Latest news with #NinianDunnett
Daily Record
01-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Record
Perth Theatre Restless Natives cast in 'hold up' charity stunt
£2500 randsome to Keep Scotland Beautiful charity to free 'captives' The Perth Theatre cast of Restless Natives ambushed a tour bus - for a good cause – when it stopped in the Fair City. A Rabbie's Tours bus was full of influencers, media, and their guests who experienced the unexpected encounter on the way to Perth Theatre from Edinburgh. The cast of Restless Natives: The Musical staged a playful 'hold-up' in true rebellious spirit, celebrating the launch of the brand-new Scottish stage production. But instead of passengers paying a ransom Rabbie's Tours stepped in with a giant cheque - a £2500 donation to Keep Scotland Beautiful. Based on the beloved 1985 Scottish cult film two boys from a joke shop become 'Highland highwaymen,' cheekily holding up tour buses. As a playful nod to that, the cast of the musical staged their own 'hold-up' of the Rabbie's bus on arrival in Perth - complete with masks, costumes, and plenty of mischief. Keep Scotland Beautiful chief executive Barry Fisher said: 'While we don't normally condone holding up tour buses and visitors to our beautiful country, we are absolutely thrilled to have been selected by Rabbie's Tours to receive the ransom money from this Restless Natives stunt. 'We desperately need a sustained injection of cash to inspire and celebrate the efforts of communities across Scotland who volunteer their time to make the places they care about cleaner and greener. 'I guess we're all restless natives, trying to make Scotland a more beautiful place – from our rural beauty spots to our towns and cities. 'The impact this £2500 donation from Rabbie's Tours will have is immeasurable. We'll invest it in coordinating our Climate and Nature Friendly Communities Network – supporting and inspiring action on the ground and recognising achievements of 200+ groups across the country.' The cheeky stunt marked the opening week of Restless Natives: The Musical, which runs at Perth Theatre from Thursday, April 24 to Saturday, May 10 before heading out on a Scottish tour, visiting venues including Leith Theatre (Edinburgh), Macrobert Arts Centre (Stirling), His Majesty's Theatre (Aberdeen), Eden Court Empire Theatre (Inverness), and King's Theatre (Glasgow). Produced and directed by the same team behind the 1985 original film, and co-produced by Perth Theatre, Restless Natives: The Musical brings the story of Ronnie and Will -Highland highwaymen turned folk heroes - to a new generation. Featuring iconic music inspired by Big Country, and a book by original creators Ninian Dunnett, Michael Hoffman, and Andy Paterson alongside composer Tim Sutton, the musical celebrates Scotland's rebellious, resourceful spirit. Restless Natives writer and lyricist Ninian Dunnett said: 'I'm a big, big fan of Keep Scotland Beautiful. Our glorious landscape and community mean so much to the story of Restless Natives, and I'm thrilled that our musical caper can help support their invaluable work.' Rabbie's Tours chief executive Hazel Rickett said: 'The landscapes featured in Restless Natives are the same ones we proudly share with our passengers - wild, breathtaking, and deeply loved. 'By supporting Keep Scotland Beautiful, we're helping to protect those places so they remain that way for years to come.' Tickets are on sale now for Restless Natives.
