9 - 27 June 2009
'Sometimes my life is like a really beautiful painting and then something will come along and put a great big huge rip in the canvas' Billy Mackenzie
Balgay Hill is a story about a sublimely talented singer, about heroes, about fame and the glamour chase, but most of all, it's a story that puts Dundee in the spotlight. Weaving the tales of 4 characters into the real-life story of local legend Billy Mackenzie, frontman of the Associates, Balgay Hill brings Dundee's past, present and future to life.
Featuring some of the Associates most famous songs in a fusion of music, drama and video, Balgay Hill explores our celebrity obsessed culture and asks why is it we must create stories and myths around our heroes in order to make sense of our own mishaped lives.
Everyday people strive for their five minutes of fame but creativity can become a powerful and intoxicating force. In the events of Billy Mackenzie's life and premature death we see the pressures of fame and of a life lived in the spotlight.
Whether you remember The Associates the first time around or whether the music is new to you, Balgay Hill will say something powerful and profound about our relationship with our city, its past and our heroes.
| Tues 9 & Wed 10 June | Tues-Thurs | Fri&Sat | Matinee | |
| Full price tickets | £5 | £12 | £16 | £10 |
| SnrCitz/Dis/Unemployed | £5 | £10 | £12 | £10 |
| Young Persons (under 26) Subject to availability | £5 | £5 | £12 | £5 |
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Signed performance: Wednesday 24 June at 7:30pm
Audio Described performance: Saturday 27 June at 7:30pm
- cast
- MichaelVincent Friell
Read moreVincent was born and educated in Glasgow. He has worked for most Scottish theatre companies, including: Tag, Wildcat, T.84, Perth Rep, Traverse, Communicado, Byre Theatre, Tron, Borderline, Cumbernauld Theatre and the Arches Theatre. His film and TV work includes: Restless Natives, Trainspotting, Missing, Taggart, Still Game, Rab C Nesbitt, Roughnecks and Toughlove.
Vincent is delighted to be back at Dundee Rep for the first time in over ten years. - StephenRobin Laing
Read moreRobin trained at Dundee College and Fife College. His most recent theatre credits include: Mary Rose (Royal Lyceum), Nova Scotia (Traverse Theatre), All My Sons (Royal Lyceum), Living Quarters (Royal Lyceum), Monks (Royal Lyceum), The Winter’s Tale (Royal Lyceum), Elizabeth Gordon Quinn (National Theatre of Scotland), Mary Stuart (National Theatre of Scotland), Slope (Untitled/Tramway), As You Like It (Royal Lyceum), Invention of Love (Salisbury Playhouse), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Manchester Royal Exchange), Medea (US Tour, Broadway & Paris), Loot (Manchester Royal Exchange), Skylight (Perth Repertory Theatre), The Mill Lavvies (Dundee Rep Theatre), Trainspotting (UK tour & West End). His most recent television credits include: Murder City (Granada TV); Born and Bred, Waking The Dead, Into The Blue, Murder Rooms, The Lakes, The Lakes II (BBC); Band of Brothers (HBO/Dreamworks); Relative Strangers (Little Bird); Heaven on Earth, Deadly Summer (Red Rooster Productions), Taggart (STV); Cadfael III (Carlton TV). His most recent film credits include: Joyeux Noel (Nord-Ouest Films), Joy Rider (Classic Film Productions), Borstal Boy (Hell’s Kitchen), Beautiful Creatures (DNA Films), The Slab Boys (Shreba/Slab Boys), McLevy, Night’s High Noon, The Inn, The Heart of Midlothian (BBC Radio 4); Paul Temple, Sparkle, Sex for Volunteers, Battling on The Bosphorus, The Whole of The Moon.
- KennedyLouise Ludgate
Read moreLouise trained at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, and works extensively across theatres in the UK. Her recent theatre credits include: Sub Rosa (Glasgow Citizens), Little Otik (National Theatre of Scotland), Moonwalking, Resurrection (Oran Mor), Strawgirl and The Adoption Papers (Royal Exchange Manchester), Home Hindrance (Vanishing Point), Realism and Home (National Theatre of Scotland) and Trojan Women (Theatre Cryptic/Tobacco Factory). Her film and TV credits include: Taggart (SMG), Spooks (BBC), Sea of Souls (BBC), High Times (SMG) and The Elemental (North Light).
- SineadHelen McAlpine
Read moreHelen trained at Queen Margaret University College, Edinburgh and now works extensively across theatres in the UK. Her recent theatre credits include: The Wizard of Oz, Ice Cream Dreams (Citizens Theatre), Dr Korczak’s Example, King Matt, The Good Woman of Setzuan (TAG), Peter Pan (Inverness/Team Entertainment), Swindle and Death (Mull Theatre), The Tempest, Weans in the Wood (The Tron), The Girl with Red Hair (The Lyceum/Bush), Prince Unleashed (Visible Fictions) and Molly Whuppie (Licketyspit). Her recent television work includes Cracked (STV), Taggart (STV), Intergalactic Kitchen (BBC) and Stacey Stone (BBC). Her recent radio and voiceover credits include Mclevy (BBC Radio 4), Prince Unleashed (BBC Scotland) and The Imp (Imp Corp/Red Kite Animations).
