Baldy Bane Theatre Company

30/09/2021

That's all folks! We officially close our doors for the last time today. Thank you for 30 wonderful years!

The Baldy Bane Team
Alison, Eilean & Greig 🎭

29/09/2021

Well, we can't quite believe that we're here but tomorrow (Thursday) is officially the last day of Baldy Bane. As we're gearing up to wind down, Alison (our illustrious Executive Director and one of the founding members) has been reflecting on what it has meant to run the company from her home for the last 30 years. She was working from home long before the rest of us. She has dug up some old photos to share and this is what she had to say...

The office has ranged from the cupboard under the stairs where it was initially, when it consisted of an old 50s style kitchen cabinet, which was very fancy because it had a dial up landline phone and a folder to take bookings. It migrated to my bedroom, (with a photocopier being my bedside table!) to a wee spare bedroom, to a bigger spare bedroom, to the basement and finally to what used to be the dining room where a team of 4 worked.

The costumes have mostly been stored in the attic, the sound equipment in the basement store room and parts of the sets have even been stored in a garden shed.

The kitchen has often been used to build sets, paint scenery and cater for staff parties. Do other families eat at a table rather than a time-travelling carousel or in a circus Big Top?? Not many children have to negotiate their way round a kitchen / Great Forest set at breakfast time. Of course they are going to fall into a large open can of paint in their school uniform!

The living room has operated as a sewing room for making and mending costumes, a meeting space for teams about to embark on long tours and as a haven (especially when the fireplace was lit) for tired and weary actors after a long day performing pantomimes to excited school children.

The driveway has parked a range of company vehicles from minibuses to panel vans and everything in-between.

The registered address has been well used over the years and the company has occupied every part of it at some point. It has been a family home, first and foremost, but it has also been filled with wonderful memories of Baldy Bane and the people who made the journey so special. Even the family pets have been there through it all, especially Ichabod the cat who never quite understood why we couldn’t drop everything we were doing to hold and adore him (not that he gave us much choice in the matter).

Now that the company is closing and I’m heading into retirement, it’s hard to know if I will enjoy having my house just be a home again or if I’ll miss the hustle and bustle of it all. It’s a slightly unorthodox way of living and working but there’s not much I think I would change from the last 30 years.

27/08/2021

In this photo you see early booking notes from circa 1996. (To be compliant with current-day data protection, we’ve removed all identifying information).

Alison says...

The contact detail forms were lovingly hand written by my own good self. This was at a time when “The Internet” wasn’t heard of and mobile phones existed only in the world of Science Fiction. Computers were in their infancy and original scripts were hand written to be typed up later by an accomplished shorthand typist and photocopied for distribution to actors. Fees were paid in cash in a brown pay-packet and annual accounts were hand written in a ledger, to be handed over to a qualified accountant at the end of the financial year.

Baldy Bane was set up to produce theatre that would help to endorse the, then 5-14 curriculum. The plays, “Island Earth No More” and “The Evacuees” depicted such occurrences as the Highland Clearances and Scottish evacuation during World War II, for older Primary school children. Simultaneously, early examination of exploitation of the natural environment was delivered in fine theatrical form for younger children in “The Monster of the Great Glen” and “The Great Forest of Caledonia” … very great indeed.

The development of the company had actually begun much earlier with market research of local primary schools to establish what they felt they were missing in terms of visiting theatre companies. It seemed that there weren’t many touring Scottish companies and it was difficult to find material that would embrace topics on the Scottish curriculum.

In the early days, there were so many hidden costs and responsibilities to address that we hadn’t previously considered. Insurance was a big one. There was Employers Liability, Public Liability and Vehicle Insurance as well as van MOTs, printing costs, postage, stationery, membership of ITC, costumes maintenance and repairs, drivers’ allowances, team leaders’ allowances, fuel costs, ferries, subsistence and fees for actors, among many other costs. Obviously, everybody and everything else had to be paid before we, as the founders of the company, received any remuneration. Thanks be for, at that time, Enterprise Allowance of £40 a week as a benefit for ceasing to be unemployed in order to start up a company. It was the only money we could depend on during the first year which was no easy feat with two small children. It truly worked though because it formed the foundation for a company that would last for 30 years!

- Alison.

25/08/2021

We would like to say a big “Thank You” to all who have reached out, sent well wishes and shared their own stories of their times with Baldy Bane since we announced that we will be closing next month. We have thoroughly enjoyed reading every comment and message sent our way, even when they brought a tear to our eyes. Over the next few weeks, we plan to share some little pieces of our history and our journey and hope that it will be of interest to some of you. Our Executive Director, and one of the founding members of Baldy Bane, Alison, has written down some of her memories of the early days of the company to share with you…

Thirty years ago I was sitting in my kitchen, wearing pyjamas, with 2 very small children, when the phone rang for the first time. We were momentarily frozen as we thought “Will the leaflets have already reached their intended recipients?” The recipients being Primary School Head teachers in the former Strathclyde Region. “What name do I give?” It seemed so soon after painstakingly composing and photocopying a covering letter and putting a copy of that along with colourful printed leaflets (see photo) into envelopes, sticking on printed address labels and stamps before posting the lot at the local post office.

