AYRSHIRE YOUTH THEATRE

Ayrshire Youth Theatre was founded in 1987 as the Ayr Youth Theatre. Their first ever production, with Paul Birnam as the scarecrow was The Wizard of Oz. Directed by Marjory McKinlay the performance at Ayrs Civic Theatre over three nights was to start the ball rolling in a hugely successful production and attract many young people from throughout the old Kyle and Carrick area.

The Youth Theatre followed on with a number of classic children's texts - Annie, Gregory's Girl, Oh What a Lovely War etc, until it was taken over by Borderline Theatre Company in 1991. Prior to then, thanks to sponsorship by BAe it took Oh What a Lovely War! to the RSAMD and the Scottish national Association of Youth Theatres Festival.

Borderlines first production with the Youth Theatre saw them take over the Gaiety stage for the very first time in Dracula Spectacula. Directed by Anna Newall, it was the beginning of expansive years as the numbers attending grew to over 50.

Anna followed up Dracula Spectacula with Dickens's Christmas Carol at the Civic Theatre. Notable amongst that performance was Tommy Masterman arriving onstage in tutu and pink wellies!

The Artistic Director of Borderline then took over with a production of the National Youth Theatres devised show, the Peter Terson written, XXXXX. Ronnie Bitten shaved his head for that show and there are people who are still recovering!

In 1994, Kyle and Carrick decided that a change of direction was necessary and Donald C Stewart, who had produced the last three shows, became more centrally involved and was appointed the youth theatre organiser.

The first show with Donald as the director saw a young Chris Taylor upstage everyone in Bugsy Malone. (Some things never change!) Performed on the Civic theatre stage it saw the youth theatre perform three times to almost capacity audiences and to some very good feedback. Having taken a dip in numbers attending the youth theatre was to grow and grow and grow!

1994 was the same year in which two members of Ayr Youth Theatre were picked to be in Braveheart. (Andrew) James Weir and James Robinson left us to spend a summer and some of the autumn filming scenes as the young Wallace and Hamish in the glens of Scotland and film studio in Ireland.

From 1994 the Youth Theatre also began to increase its activities with new innovative work as well as traditional performance work. This included being invited throughout Scotland and the UK as performers at national charity run conferences looking at a huge variety of issues from childrens rights to abuse.

In 1995 its very first schools tour with Jules Tasca's Telling Wilde Tales went off round schools. This was a mixed success and was co-directed between Donald and the Musical Director at the time, David Goodall. It played to four schools and lead us to look over the next few years at ways of being innovative in school work as well as being able to attract young people to our work as participants.

1995 was also the very first year in which the Youth Theatre had been split. We took half of the youth theatre and created the younger group from aged 9 to secondary 2, and an older group from secondary 3 to aged 25.  This reflected the increasing numbers and the fact that younger people felt left out at the back of the chorus and demanded (in a nice and pleasant way!) their own show. The younger group performed first with The Incredible Vanishing at the Civic in June 1995. One of the most notable features was Jay Bharaj's use of live eggs! 

In 1996 the Youth Theatre turned to things more Scottish and we performed our very own Rock version of Tam O'Shanter with our new musical director, Tim McGowan (now having realised many albums in the US and living in LA.) This included now graduate of East 15, Jenny Hainey as Tamsin and (Andrew) James Weir as Jock, the two narrators.

In that same year, 1996, the Youth Theatre managed a world premiere with the very first theatre performance of Mel Brook's/Gene Wilder's Young Frankenstein. The title role was taken by a youthful Mark Dempsey (now also at east 15) and saw us performing in Girvan Academy for the very first time!

That very same year the Youth Theatre were recognised by Channel 4 for their work in the social education field when the programme Wise Up awarded one of only four national grants of £1,000 to Ayr Youth Theatre. Director of Education, Mike McCabe accepted the cheque for the work and we bought some circus equipment for the youth theatre.

In 1997 the Youth Theatre was renamed following the restructuring of local authorities in Scotland and became South Ayrshire Youth Theatre. Its first appearance as South Ayrshire Youth Theatre was as they performed The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe in the Civic in 1997. Once again Mark Dempsey made an appearance but the huge impact of the Fawns costume (hair) plastered on Jay Bharajs back was a sight to behold!

1997 was a particularly notable year as the Youth Theatre marked its appearances at no fewer than four Festivals as well as outside of Scotland for the first time. In May 1997 the Youth Theatre performed at three Glasgow venues with Brand New Shorts as part of the very last Mayfest. These performances saw seven young people direct each of these original pieces as it performed at four venues in Glasgow. In June it was a guest of the Dumfries Arts Festival and then of the Dumfries Youth Festival. It capped 1997 in September with a tour of Maybole, Troon and Ayr with its first Shakespeare, Twelfth Night as part of the 1997 Ayr Festival. It was also the very first outside performance at the Arran Mall. Outside of Scotland it performed at the Commonwealth Institute in London to open the national ChildLine conference with an appearance on John Cravens Newsround!

