Tom McEwan, a singer- songwriter living in Pitlochry, spoke to the PA about his big push into a new field of creativity.
He has written a play about Beatrix Potter and her connections to Perthshire to be performed on June 4 for the Platinum Jubilee celebrations at Birnam.
‘End of Summer Song: Beatrix Potter in Perthshire ’ is performed for one special night only by the Birnam Institute Players (BIPS).
It recreates a magical week in Dunkeld, during which Beatrix discovers and paints, for future textbooks, a rare botanical specimen, and writes the first drafts of Peter Rabbit and Jeremy Fisher, the first of her tales that have beguiled countless generations of children across the world.
“I got involved with BIPS last year when we staged ‘Further Echoes from Gallipoli’, explained Tom.
“While the group was working on the recent SCDA one-act play competition, I researched Beatrix Potter in Perthshire with help from Ruth Brown at Dunkeld Archive, Rachael Livingston at Birnam Arts and our director, Lesley Whitwood.
“From her diary, various biographies and newspaper accounts at the time, it’s clear how much four months here every summer in childhood was crucial to Miss Potter’s development.
“The play builds up to a remarkable three days in a row in 1893.
“We all know the rest of her story from movies and biographies, but these rarely acknowledge Perthshire as her formative source.
“It’s also interesting to see the parallels between the current Platinum Jubilee and Queen Victoria’s Gold and Diamond Jubilees, all celebrating stability yet occurring in uncertain times and on the cusp of great change.”
Tom’s production is going to involve music and he said: “It’s my first full -length play and I’ve written four songs for it and arranged one of Beatrix’s favourite Scottish folksongs.
“The title song is one I first wrote when I was, like Beatrix, leaving childhood behind.
“I could really hear her voice in her diaries, lamenting the end of each summer and the return, from what she considered her true home at Dalguise, to sterile Kensington.
“Her diaries show how much she treasured local flora and fauna, how they stayed with her.
“I’ve also written a children’s singalong about naughty rabbits.
“We have a cast of eight adults and several children. The adults have multiple roles, while the children are invariably small animals.
“I was nervous about presenting my words for them all to speak and sing – but over the last five years I’ve learned a lot tapping into the various community mechanisms in Highland Perthshire – a three day playwriting course with Lesley Wilson, a ‘walking and writing’ workshop with Linda Cracknell, The PFT Show Choir (which is starting up again in Killiecrankie ) and being part of the community cast in PFT’s 2019 North and South.
“Most of all I’ve found tremendous encouragement and enthusiasm from everyone in BIPS.
“We have all been raking around our garages for Victoriana stage props.”
End of Summer Song is on June 4, at Birnam Arts at 7pm, part of Dunkeld Archive’s Jubilee Weekend.
More information via https://birnaminstituteplayers.weebly.com/ or on Facebook @birnamartstheatre