The Guardian
30-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Restless Natives: The Musical review – rambling remake sings different tune to cult 80s movie
One of the stories British cinema loves to tell is of working-class characters defeating the privations of Thatcherism using wit and creativity. In Brassed Off (1996), escape came in the form of communal music; in The Full Monty (1997), it was male striptease; and in Billy Elliot (2000), the romance of ballet. Setting the template for all these was Restless Natives (1985), a cult Scottish favourite in which two Edinburgh dreamers turn highway robbers and, in the gentlest possible way, take to holding up coachloads of American tourists while disguised as a wolfman and clown. Written by Ninian Dunnett, the whimsical comedy reflected on how a small nation could assert itself at a time of high unemployment, diminishing global significance and a tourist industry hungry for cliche. The land of William Wallace, Rob Roy and Robert the Bruce was no longer a country for heroes. With self-deprecating humour, the film imagines that role being taken on by two bumbling lads from a joke shop. The majestic music of Big Country, with Stuart Adamson's yearning vocals and bagpipe-like guitar lines, was an ironic counterpoint to their amateurish scheme. The Big Country connection seems to have inspired Dunnett, working with the film's director Michael Hoffman, to bring Restless Natives to the stage as a musical. The band's songs, such as Come Up Screaming, I Walk the Hill and Ships, now sit alongside new musical-theatre numbers by Tim Sutton, most rather different in style. They range from It's Good to Be Bad, a bar-room knees up that could have been in Oliver!, to I Am the Wolf, a dark music-box lullaby that might have worked in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. They are sung brightly by a lively cast led by Kyle Gardiner as Ronnie, Finlay McKillop as Will and Kirsty MacLaren as Margot, Will's Beauty and the Beast love interest. But Restless Natives is not a story of high passions and grand dramatic moments. Little calls out for song. The pleasure is in its undulations and quiet observation. However briskly arranged, the songs – and there are many – only slow down the narrative. Extending the film's 90 minutes by nearly an hour, the production drains the comic momentum and labours a delicate idea. At Perth theatre until 10 May. Then touring until 28 June
The National
28-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The National
Everything you need to know about the new Restless Natives musical
Michael Hoffman has a score to settle and the Hollywood director has vowed he will achieve this across the theatres of Scotland this summer. 'It's a chance for us all to go back and reclaim our past,' says the actor, writer and director, who has returned for a second bite of a Scottish story that's become a cult classic status since its release 40 years ago. 'It was upsetting when it wasn't well received at first. It was painful for us. But it was triumphant for us in certain ways, too.' Now the triumph is the curtain going up on a new telling of a story he left behind in 1985, as Restless Natives: The Musical takes to the road around Scotland. In the mid-1980s, having been inspired by his experience of Robert Redford's Sundance film development lab in Utah, Hoffman got together with some of his young mates and launched a national screenwriter's competition in the UK. One of the short scripts they received was from Ninian Dunnett, telling the story of a pair of Edinburgh lads who, in the midst of the hopelessness of 1980s economic depression, buy a pair of masks and rob tour buses. Producer David Puttnam picked it as the winner and the short project was developed into a feature-length film by Hoffman and cohorts and released in 1985. 'It was one of the easiest, most seamless roads between discovering a piece of material then making it that I've ever had in my life,' says Hoffman, whose Hollywood credits since include One Fine Day with Michelle Pfeiffer and A Midsummer Night's Dream with Christian Bale and Dominic West. 'But it had a pretty rocky start. Reviews were not good at first, partly because we were hot on the heels of Bill Forsyth's movies. We certainly weren't trying to make another Bill Forsyth movie but there were similar things going on tonally, perhaps in particular to That Sinking Feeling. 'But the film went on to find fans in America and Scotland and all over the world. It started to reclaim a position for ourselves. It was still a long journey to get to the point when James McAvoy said to me the reason he'd do my film The Last Station is because he loved Restless Natives when he was a kid. Or Gerry Butler turning up at a party and saying he wasn't worthy to shake my hand because Restless Natives was his favourite film. Or Jack Black wanting to remake it in America. It has had this long, crazy life.' (Image: Restless Natives Musical) The latest step in that crazy life sees the caper adapted for theatre as a stage musical, featuring – as the film did – the music of Big Country, with the production team from the flick bringing it to the stage. The original film written by