I collected myself and answered nervously as “Baldy Bane Theatre Company” and thus began a 30 year long relationship with our comprehensive network of clients and stakeholders (though I didn’t know the term then.) It was very hard to “take control of our own destiny” and many busy days, followed by sleepless nights, ensued.

My initial panicky phone response soon gave way to natural and knowledgeable conversations about theatre and how it could help to endorse the, then 5-14 curriculum. Headteachers didn’t need to know that I was dressed in pyjamas and feeding leftover Halloween chocolate ghosts to my youngest child to keep her contented while Mummy was on the phone being an intrepid entrepreneur. I’m sure many people will now be all too familiar with that particular situation due to home schooling and home working!

Watch this space for more stories over the next few weeks.

17/08/2021

This has been a huge part of my life. I can’t work out exactly how I feel about it. But it is so heartwarming to see everyone’s comments. Thanks to everyone who has either been part of it or has known us in all our stress, joy, fatigue and energy!

- Alison x

We are sad to announce that after 30 years of delivering high-quality theatre performances across Scotland, Baldy Bane Theatre Company will be closing next month.

This has been a difficult decision to make but we are confident that it is the right one. Alison, our Executive Director and one of the founding members, will be going off to enjoy her (well-deserved) retirement. Our other team members will be
moving on to new opportunities and adventures.

We are grateful to so many people who have been involved with Baldy Bane since the start including:
• The actors, directors, writers, students and other creatives we have worked with.
• The schools, headteachers, faculty members and pupils we have visited.
• Our board of directors, stakeholders, partners & clients.
• The colleges with whom we have worked that have supported new Scottish talent.

Everyone we have had the pleasure of working with has been an integral part of our history and for this we would like to thank you for 30 wonderful years.

Kind regards,
Alison, Eilean & Greig - The Baldy Bane Team.

17/08/2021

We are sad to announce that after 30 years of delivering high-quality theatre performances across Scotland, Baldy Bane Theatre Company will be closing next month.

This has been a difficult decision to make but we are confident that it is the right one. Alison, our Executive Director and one of the founding members, will be going off to enjoy her (well-deserved) retirement. Our other team members will be
moving on to new opportunities and adventures.

We are grateful to so many people who have been involved with Baldy Bane since the start including:
• The actors, directors, writers, students and other creatives we have worked with.
• The schools, headteachers, faculty members and pupils we have visited.
• Our board of directors, stakeholders, partners & clients.
• The colleges with whom we have worked that have supported new Scottish talent.

Everyone we have had the pleasure of working with has been an integral part of our history and for this we would like to thank you for 30 wonderful years.

Kind regards,
Alison, Eilean & Greig - The Baldy Bane Team.

07/10/2020

📣 ANNOUNCEMENT REGARDING OUR PANTOMIME TOUR 📣

After careful deliberation, we have made the difficult decision to postpone our upcoming pantomime tour of “MacGregor’s Treasure” until 2021.

We have considered and explored some weird and whacky alternatives in the hopes that they may have allowed us to deliver performances despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Ultimately the health, safety, and wellbeing of our audiences and company members continues to be our biggest concern and highest priority. Therefore, we feel it would be irresponsible of us to go ahead with the tour as originally planned.

We have now contacted all of our customers who held bookings for this year's production by email. We are so grateful for the lovely messages and kind words that have been sent back to us. Thank you!

If you didn’t receive your email, or you have any queries, please contact Eilean at [email protected]

This will be the first time that Baldy Bane has not toured a festive pantomime since 1992. We understand the disappointment that this will cause but feel that postponing the tour is the only option at this time. It’s regrettable that the very thing that most of us would benefit from right now - a fun-filled, laughter-packed, sing-a-long pantomime with our friends - is the very thing that we can’t do. For now, we are working hard to adapt and safeguard the future of our charity so that the show will go on (just a bit later than planned).

We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our loyal customers as well as the talented creatives we have had the pleasure of working with over the years for your continued support. We can’t wait to see you all again when it is safe to do so… ohhhhhh no we can’t!

The Baldy Bane Team,
Alison, Eilean, Lynsey & Greig

25/08/2020

Our website is down today for essential maintenance. Our new website is coming soon. Watch this space 👀

21/01/2020

Come and join us this Friday at our public dress rehearsal of “CRUSH” starring Victoria O’Rourke, Craig Anthony Ralston, Colin Jamieson & Jennifer McErlane, directed by David Goodall.

Friday 24th January @ 12 Noon.

Email: [email protected] for more information.

16/01/2020

to our pantomime tour. We're missing it already... oh, yes we are.

Fear not though, our 2020 pantomime schedule is taking bookings now. Book before the end of January 2020 to receive a special discount.

Get in touch for more info.
Phone: 0141 632 0193
Email: [email protected]