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Thurso and Wick teams preparing for community drama festival





Thurso Players’ cast in rehearsals. From left: Kirbi Anderson, Faye Sutherland and Julie Kedward.
Thurso Players’ cast in rehearsals. From left: Kirbi Anderson, Faye Sutherland and Julie Kedward.

Amateur drama teams from Thurso and Wick are learning their lines and perfecting their stagecraft ahead of this year’s festival of one-act plays.

The Caithness district round of the long-running Scottish Community Drama Association (SCDA) competition takes place in Thurso High School on Friday, February 28.

There are two competing teams from the county this year, both in the open section. There are no youth entries.

Thurso Players will present Taken, a drama written by Winsome Pinnock and directed by Audrey O’Brien, set in a council flat in the present day.

It explores the generational consequences of substance dependence when Della, who has just moved back to care for her mother Nanna Nola, is confronted by her daughter Nola whom she gave up for adoption 20 years earlier.

Writer Winsome Pinnock uses humour as a tool to help the audience relate to characters whose life experiences may be quite different from their own.

Cast members are Kirbi Anderson (Della), Faye Sutherland (Nola) and Julie Kedward (Nanna Nola). The producer is Claire Hughes.

Director Audrey O’Brien said: “Faye and I attended a directing workshop delivered by the SCDA’s national drama adviser in Wick last October which we thoroughly enjoyed.

“We were then keen to try using some of the ideas we’d learnt about and felt this script offered us lots of opportunities to do that, as well as three strong female roles for actors.”

Wick Players’ cast members are Alexander Elder, Bruce Paterson (standing) and Gina Alexander.
Wick Players’ cast members are Alexander Elder, Bruce Paterson (standing) and Gina Alexander.

Wick Players will present Death and Nellie Miller, a drama written by Jack Boswell and directed by Jayden Alexander.

Nellie Miller is an ordinary housewife – but, when the gasman pays a visit, her life takes a drastic and surprising turn.

This exciting, supernatural play was first produced in the 1970s as part of a British one-act play festival.

Cast members are Gina Alexander, Alexander Elder and Bruce Paterson.

The adjudicator will be Dr Russell Boyce.

Tickets for the Caithness district competition are priced £10 and are on sale at McBeath’s jewellers, Thurso, and the Flower Patch, Wick.

All clubs taking part in the festival compete initially in their own district, with the leading team or teams progressing to the divisional event. The winning two entrants from the divisional competition then go through to the Scottish final and the Scottish winner qualifies for the British final.

There was no representation from Thurso in last year’s SCDA festival. Instead, senior and junior teams from Wick Players took to the stage at the Assembly Rooms.

Poster for the Caithness round of the 2025 SCDA festival.
Poster for the Caithness round of the 2025 SCDA festival.

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