Shetland Youth Theatre joins NToS celebrations with five minute play

Shetland Youth Theatre is taking part in the fifth anniversary celebrations of the National Theatre of Scotland by producing a five minute piece to be broadcast online.

Secret Shetland, which takes as its starting point the notion that in a small community it can be very difficult to remain anonymous and retain a sense of privacy, will be one of 200 performances going out live between 5pm today and 5pm tomorrow under the title Five Minute Theatre.

People from all over the world have taken the challenge to help celebrate the National Theatre of Scotland’s first five dramatic years by writing, devising, directing, performing and producing pieces of theatre, all five minutes long.

Secret Shetland, which also takes a humourous swipe at cultural icons at a time when we are bombarded by the new iconic images of corporate commercialism, was devised by members of the company working alongside John Haswell and Izzy Swanson.

Talking about the project, Mr Haswell said: “For the past five years the National Theatre of Scotland has proved its commitment to the whole nation by working in every geographical area. The company was launched with a production called Home and one of the venues was on the NorthLink ferry.

“Shetland Arts has maintained excellent links with NToS since that time and we are jointly creating and developing a major project for the future. In the meantime we are delighted that once again Shetland Youth Theatre has been given an opportunity to expand its national reputation for quality work by participating in Five Minute Theatre. We are sure that Secret Shetland will stand out among the other 200 pieces to be screened tonight and tomorrow.”

Secret Shetland can be seen at 9am tomorrow morning at www.fiveminutetheatre.com