1998/9 was yet another pinnacle year for the Youth Theatre. We performed six shows at the Gaiety, sold out the Civic as part of the Ayr Festival 1998 with The Hobbit and managed to attract over 4,000 of an audience for the very first time. Both Gaiety shows Return to the Forbidden Planet and Little Shop of Horrors obviously contributed greatly to the audience numbers, however playing to a full house on the same night as Deacon Blue are appearing at the Gaiety is no mean feat!

Both the Hobbit and Return to the Forbidden Planet had Projekt 11:92 as choreographers and new musical director, Bud Greenwood at the helm. However for Little Shop of Horrors, new choreographer, Rhona Cleland joined the company. Her last time with the youth theatre had been with Dracula Spectacula in 1991! Little Shop of Horrors was the year in which South Ayrshire Youth Theatre had the largest red bow as part of Comic Relief with now fewer than 169 people onstage at the end of the night! Mark Dempsey came back as a lead as well as Chris Taylor as the dentist but the prize of the night was Andy Telfer in the plant and Suzanne Holland in the dressing room as Audrey two with a live video link lip synching with Andy!

This was also the year in which ten members of the Youth Theatre, helped in part by the Ayr Arts Guild became part of the Scottish Youth theatre Summer Festival in Glasgow. It was a very busy year! It also included three nights at the John Pollock Centre with Arthur Millers The Crucible, with Dave Martin and Arlene McCreadie in the lead roles as well as significant support from Jenny Hainey, Mark Dempsey, Cameron Seaward and Barry McLean!

The younger group, not to be outdone, performed The Other Cinderella at the Civic theatre. The fairy, played by a young Kirsty Coid. Jes Raven was Cinderella and as has been the way in the past many future performers for the older group and the musicals were spotted in the chorus working hard.

As we moved into the new millennium things couldnt have been rosier! We managed to sell more tickets than ever for Fame: the Musical! Jay Baharaj was back! This time in the pit for Fame and is also now involved in the Scottish Youth Jazz Orchestra - playing drums!

The youth theatre also appeared on Trouble TVs Get A Life and also on STVs Funhouse.  They also performed at conferences for Lloyds TSB Foundation Launch Day for their new anti-drug funding initiative and at the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotlands conference on drugs in Dunblane. It was the year that member Emma Durkin made her debut on television on STVs Harry and the Wrinklies.

It was also the year, 2000, in which the younger group presented Stevensons Treasure Island with Morven Smith and Donald Scott in significant roles. Best remembered for Gregor Robsons episode on the boat with a seagull!

Treasure Island played, as did the older group show, The Caucasian Chalk Circle, at the Civic theatre. Grusha was played by Suzanne Holland and it was a major piece of theatre that confirmed our now regular programme. Musical in March/April, younger group show in June and older group show in September as part of the Ayr Festival. Venues were also, by now well established with the Civic being the youth theatre home in June and September and our annual jaunt to the Gaiety in March/April.

2001 saw us at the John Pollock Centre again but this time with the younger group and Wyrd Sisters. We then transferred it to the Civic and performed the younger group for the first time over four performances. Our three Wyrd sisters were Morven Smith, Holly Thomson and Cathy Noble.

This was after we had taken the Gaiety by storm with Singin in the rain. Up until then we had always looked for young people musicals like Fame but we were running out of quality ones to do. We wanted to test if we could tae on a challenge and manage to perform a grown up show. It worked with Jonathon Ross, Graeme Cain, Val Wilson and Donna in the four lead roles.

By now we had also established another principal. Although there are names associated with each performances and you could see how people have progressed through the years, there are no stars. Every person who turns up at their first workshop is as likely to be picked for the lead role as anyone else. Ask Mark Dempsey who was Dr Fron Kon Stein in Young Frankenstein!

In 2001 we started the year with the fifteen year anniversary of the beginning of the Youth Theatre with a return to The Wizard of Oz but this time at the Gaiety. We had a lion, (Chris Ridge), scarecrow (Morven Smith), tin man (Scott Dickie) and Dorothy (Kirsty Coid) to equal any. Dorothys dress was an original. The pattern brought from America and the dress created by Kirstys mum was unforgettable!

The younger group then performed for the very last time at the Civic theatre with Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Charlie was played by one of our great characters, Jack Doyle, and with Richard Stephenson as Willie Wonka we never though it would be our last time there!

It left us without a venue for our Shakespeare Midsummer Nights Dream. With help from the council we were moved from Loudoun Hall outside to the incredible atmosphere of the St Johns Tower. It was a balmy and exceptional three nights. With Emma Durkin as Puck, Barry Carson as Bottom and a host of now regular faces performing the bards work outside this was more than memorable.

2003 started with Seven Brides for Seven Brothers at the Gaiety and this was yet another triumph. Imagine a youth theatre contemplating a play with 13 male leads! (Seven brothers and six suitors!). Well we did it with Barry Carson as Adam and Isaura Campbell as Milly. Isaura, was new.!

The June younger group show was now homeless and we really needed a good venue for them. Fortunately Ayr College came up trumps with their studio in Prestwick and we managed four nights there with the second Roald Dahl play, th Witches. With some new faces and some old ones too Jamie McGregor as Boy and Katy Conlan as the Grand High Witch it demonstrated that the quality we had was more in the performances than the scenery! It was also the first appearance of the directors son!