Performance and the Arts in Findhorn

 

I first arrived as a 19-year-old aspiring theatre artist in 1984 when three of the old Lollipop gang, Ike and Maggie Isaksen (now India Brown) and Michael Worth, were sparking a renewed enthusiasm for performing. This took the form of various workshops including the infamous Mastery which was a marathon of a weekend. Mastery graduates galvanised a renaissance in Friday night sharings, wildly unpredictable but always entertaining.
These might involve an anxious ‘virgin’ performer spending 10 minutes telling you what a huge edge this was before plonking out their three-minute piece, followed by an aria from a world class opera singer on Experience Week and a hilarious skit from Park Maintenance. Everything had the potential to earn a standing ovation from the planet’s most warmly receptive audience.

Theatre for the Earth by Essence of the Arts 2001

During the 80s there were also a number of homegrown, large-scale productions including a comedy performed at the Edinburgh Festival, a touring school show and plays in the Universal Hall. In the 90s and 00s this led to full length plays, evenings of contemporary dance, multi-generational cross-artform extravaganzas, women only reviews, pantos in Cluny dining room, impromptu ‘turns’ in the CC, concerts and gigs, and perhaps most beloved of all, youth theatre shows directed by community members. The kids were often our most daring satirists eager to comment on our Findhorn ways, their shows packing out the Hall and filling us with great hope and joie de vivre.

Lesley Quilty at clown performance

And we still have sharings of course, to knit the community together, celebrate birthdays, weddings and funerals and to raise money for projects. Any excuse really. Witnessing each other in the spotlight is powerful, bonding and fun. Long may it continue.

Lesley Quilty