The Gaiety in Wallacetown
The Gaiety has been committed to delivering as much as possible in Wallacetown – part of North Ayr where young people and many adults face severe challenges and where many people have limited income. Our work is heavily dependent on the funding we can secure, but we have been able to deliver a series of projects and work in partnership with local groups and South Ayrshire Council. Our commitment is to continue to seek funding to allow this work to continue. Culture can transform lives and that’s our goal in Wallacetown.
Newton Drama Group and School event support
For two years we were able to work with children attending Newton Primary School to provide an after school drama club. This group met weekly for primary-aged children who had just had their first performance. Each week, Creative Practitioner Emma McDougall, assisted by Creative Practitioner Assistant Lisa McIntyre, worked with the young people to build confidence, teamwork, and performance skills.
Our technical team have also provided support to the school’s performance programme, setting up and running an outdoor stage for annual school shows with a difference.
Wallacetown Fun Days
The Gaiety team have worked with South Ayrshire Council and other local partners to deliver what has now become an annual event in Wallacetown. From providing technical support to delivering fun activities and workshops, the team have been involved in helping to make the event the success it has become.
What’s Your Story?
A creative writing group for adults that met weekly and worked towards a performance. Members learned direction, performance, and other theatrical elements as part of the group, led by Creative Practitioner Des Dillon. The Junkie Miracles (2022) was a key output. Created with Riverside Community Trust, this play showcased the powerful stories of addiction and recovery from our ‘What’s Your Story?’ group
Open Mic Night
‘What’s Your Story?’ then evolved into the Riverside Artists and Writers Group, where participants were able to meet weekly to find creative expression through writing poetry, song, creating artworks, and other medias. This culminated in an Open Mic night hosted in The Gaiety Studio in August 2023, featuring an exhibition of the artworks created, and a series of poignant performances from the group.
A Thousand Doors
A group of Wallacetown residents worked with theatre maker Jeremy Weller to create ‘A Thousand Doors’ – a short theatre piece based on their lived experience, performed to an audience of invited guests in April 2024. Group leader Jeremy Weller said;
“It is their words, their stories. A first part of what they want this to become – a professional play that shows their lives and struggles, and what community means to them as they live in it.
This is their view from the inside.
The cast say that for them this isn’t a play. It is their lives.”