Former Caithness teacher participates in cèilidh project
A former Lybster primary teacher who had his 2020 performance tour cancelled due to the pandemic is set for a special short film to be aired online on Saturday.
Simon Lamb is a poet, performer and storyteller who now lives in Ayrshire.
He has been entertaining audiences with live virtual storytelling sessions, bedtime stories for scout camps from his sleeping bag, and creating a number of video poems, including his whistle-stop tour through the year, When We Heard 2020, and a new verse for the Robert Burns museum in Ayrshire.
A highlight of 2020 was being commissioned to make a video for Tamfest, the annual celebration of Tam o’ Shanter, Robert Burns and Halloween. Simon reimagined Burns’ epic poem for modern day audiences, and his 15-minute film Mat o’ Shanter was a hit with Burns scholars and general public alike.
Simon is now participating in The Cèilidh Project, organised by Perth-based creatives The Wee Theatre Company. He was commissioned to make a film of his popular and playful poem about Scottish stereotypes, entitled Are We Not?
The short film was captured around Ayrshire earlier this month.
Simon says: “I’m ecstatic to finally bring this funny and heartfelt verse to a wider audience, and can’t think of a more fitting setting than that of a virtual cèilidh. The Wee Theatre Company have assembled a superb set of talented artists for the event, and it’s a pleasure to be playing alongside them. In 2020, we have so craved the coming-togetherness that’s been missing from our lives, and I hope my poem and this celebration of talent and creativity can bring a little light to these dark nights.”
The event airs across three evenings – Saturday, Sunday, Monday – with Simon’s poem closing the opening night on Saturday, November 28. It airs live from 7pm on the group’s Facebook page @weetheatreco and will be available to view from that point.
You can keep up to date with Simon’s work via his website www.simonlambcreative.co.uk and his Facebook page @SimonLambCreative
More info about The Cèilidh Project from The Wee Theatre Company: www.theweetheatreco.com/post/the-cèilidh-project-an-introduction
Interview with Simon Lamb, conducted by The Wee Theatre Company: www.theweetheatreco.com/post/cèilidh-with-simon-lamb
Ross seeks guarantee on Wick flights