Stellar Quines Theatre Company
Encyclopedia
Stellar Quines is a Scottish theatre
company based in Edinburgh
, Scotland.
Stellar Quines Theatre Company was formed in 1993 to facilitate the creative work of women in Scottish theatre. It makes theatre that is driven by women and where women are at the forefront of all the creative roles. It is the only company in Scotland to work with women in this way, and it does this in collaboration with the men who share its vision.
The company is currently under the artistic direction of Muriel Romanes
The company has worked predominantly with Scotland but has also toured shows nationally and internationally (see productions below).
Stellar meaning starry
Quines meaning women or girls
Many of the productions that Stellar Quines have created have been through the Rehearsal Room process before becoming full-scale productions.
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
company based in Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, Scotland.
Stellar Quines Theatre Company was formed in 1993 to facilitate the creative work of women in Scottish theatre. It makes theatre that is driven by women and where women are at the forefront of all the creative roles. It is the only company in Scotland to work with women in this way, and it does this in collaboration with the men who share its vision.
The company is currently under the artistic direction of Muriel Romanes
The company has worked predominantly with Scotland but has also toured shows nationally and internationally (see productions below).
Origin of the Name
The name Stellar Quines comes from two old Scots words:Stellar meaning starry
Quines meaning women or girls
Productions
- Ana written by Claire Duffy & Pierre Yves Lemieux & directed by Serge Denoncourt - from October 2011, world premiere at Espace Go, Montreal and then touring Canada and the UK. A co-production between Stellar Quines and Imago ThéâtreImago ThéâtreImago Théâtre is a Montreal-based independent, professional theatre company. Founded in 1987 by Andres Hausmann, the company is now under the artistic direction of Clare Schapiro...
- Age of Arousal written by Linda Griffiths (inspired by The Odd WomenThe Odd WomenThe Odd Women is an 1893 novel by the English novelist George Gissing. Its themes are the role of women in society, marriage, morals and the early feminist movement.-Title:...
by George GissingGeorge GissingGeorge Robert Gissing was an English novelist who published twenty-three novels between 1880 and 1903. From his early naturalistic works, he developed into one of the most accomplished realists of the late-Victorian era.-Early life:...
) & directed by Muriel Romanes - February–April 2011, opened in Royal Lyceum TheatreRoyal Lyceum TheatreThe Royal Lyceum Theatre is a 658 seat theatre in the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, named after the Theatre Royal Lyceum and English Opera House, the residence at the time of legendary Shakespearean actor Henry Irving. It was built in 1883 by architect C. J. Phipps at a cost of UK£17,000 on behalf...
, Edinburgh and then toured. A co-production between Stellar Quines and the Royal Lyceum TheatreRoyal Lyceum TheatreThe Royal Lyceum Theatre is a 658 seat theatre in the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, named after the Theatre Royal Lyceum and English Opera House, the residence at the time of legendary Shakespearean actor Henry Irving. It was built in 1883 by architect C. J. Phipps at a cost of UK£17,000 on behalf...
, Edinburgh - The Girls of Slender MeansThe Girls of Slender MeansThe Girls of Slender Means is a novella written in 1963 by Scottish author Muriel Spark. It was included in Anthony Burgess's 1984 book Ninety-Nine Novels: The Best in English since 1939 — A Personal Choice.-Plot introduction:...
by Muriel SparkMuriel SparkDame Muriel Spark, DBE was an award-winning Scottish novelist. In 2008 The Times newspaper named Spark in its list of "the 50 greatest British writers since 1945".-Early life:...
, adapted for the stage by Judith Adams & directed by Muriel Romanes - Assembly Rooms (Edinburgh)Assembly Rooms (Edinburgh)The Assembly Rooms is a former assembly rooms located in central Edinburgh, the rooms now host a number of events including the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and the Hogmanay celebrations. There are four rooms that are used year-round and are available for private functions: Music Hall, Ballroom,...
