“I’m a 25-year-old Scottish actor. Born in a wee town called Linlithgow just outside Edinburgh. I have a fun-loving, outgoing personality. I am also a Libra, if that means anything to you. I am a co-founder and company member of Saltire Sky Theatre Company. Our show 1902 won an Off West End award for best in-person show at last year’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival. This Fringe we are debuting our newest production, Bit ‘n’ Pieces about substance abuse, misinformation and Scotland’s rave culture (tickets are now on sale on the Ed Fringe Website!).”
What kind of actor do you aspire to be?
Ideally a working actor but I would love to be considered as dependable, inventive, versatile, and fun to work with.
What performance piece did you choose for the showcase and why?
The pieces that I have chosen are from two Scottish playwrights that I feel best encapsulates the working-class Scottish voice. Both pieces have that element of light and dark that I feel is very typical of Scottish plays, the sense of serious themes with elements of dark humour that make you think ‘should I be laughing with this character?’. I also chose Eddie from Gagarin Way by Gregory Burke for my showcase, as I feel it shows my castability as a front-footed cheeky working-class Scotsman with a slight hint of menace.
What book, theatre, film or TV production has most inspired you?
A Romanian production that featured a lot of physical theatre and puppetry. Although the dialogue was in Romanian, I was hooked by its story and its themes. You could tell that this production had so much raw emotion behind it that it was life changing for the people it was relevant to. I still think about it often.
How do you keep creative?
Saltire Sky Theatre allows me to keep creative as we are constantly working towards building our shows to the best of their ability and making sure they are seen by the people who help inspire the stories we tell. Our artistic director specialises in writing his own work and the company does what it can to help bring these scripts off the page. I am involved in every aspect of our company, so we are always kept busy by organising how to get ourselves to the next level. As a member I am also involved in some of the writing ideas and directorial decisions. I am also a huge fan of filmmaking and often write small first drafts of short movies and monologues for projects I would love to bring to fruition.
What is the dream role you’d love to play?
The Emcee in Cabaret. Who doesn’t want to play the Emcee? You get to make an audience belly laugh, cry, and also deeply ashamed within one song. Who wouldn’t want to do that?
What do you hope to be doing this time next year?
This time next year I would love to have made a good reputation as an accomplished performer working in many different avenues of this industry be it on stage, screen, voice acting or motion capture.