- creative team
- DirectorJames Brining
Read moreMost recently he directed Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf. Also at Dundee Rep he has directed Sunshine on Leith which won 2 TMA Awards, Romeo and Juliet, Jack and the Beanstalk, Sweet Bird of Youth, Gypsy, Flora the Red Menace, A Lie Of The Mind, Dumbstruck!, Dr Korczak’s Example and Cinderella.
James was previously Artistic Director of TAG Theatre Company in Glasgow where he directed over 20 productions including Othello, Julius Caesar, Dr Faustus, Antigone, Stroma, The Good Woman of Setzuan, Playing with Fire and Worksong. His productions of King Matt and Dr Korczak's Example played at the London International Festival of Theatre in 2003. Whilst at TAG he also developed the drama and democracy project, Making the Nation which led to his working in Japan, Denmark, Greece, Italy as well as in the Scottish Parliament.
Before TAG James worked at the Orange Tree Theatre, Richmond where his directing work included The Merchant of Venice, Bitter Lemon, Romeo and Juliet, The Winter's Tale, The Taming of the Shrew and Go Tell It On Table Mountain. Previous to that he was Artistic Director of Proteus Theatre Company in Basingstoke a new writing small-scale touring theatre company.
He has directed radio drama for BBC Radio Scotland, opera at London's South Bank Centre, readings for the Tron Theatre Glasgow and Fishamble in Dublin, two large-scale outdoor community productions and in summer 2006 he directed Whisky Kisses which was short listed for the “Highland Quest for a New Musical”.
He was born in Leeds and studied at Cambridge University. He has taught and lectured at the RSAMD, QMUC and Glasgow University, is a member of the Creative and Cultural Skills Council and is on the Board of the Federation of Scottish Theatre. - DesignerNeil Warmington
Read moreNeil graduated in Fine Art Painting from Maidstone College of Art before attending the Motley theatre design course in London.
Theatre credits include Romeo and Juliet, Jack and the Beanstalk, Sunshine on Leith (Dundee Rep), Mary Stuart, Elizabeth Gordon Quinn (National Theatre of Scotland), If Destroyed True, Gypsy, Scenes From An Execution, Dumbstruck, Lie Of The Mind (Dundee Rep), The Straits, The Drowned World, Splendour, Riddance, Crazy Horse, The Small Things, Pyrenees (Paines Plough), King Lear (English Touring Theatre/Old Vic), Ghosts, Don Juan, John Gabriel Borkman, Taming of the Shrew, Love’s Labours Lost (English Touring Theatre), Woyzeck, The Glass Menagerie, Comedians, Tankred Dorsts Merlin (Royal Lyceum Edinburgh), Full Moon For A Solemn Mass, Family, Passing Places, King of the Fields, Gagarin Way, Slab Boys Trilogy (Traverse/National Theatre), Angels in America (7:84), Life’s a Dream, Fiddler on the Roof, Playhouse Creatures, (West Yorkshire Playhouse), Henry V (RSC), Much Ado About Nothing (Queen’s London), Sunset Song, Mary Queen of Scots Got Her Head Chopped Off (Theatre Royal, Glasgow) The Life of Stuff (Donmar) Waiting for Godot (Liverpool Everyman), The Tempest (Contact), Jane Eyre, Desire Under the Elms (Shared Experience), Troilus & Cressida (Opera North), Oedipus Rex (Connecticut State Opera), The Marriage of Figaro (Garsington Opera), Knives in Hens, The Birthday Party (TAG).
Neil has also won three TMA Awards for best design, been part of numerous Edinburgh Fringe first productions and has been awarded The Linbury Prize for stage design, and the Sir Alfred Munnings Florence Prize for painting. - WriterSimon Macallum
Read moreSimon’s first play, Shadowboxing was also set in Dundee and was nominated for the Meyer Whitworth award. While another play, Timewatching was short-listed for the Verity Bargate Award. He has written three plays for the Oran Mor in Glasgow and was commissioned by Raindog to write U.N in 2001. He was chosen for The Royal Court/ BBC 50 scheme in 2006, The Traverse Emerging Writers Project in 2007 and Channel 4’s Pilot scheme in 2008. Simon has also worked as an actor at Perth Theatre, The Royal Lyceum, The Citizen’s Theatre and Borderline amongst others. He is currently working on a commission for Birds of Paradise Theatre Company.