, August 2009 - Baby Baby written by Vivien French & directed by Jemima Levick - January–March 2009, opened in Garrison TheatreGarrison TheatreThe Garrison Theatre is a 280 capacity venue in Lerwick, Shetland with a sprung proscenium stage with fixed raked seating. It has 19 rows, named A to S which either has 8, 12, 13, 15 or 16 seats in each row....
, Lerwick, Shetland and then toured - The UnconqueredThe Unconquered (play)The Unconquered is a play for four actors by Torben Betts which premiered at the Byre Theatre, St Andrews in February 2007 before touring the United Kingdom It received critical acclaim and won the award for Best New Play at the Critics Awards for Theatre in Scotland, 2007...
written by Torben BettsTorben BettsTorben Betts is an award-winning English playwright and screenwriter.A consistently controversial dramatist, who has written heavily naturalistic plays as well as epic, poetic works, he has been hailed as a successor to writers as diverse as Alan Ayckbourn, Edward Bond and Howard Barker...
& directed by Muriel Romanes, February - March 2007, Toured to UK & then New York, USA in 2008. The play won the Best New Play award at the Critics' Awards for Theatre in ScotlandCritics' Awards for Theatre in ScotlandThe Critics' Awards for Theatre in Scotland were inaugurated in May 2003, and are adjudicated by a panel of all the regular Scottish theatre critics.The 2009 ceremony took place at the Edinburgh Festival Theatre on June 14...
, 2007. - Perfect PiePerfect PiePerfect Pie is a play written by Judith Thompson, and first staged at Toronto's Tarragon Theatre in 2000, with Judith Thompson also directing....
written by Judith ThompsonJudith ThompsonJudith Clare Thompson, OC is a Canadian playwright who lives in Toronto, Ontario. Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail once declared that "...in this country, a playwright as good as Judith Thompson is a miracle." She has twice been awarded the Governor General's Award for drama, and is the...
& directed by Maureen Beattie - March–April 2006, Touring Scotland. Produced by Stellar Quines in Association with The Byre TheatreByre TheatreThe Byre Theatre is a theatre in St Andrews, Fife, Scotland. The original Byre Theatre was founded in 1933 by Alexander B Paterson, a local journalist and playwright, with help from a theatre group made up from members of Hope Park Church, St Andrews....
of St Andrews and Perth TheatrePerth TheatrePerth Theatre is a Victorian playhouse situated at 185 High Street, Perth, Scotland. It was opened in 1901 and extended in 1991.A memorial foundation stone was laid on 6 October 1889 by George Alexander, actor and manager of the St James's Theatre, London. The building is category B listed by... - Three Thousand Troubled Threads written by Chiew Siah Tei & directed by Muriel Romanes - August–September 2005. A co-production between Stellar Quines Theatre Company, Edinburgh International FestivalEdinburgh International FestivalThe Edinburgh International Festival is a festival of performing arts that takes place in the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, over three weeks from around the middle of August. By invitation from the Festival Director, the International Festival brings top class performers of music , theatre, opera...
and the Byre TheatreByre TheatreThe Byre Theatre is a theatre in St Andrews, Fife, Scotland. The original Byre Theatre was founded in 1933 by Alexander B Paterson, a local journalist and playwright, with help from a theatre group made up from members of Hope Park Church, St Andrews....
, St Andrews - The Memory of WaterThe Memory of WaterThe Memory of Water is a comedy written by English playwright Shelagh Stephenson, first staged at Hampstead Theatre in 1996.-Vi:Vi is the mother of the three sisters and whose funeral they are together for. She was a glamorous woman when younger, with whom all the men of the village were enamoured...
written by Shelagh StephensonShelagh StephensonShelagh Stephenson is a playwright, born in Northumberland and read drama at Manchester University. Her stage plays include The Memory of Water , An Experiment with an Air Pump, Ancient Lights, Five Kinds of Silence and Mappa Mundi...
