Theatre Workshop Scotland (TWS) is a

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

and film production and development company, based in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

. TWS aims to give a voice to marginalised groups, including immigrants and the disabled.

History

TWS was founded in 1965 as Theatre Workshop Edinburgh, by Catherine Robbins and Ros Clark. It was Edinburgh's first drama centre for children. In 1970, Theatre Workshop moved from St Mark's Unitarian Church on Castle Terrace, to its own premises at Hanover Street. Since 1996, Robert Rae has been Artistic Director, and has directed, devised and written twenty professional shows and ten large-scale productions with non-actors. Actors including

Ewen Bremner Ewen Bremner (born 23 January 1972) is a Scottish character actor. His roles have included Julien in ''Julien Donkey-Boy'' and Daniel "Spud" Murphy in '' Trainspotting'' and its 2017 sequel '' T2 Trainspotting''. Early life Bremner was born i ...

have had their first acting opportunities at TWS. In 2009, the company announced that due to financial constraints, they would have to move out of their premises on Hamilton Place."Arts Venues Face Best of Times and Worst of Times"
29 Nov 2009, Herald Scotland

Aims

Theatre Workshop Scotland aims to create well crafted, challenging film and theatre, which will inspire and empower individuals and organisations to change themselves and the world around them. TWS aims to put the people their productions deal with at the heart of the creative process, and has championed the employment of professional disabled actors. It was the first fully inclusive professional theatre in Europe, routinely incorporating disabled actors into its main productions.

Productions

Degenerate

TWS hosts the annual "Degenerate" festival, the only international disability arts festival held in Scotland.Degenerate 3
2005, Scottish Arts Council

''Trouble Sleeping''

In 2007, TWS produced ''Trouble Sleeping'', a feature film based around the experiences of refugees in Edinburgh, which premiered at the

Edinburgh International Film Festival The Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) is a film festival that runs for two weeks in June each year. Established in 1947, it is the world's oldest continually running film festival. EIFF presents both UK and international films (all ti ...

. It was later screened on BBC2, and won a number of awards, including Best New Work at the BAFTA Scotland New Talent Awards, and Best Film at the 2008 Peace on Earth Film Festival, Rockport Film Festival, and Southern Appalachian International Film Festival. Several of the actors involved were also nominated for Best Actor awards at film festivals.

References

External links

''Trouble Sleeping''
- film produced by TWS {{authority control Theatre companies in Scotland Film production companies of the United Kingdom Theatre in Edinburgh