- Lighting DesignerJeanine Davies
Read moreJeanine’s previous productions for Dundee Rep include Happy Days, The Talented Mr Ripley, Macbeth, Sweet Bird of Youth, Jack and the Beanstalk and Gypsy.
Recent theatre credits include The Curse of The Starving Class, The Man Who Had All the Luck (Royal Lyceum Edinburgh); Ducky (Borderline); Hansel and Gretel (Barbican/Catherine Wheels); A Christmas Carol (Chichester Festival Theatre); Privates on Parade (West Yorkshire Playhouse); A Streetcar Named Desire (Perth Theatre); The Unconquered (Byre Theatre/’Brits off Broadway’, New York); Lifeboat (Australia/New Zealand/New York/Dublin) and Nova Scotia (Traverse).
Other theatre credits include Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Nottingham/Royal Lyceum/Coventry/UK tour); Tom’s Midnight Garden (Unicorn); Rat Pack Confidential (West End/Nottingham); The Broken Heart (RSC Pit/Barbican); Angels Amongst The Trees, The Day That Kevin Came, Polygraph, Ethel And Ernest, Wonderful Tennessee, The Boy Who Fell Into A Book, Kafka’s Dick, Because It’s There (Nottingham); The BFG (UK Tour); The Bevellers (Glasgow Citz); and Time of My Life (Northampton).
Dance and Opera credits include Found (Curious Seed/Dance Base); Parallel I Parallels (Plan B/Dance Base); Raw (Fidget Feet); Proband (Caroline Bowditch); Almost But Not Quite (Dance Base/Edinburgh Festival); Uncanny (X Factor Dance Company); Off Kilter (Dance Base); The Martyrdom Of St Magnus (Hebrides Ensemble) and Clockwork (Unicorn). - Composer/Sound DesignerBrian Docherty
Read moreBrian has released product as a recording artist as Scientific Support Dept. and Serf. Collaborations with various acts including The Bluebells, Love and Money,The McCluskey Brothers,Vic Godard, Paul Quinn, Adventures in Stereo and Suicide.
As a music producer he has produced and collaborated with
artists such as King Creosote, Eddi Reader, Justin Currie, Shirley Manson,
Malcolm Middleton, The Skids ,The McCluskey Brothers, Belle and Sebastian, Suicide and Emma Pollok.
As musician in residence in South Lanarkshire and main protagonist on the Generation X project that involved ten scottish artists/songwriters collaborating with schools in the area and presenting established artists work to a new audience, situating them in a new aural and visual environment.
Previous theatre productions at the Rep include Romeo and Juliet, The Danny Crowe Show, Djupid and Helmet. His work has been performed in London, Liverpool, Reykjavik, Berlin ,Tokyo and Lochgelly. - Video DesignerJonathan Charles
Read moreJonathan Charles is a director for the production company D fie foe, which produces animated & live action films, and develops moving image education provision. On the cutting edge of film in multi-media production, he applies his intimate knowledge of traditional animation to cross artform work in the digital age
D fie foe has developed its media education division into one of the leading establishments in the UK, and Jonathan's work with London 2012 is a good example. He worked with seven different schools producing documentary films that reflect the lives of children in London with an edgy reality. The films were extremely well received and so were screened at the Olympic Handover Celebrations
Jonathan has been continuing with his commercial & collaborative artistic projects too, and has recently been working with Scottish theatre companies. Something Wicked this Way Comes with the National Theatre of Scotland, and the recent Wizard of Oz at the Lyceum, were both really successful integrations of film into theatre.
Scotland On Sunday
Marc Horne
Mark Horne talks to Director James Brining about 'Balgay Hill'  Read More
School performance| Date | Time | Access | Book Tickets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tuesday 9 June | 7:30pm | Book Now | |
| Wednesday 10 June | 7:30pm | Book Now | |
| Thursday 11 June | 7:30pm | Book Now | |
| Friday 12 June | 7:30pm | Book Now | |
| Saturday 13 June | 7:30pm | Book Now | |
| Tuesday 16 June | 7:30pm | Book Now | |
| Wednesday 17 June | 7:30pm | Book Now | |
| Thursday 18 June | 7:30pm | Book Now | |
| Friday 19 June | 7:30pm | Book Now | |
| Saturday 20 June | 2:30pm | Book Now | |
| Saturday 20 June | 7:30pm | Book Now | |
| Tuesday 23 June | 7:30pm | Book Now | |
| Wednesday 24 June | 7:30pm | | Book Now |
| Thursday 25 June | 7:30pm | Book Now | |
| Friday 26 June | 7:30pm | Book Now | |
| Saturday 27 June | 7:30pm | | Book Now |





















