& directed by Muriel Romanes - April–June 2004, Touring - Sweet Fanny Adams in Eden written by Judith Adams & directed by Muriel Romanes - August 2003, Scottish Plant Collectors Garden, Pitlochry
- WitWit (play)Wit is a play written by American playwright Margaret Edson. Edson used her work experience in a hospital as part of the inspiration for her play. Wit received its world premiere at South Coast Repertory, Costa Mesa, California, in 1995...
written by Margaret EdsonMargaret EdsonMargaret Edson is an American playwright. She graduated with a B.A. in Renaissance History from Smith College, and received a master's in English literature from Georgetown University...
& directed by Gaynor MacFarlaneGaynor MacfarlaneGaynor Macfarlane directed the first, second, fourth, sixth and seventh radio series of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency.In the Theatre Gaynor Macfarlane has directed Wit by Margaret Edson, Folie à Trois by Sarah Wooley and The Past is not a Place by Beatrice Colin for the Stellar Quines Theatre...
- March–April 2003, touring - The Reel of the Hanged Man written by Jeanne-Mance Delisle, translated by Martin Bowman and Bill Findlay & directed by Muriel Romanes - April 2000, opened in the Traverse TheatreTraverse TheatreThe Traverse Theatre is a theatre in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was founded in 1963.The Traverse Theatre commissions and develops new plays or adaptations from contemporary playwrights. It also presents a large number of productions from visiting companies from across the UK. These include new plays,...
and toured to Shetland, Glasgow, Stirling and Paisley - Learning the Paso Doble written by Dilys RoseDilys RoseDilys Rose is a Scottish poet and fiction writer, born in 1954 in Glasgow and now based in Edinburgh. She has been teaching Creative Writing at Edinburgh University since 2001.-Poetry:* Madame Doubtfire's Dilemma, Chapman, 1989...
& directed by Irene Macdougall - Spring 1999, Touring - The Clearing written by Helen EdmundsonHelen EdmundsonHelen Edmundson is a British playwright particularly well-known for her adaptations of various literary classics for the stage.Edmundson's first play Flying was produced at the National Theatre Studio in 1990...
& directed by Muriel Romanes - 1998/1999, toured to Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee and Liverpool - Refuge written by Janet PaisleyJanet PaisleyJanet Paisley is an award-winning writer, poet and playwright from Scotland writing in Scots and English. Her work has been translated into German, Russian, Lithuanian, Slovak, Spanish, Hungarian, Ukrainian and Italian.-Career:...
& directed by Gerda StevensonGerda StevensonGerda Stevenson is a Scottish actress, director and writer, described by The Scotsman in 1999 as "Scotland's finest actress". She has played a vast range of parts in the theatre, including both Desdemona and Lady MacBeth, and has appeared in many television dramas...
- March–April 1997, touring - The Seal Wife written by Sue Glover & directed by Gerda StevensonGerda StevensonGerda Stevenson is a Scottish actress, director and writer, described by The Scotsman in 1999 as "Scotland's finest actress". She has played a vast range of parts in the theatre, including both Desdemona and Lady MacBeth, and has appeared in many television dramas...
- 1995, touring - Night Sky (play)Night Sky (play)Night Sky is a 1991 play by Susan Yankowitz, which originally premiered in New York starring Joan MacIntosh, under the direction of Joseph Chaikin, whose personal struggles with stroke and aphasia were the original inspiration for the play...
written by Susan Yankowitz & directed by Lynn Bains - 1993, toured to Aberdeen, Ayr, Glasgow, St Andrews and Edinburgh
Rehearsal Room
Stellar Quines’ Rehearsal Room is a well-established initiative held yearly and occasionally more than once a year. It enables writers to be more proactive in the development of their text using audience feedback as a major element of the process. It provides a platform for showcasing new plays and developing audiences, keeping them informed and involved. It is also a showcase for potential co-producers and promoters.Many of the productions that Stellar Quines have created have been through the Rehearsal Room process before becoming full-scale productions.