Ninian Dunnett featured relative unknowns Vincent Friell and John Mullaney alongside bona fide movie star Ned Beatty. A lifetime on, Hoffman has co-written the book for the stage show starring Kirsty MacLaren, Kyle Gardiner, Finlay McKillop and Alan McHugh. Five decades later, it will play to audiences for whom many of the themes will resonate as clearly as they would have done with those who saw it at the time. He says: 'It's the story of two under-employed kids in Edinburgh who feel like their lives are bereft of possibility. One decides he has to take his chance, and they go out as The Clown and The Wolfman and rob tourist coaches. What was an insane scheme leads them to international popularity and they become these Robin Hood bandits who capture the imagination of the whole world. It's a romance and a bromance. And it's about growing up. 'It's also that basic notion about identity and self-respect and finding a way forward towards a dream that you have or a possibility that you see. That never goes away. It's a fundamentally aspirational story and an aspirational story is timeless. (Image: Restless Natives Musical) 'In Thatcher's Britain people felt really at risk up here. And I think the questions in that are things young people are asking now: is there a world for me? I think that still really plays. What makes it universal is that it's an underdog story about people who need to reclaim their self-respect and ask for a little bit of dignity from the world. That theme and idea operates in every relationship in the movie. And I think that operates on some level for Scotland, too. It's a movie about reclaiming your identity.' The revival of interest in the film has, he admits, been enhanced by the podcast of the same name but also the enduring love for the band whose music formed the soundtrack. Hoffman says: 'The crossover between Big Country lovers and the film has also been a massive injection of energy. When the band play the theme tune from the film everybody really comes alive. It has become a real stalwart set piece in their concerts. 'I always loved Big Country. I had their first album early on and I wanted them to do the music for Restless Natives because of the spirit of the music they were making. It really made sense with what the movie was about. We thought it was a way to distinguish the film from everything else in the landscape.' The band, led by Dunfermline's Stuart Adamson, were at the height of their powers in the mid-1980s, and created epic soundscapes for Hoffman's film, immediately identifiable as their own. Adamson tragically died 16 years after the film's release but Hoffman believes his sound and spirit have flavoured the new show, which draws on the Big Country catalogue, including a spine-tingling a capella version of one of their biggest hits. 'We all have ups and downs, especially in the life of a rock band such as Big Country and all the changes they go through. But doing this again has reminded us all of why we're doing any of this in the first place: dreaming big.' Restless Natives The Musical is at Perth Theatre until May 10; Macrobert Arts Centre, Stirling, May 14-17; His Majesty's Theatre, Aberdeen, May 21-24; Eden Court, Inverness, May 29 – June 1; Leith Theatre, Edinburgh June 7-22; King's Theatre, Glasgow June 24-28.
The Herald Scotland
28-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Herald Scotland
Everything you need to know about the new Restless Natives musical
'It was upsetting when it wasn't well received at first. It was painful for us. But it was triumphant for us in certain ways, too.' Now the triumph is the curtain going up on a new telling of a story he left behind in 1985, as Restless Natives: The Musical takes to the road around Scotland. In the mid-1980s, having been inspired by his experience of Robert Redford's Sundance film development lab in Utah, Hoffman got together with some of his young mates and launched a national screenwriter's competition in the UK. One of the short scripts they received was from Ninian Dunnett, telling the story of a pair of Edinburgh lads who, in the midst of the hopelessness of 1980s economic depression, buy a pair of masks and rob tour buses. Producer David Puttnam picked it as the winner and the short project was developed into a feature-length film by Hoffman and cohorts and released in 1985. 'It was one of the easiest, most seamless roads between discovering a piece of material then making it that I've ever had in my life,' says Hoffman, whose Hollywood credits since include One Fine Day with Michelle Pfeiffer and A Midsummer Night's Dream with Christian Bale and Dominic West. 'But it had a pretty rocky start. Reviews were not good at first, partly because we were hot on the heels of Bill Forsyth's movies. We certainly weren't trying to make another Bill Forsyth movie but there were similar things going on tonally, perhaps in particular to That Sinking Feeling. 