for Scotland’s playwrights.
The St Andrews Playwriting Award
The St Andrews Playwriting Award is a playwriting competition with the selected playwright receiving a commission and a professional production, co-produced by Pitlochry Festival Theatre and the Byre Theatre, to be performed in the main auditorium of The Byre Theatre and in Pitlochry Festival Theatre Studio Theatre in summer 2025.
As well as a commission, the selected playwright will be supported throughout the writing process with a residency, mentoring, script development workshops and dramaturgy. An additional two shortlisted writers will receive a package of support, developed in collaboration with the writers, to meet their current needs.
The St Andrews Playwriting Award is generously supported by Mike and Elisa Levy and the late Elizabeth Mussen and has been developed in collaboration with the University of St Andrews MLitt in Playwriting and Screenwriting.
