Auchindrain for Argyll

Auchindrain Museum has secured grant aid from Argyll and Bute Council, Museums Galleries Scotland and HIE, Argyll and the Islands to work with Theatre Alba, Scotland’s best outdoor children’s theatre company on a week of performances of the play The Magic Quest.

The Magic Quest is a promenade play for children, which was written site specific for the gardens at Duddingston Kirk in Edinburgh for Theatre Alba at the Edinburgh Fringe. When it was first performed it was given a four star review in the Scotsman.

The play will be revised so that it is site specific to Auchindrain, using the history and the geography of the venue within the plot. The basic story and characters will stay the same.

The Story

Follows the journey of Corrieburn the elf and Tumshie, her musical companion on a quest to save her treasured land that the Goblins wish to destroy. They recruit the assistance of the children who help solve clues that they discover along the way. Whilst on this quest they meet strange and wonderful people. Witches – good and evil, The Trout of Knowledge, The Singing Ringing Tree, and a very bad tempered Ogre. These folk help or hinder their journey to find the magical Dragon who is the only one who can save their world from destruction.

Quotes From The Magic Quest

Mr Bogle (A Goblin): We have acquired all this land for mining purposes. You will have to leave, and take those scunnersome bairns with you, because in about one hour the bulldozers will be arriving. They will destroy this land forever, because we have no time for flowers, and trees and burbling burns – too wet! There is to be no playing here, no laughing and no singing because all we are after is gold, lots and lots of gold.

Corriburn (An Elf): But you don’t understand, this is my home, and all these bairns have come here today to enjoy themselves. You cannot hack down trees and all the beautiful flowers. Where would all the birds go?

Trout: Don’t let the goblins win. Gold is no use if you don’t have any water or green grass to live by.

Witch O The Walloch: And what have we here? A bunch of folk out for a wee walk is it? A load of bairns and all! I canna stand bairns. Always running around the country laughing and singing and playing games. It should not be allowed. But who takes notice of me? It’s all – we must have playgrounds fur the wee souls, lots of bonny green grass and flowers. Bless their wee cotton sockies. Pah! I know what I would do with them. Put them all in my cauldron and boil them up for my dinner!

Theatre Alba: CV’S

Clunie MacKenzie

Clunie worked as an actor in Scotland for over 30 years with numerous theatre companies and on television, film and radio. She has worked with Theatre Alba as an actor since its conception and for the past six years has written and directed promenade plays for children, with a professional cast, for the company at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe at Duddingston Kirk Gardens.

John Sampson

John is an experienced and well-known musician who has worked in theatres all over the world, and in Scotland, as a musical director and as a musician and actor. John has composed and arranged music for Theatre Alba since its conception over 25 years ago.

Charles Nowosielki

Charles is a professional director of some 25 years standing. He formed Theatre Alba in 1980 and has been Artistic Director of The Brunton Theatre, Musselburgh and the Lyric Theatre, Belfast. Theatre Alba is dedicated to the promoting of Scottish Arts and has produced 40 plays in its history. These include the classics, “The Shepherd Beguiled” (Reid), “The Lass wi the Muckle Moo” (Alexander Reid), “The Puddok an the Princess” (Purves), “Macbeth in Scots” (Shakespeare/Purves), “The Wallace” (Conn) and the “The Bruce” (R. Silver).