Commissions
Stellar Quines regularly commission new writing. The company has commissioned the following plays:- Translation of A Live Bird in the Mouth by Jeanne-Mance Delisle - Martin Bowman
- Ana – Clare Duffy
- Constantina – Torben BettsTorben BettsTorben Betts is an award-winning English playwright and screenwriter.A consistently controversial dramatist, who has written heavily naturalistic plays as well as epic, poetic works, he has been hailed as a successor to writers as diverse as Alan Ayckbourn, Edward Bond and Howard Barker...
- An adaptation of The Girls of Slender MeansThe Girls of Slender MeansThe Girls of Slender Means is a novella written in 1963 by Scottish author Muriel Spark. It was included in Anthony Burgess's 1984 book Ninety-Nine Novels: The Best in English since 1939 — A Personal Choice.-Plot introduction:...
by Muriel SparkMuriel SparkDame Muriel Spark, DBE was an award-winning Scottish novelist. In 2008 The Times newspaper named Spark in its list of "the 50 greatest British writers since 1945".-Early life:...
for the stage – Judith Adams - The Girl Who Insisted She Wasn’t – Ariadne Cass
- The Past Is Not a Place – Beatrice Colin
- The Unconquered – Torben BettsTorben BettsTorben Betts is an award-winning English playwright and screenwriter.A consistently controversial dramatist, who has written heavily naturalistic plays as well as epic, poetic works, he has been hailed as a successor to writers as diverse as Alan Ayckbourn, Edward Bond and Howard Barker...
- Sweet Fanny Adams in Eden – Judith Adams
- Red Priest – Grace Barnes
- Translation of The Reel of the Hanged Man by Jeanne-Mance Delisle - Martin Bowman and Bill Findlay
- Learning The Paso Doble – Dilys Rose
- Refuge – Janet Paisley
Amb:IT:ion Scotland
Stellar Quines is working with Amb:IT:ion Scotland to create a virtual hub for women in theatre, an experimental digital lab for artists/audiences and a digital learning programme, all driven by a revamped CMS, website and new, rich digital content.Gender Research
Stellar Quines is completing a Gender Research Project to “make Stellar Quines fit for purpose in the 21st Century by...[looking] into the needs and desires of our key users...”Awards
- Muriel Romanes won the Best Director Award for Age of Arousal in the 2010-11 Critics' Awards for Theatre in ScotlandCritics' Awards for Theatre in ScotlandThe Critics' Awards for Theatre in Scotland were inaugurated in May 2003, and are adjudicated by a panel of all the regular Scottish theatre critics.The 2009 ceremony took place at the Edinburgh Festival Theatre on June 14...
- Torben BettsTorben BettsTorben Betts is an award-winning English playwright and screenwriter.A consistently controversial dramatist, who has written heavily naturalistic plays as well as epic, poetic works, he has been hailed as a successor to writers as diverse as Alan Ayckbourn, Edward Bond and Howard Barker...
was the winner of Best New Play at the Critics' Awards for Theatre in ScotlandCritics' Awards for Theatre in ScotlandThe Critics' Awards for Theatre in Scotland were inaugurated in May 2003, and are adjudicated by a panel of all the regular Scottish theatre critics.The 2009 ceremony took place at the Edinburgh Festival Theatre on June 14...
2007
- Alexandra Mathie won the Best Female Performance as Dr Vivian Bearing in WitWit (play)Wit is a play written by American playwright Margaret Edson. Edson used her work experience in a hospital as part of the inspiration for her play. Wit received its world premiere at South Coast Repertory, Costa Mesa, California, in 1995...
at the 2002-3 Critics' Awards for Theatre in ScotlandCritics' Awards for Theatre in ScotlandThe Critics' Awards for Theatre in Scotland were inaugurated in May 2003, and are adjudicated by a panel of all the regular Scottish theatre critics.The 2009 ceremony took place at the Edinburgh Festival Theatre on June 14...
- In 1996 Refuge won the Peggy Ramsay Award for the development of new writing
The Company
- Muriel Romanes, Artistic Director
- Mary Paulson-Ellis, General Manager
- Lesley Anne Rose, Creative Producer
- Rosie Wildwood, Administrator