'But the film went on to find fans in America and Scotland and all over the world. It started to reclaim a position for ourselves. It was still a long journey to get to the point when James McAvoy said to me the reason he'd do my film The Last Station is because he loved Restless Natives when he was a kid. Or Gerry Butler turning up at a party and saying he wasn't worthy to shake my hand because Restless Natives was his favourite film. Or Jack Black wanting to remake it in America. It has had this long, crazy life.' (Image: Restless Natives Musical) The latest step in that crazy life sees the caper adapted for theatre as a stage musical, featuring – as the film did – the music of Big Country, with the production team from the flick bringing it to the stage. The original film written by Ninian Dunnett featured relative unknowns Vincent Friell and John Mullaney alongside bona fide movie star Ned Beatty. A lifetime on, Hoffman has co-written the book for the stage show starring Kirsty MacLaren, Kyle Gardiner, Finlay McKillop and Alan McHugh. Five decades later, it will play to audiences for whom many of the themes will resonate as clearly as they would have done with those who saw it at the time. He says: 'It's the story of two under-employed kids in Edinburgh who feel like their lives are bereft of possibility. One decides he has to take his chance, and they go out as The Clown and The Wolfman and rob tourist coaches. What was an insane scheme leads them to international popularity and they become these Robin Hood bandits who capture the imagination of the whole world. It's a romance and a bromance. And it's about growing up. 'It's also that basic notion about identity and self-respect and finding a way forward towards a dream that you have or a possibility that you see. That never goes away. It's a fundamentally aspirational story and an aspirational story is timeless. (Image: Restless Natives Musical) 'In Thatcher's Britain people felt really at risk up here. And I think the questions in that are things young people are asking now: is there a world for me? I think that still really plays. What makes it universal is that it's an underdog story about people who need to reclaim their self-respect and ask for a little bit of dignity from the world. That theme and idea operates in every relationship in the movie. And I think that operates on some level for Scotland, too. It's a movie about reclaiming your identity.' The revival of interest in the film has, he admits, been enhanced by the podcast of the same name but also the enduring love for the band whose music formed the soundtrack. Hoffman says: 'The crossover between Big Country lovers and the film has also been a massive injection of energy. When the band play the theme tune from the film everybody really comes alive. It has become a real stalwart set piece in their concerts. 'I always loved Big Country. I had their first album early on and I wanted them to do the music for Restless Natives because of the spirit of the music they were making. It really made sense with what the movie was about. We thought it was a way to distinguish the film from everything else in the landscape.' The band, led by Dunfermline's Stuart Adamson, were at the height of their powers in the mid-1980s, and created epic soundscapes for Hoffman's film, immediately identifiable as their own. Adamson tragically died 16 years after the film's release but Hoffman believes his sound and spirit have flavoured the new show, which draws on the Big Country catalogue, including a spine-tingling a capella version of one of their biggest hits. 'We all have ups and downs, especially in the life of a rock band such as Big Country and all the changes they go through. But doing this again has reminded us all of why we're doing any of this in the first place: dreaming big.' Restless Natives The Musical is at Perth Theatre until May 10; Macrobert Arts Centre, Stirling, May 14-17; His Majesty's Theatre, Aberdeen, May 21-24; Eden Court, Inverness, May 29 – June 1; Leith Theatre, Edinburgh June 7-22; King's Theatre, Glasgow June 24-28.
Scotsman
25-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
Restless Natives creator Ninian Dunnet on the new stage version: 'the parallels are still so strong'
Ninian Dunnett wrote Restless Natives 40 years ago, but a new musical version shows how relevant the story remains today, writes Joyce McMillan Sign up to our Arts and Culture newsletter, get the latest news and reviews from our specialist arts writers Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Ninian Dunnett is an Edinburgh man through and through. His father was legendary Scotsman editor Alistair Dunnett, his mother the novelist Dorothy Dunnett, famous for her brilliant historical adventures based on Scottish history. And although his own life as a writer and journalist has often taken him far from his native city – notably for spells in the United States – he has always returned home; where, these days, he teaches a course in popular music at Edinburgh University, as well as continuing his writing career. They say, though, that a little distance makes it easier to see the home place clearly; and Dunnett was working as a young journalist in Newcastle, at the moment in the early 1980s when he wrote the script that would make his name in the world of film. 'I didn't even know what I was writing, really,' says Dunnett. 'It was just little scribbles and notes here and there. And those were busy times in the north-east of England; the miner's strike was looming, and I was out there interviewing people whose livelihoods were on the line, and who mostly weren't too keen on journalists. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'But I picked up this leaflet in my bank advertising a screenwriting competition – the Lloyds Bank National Screenwriting Competition 1984 – and I decided to enter. I tidied my material into the script that became Restless Natives, and to my huge surprise it won the prize, which was a chance to take the film forward to production. The Clown and the Wolfman pictured in Leith Theatre PIC: Colin Hattersley 'I don't know if opportunities like that still exist, now, for complete outsiders to get a foothold in the film industry. But for me, it was fantastic; and it marked the beginning not just of a new career, but of what have become lifelong friendships, particularly with the director, Michael Hoffman, and Andy Paterson, who was a co-producer on the original film.' And it's those friendships that have come back into play 40 years on, as Dunnett, Hoffman and Paterson work together again – with a whole new team of artists and co-producers – to create a new stage musical version of Dunnett's much-loved story. The 1985 film features actors Vincent Friell and Joe Mullaney as Will and Ronnie, a pair of dead-end kids from Wester Hailes who, in the darkest moments of the Thatcherite 1980s, decide to get on board Ronnie's Suzuki motor bike, don a pair of wolf-man and clown masks acquired from the Edinburgh joke shop where Ronnie works, and launch themselves into a new and lucrative career as latter-day highwayman, holding up tourist buses full of wealthy Americans on some of the most scenic roads in the Highlands. The pair soon become media legends, redistributing some of their winnings in deprived areas of Edinburgh; and Will also acquires a love interest, in the shape of rebel tour guide Margot. The police, though, are in hot pursuit; and the film unfolds as a slightly surreal light-touch comedy caper, in a similar vein to other 1980s' Scottish film hits Gregory's Girl and Local Hero. And despite the 40-year gap between the film and the musical, Dunnett and the rest of the team have seen no reason to update the story from its 1980s' setting. 'We felt that we just didn't need to move it,' says Dunnett. 'Despite all the changes of the last 40 years, the parallels are still so strong. And, of course, there's the wonderful music by Big Country that helped shape the film. We couldn't lose that wonderful 1980s Celtic rock romanticism; and with our terrific composer Tim Sutton, and full support from Big Country and Stuart Adamson's family, we've been trying to reflect that spirit in developing the songs for the musical.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Set to open at Perth Theatre on 24 April, before a Scotland-wide tour, the musical features a multi-talented cast of eleven, including young actors Kyle Gardiner and Kirsty MacLaren as Ronnie and Margot; and they agree that despite the 40-year time lapse, in many ways the Restless Natives story could have been written today. A still from the original 1985 film version of Restless Natives PIC: Courtesy of Studio Canal 'I think the political parallels are really interesting,' says MacLaren, 'both the economic and political landscape, and all the questions about Scottish identity the story raises. The story is a bit crazy and surreal – but I think that's what we need, right now. Margot talks about needing heroes, who can really change things – and here are two guys taking matters into their own hands, in a way that's brilliant, and very funny. I'm sure that will still have a huge resonance with young audiences today – and the Big Country music is great, as well.' And Kyle Gardiner – who has lately been winning acclaim as an actor in shows ranging from football drama Moorcroft to recent Play, Pie, Pint hit Dookin' Oot – strongly agrees. 'These are two young guys who are stuck,' says Gardiner. 'They have no prospects, and they have to somehow create a future for themselves. So the idea behind the story and the characters is brilliant, and absolutely still relevant today. My character, Ronnie, is the dreamer behind the whole project, the one for whom this adventure is the only valuable thing his life, the one who gets his foot down on the Suzuki and makes it happen. "It's a wonderful story arc, and I love playing him. And no, I'm not telling you whether there's going to be a live Suzuki on stage. If you want to know that, you'll have to come and see the show!' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'In the end,' adds Dunnett, 'this is a show about individuals and community, and about two young guys transforming their lives in a way that's funny and surprising, and makes people feel good. The Clown and the wolf pictured at the King's Theatre in Glasgow, where Restless Natives is playing from 24-28 June PIC: Colin Hattersley "And we know that these characters and their story really meant something to people, when they first appeared in the film. It was a joyous experience, a journey of uplift that left everyone feeling enhanced, in some way; and we hope the musical will be the same.'
