Aberdeen Performing Arts presents
Aberdeen’s Crime Writing Festival Thursday 24 - Sunday 27 February 2022 Box office 01224 641122 aberdeenperformingarts.com/granite-noir
facebook.com/granitenoirfest @granitenoirfest #granitenoir
welcome
We’re back and we’re in person for 2022! It’s our pleasure to bring you a fantastic programme of noir writing in unusual places and spaces across the city. This year we are thrilled to welcome world-renowned forensic anthropologist Professor Dame Sue Black in conversation with Professor Andrew Doig on the mysteries of life and death. We welcome Louise Welsh and Jenni Fagan to the festival for the first time and we are in conversation with three Brilliant Women, Ann Cleeves, Alex Gray and Lin Anderson. Our Nordic contingent returns with the award winning father of Nordic Noir Kjell Ola Dahl at Granite Noir for the first time. Sally Magnnussen brings the festival to a close talking about place with Aberdeen’s own Stuart MacBride. This year we are excited to bring you a specially commissioned site specific play in St Nicholas Kirk taking inspiration from the city’s witch trials, we plunder the city archives again to bring you The Grit in the Granite exhibition, we have a new production of The Hound of the Baskervilles at His Majesty’s Theatre and the BBC Big Band will bring the house down with an evening of criminally good tunes. Enjoy! Team Granite Noir
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contents The Grit in the Granite: Exhibition...... 5 Thursday 24 February....................... 6 Locals in the Limelight...................... 9 Friday 25 February.......................... 10 Witch Hunt: Drama.......................... 15
Out for the weekend? Buy 5 or more – 15% off Buy 10 or more – 20% off Buy 12 or more – 25% off Granite Noir is produced by Aberdeen Performing Arts on behalf of Belmont Filmhouse, Aberdeen City Libraries and Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire Archives.
Saturday 26 February...................... 16 Granite Noir Discounts..................... 21 Sunday 27 February........................ 24 Locked Room Escape Game............. 31 Crimewatch: Film Screenings.......... 32 The Hound of the Baskervilles......... 34 Meet Our Chairs............................... 36 Festival Info..................................... 38 Granite Noir At-a-Glance.................. 39
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exhibition
the grit in the granite:
exhibition
Thursday 24 - Sunday 27 February
The darker side of victorian aberdeen In association with Aberdeen Archives, Gallery and Museums
When Queen Victoria ascended the throne in 1837, Aberdeen was on the verge of major expansion. The population more than doubled over the course of her reign and many of the impressive granite buildings for which the ‘Silver City’ is so well known were also constructed during the nineteenth century. However, beneath the grand façade lurked a much darker side to the city’s character. Using evidence from Aberdeen City & Aberdeenshire Archives this exhibition provides a glimpse of how the grinding poverty experienced by a section of the population led to destitution, juvenile delinquency, crime and prostitution.
FREE Exhibition in the Music Hall and Lemon Tree
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thursday
thursday
Holburn Junction, aberdeen - circa 1910 6
Thursday 24 February
Chaired by Peggy Hughes
One by one at one with ruth ware
Ruth Ware is an international number one bestseller. Her books have been optioned for both film and TV, and she is published in more than 40 languages. Getting snowed in at a beautiful, rustic mountain chalet doesn’t sound like the worst problem in the world, especially when there’s a breathtaking vista, a cosy fire, and company to keep you warm. But in One by One what happens when that company is eight of your coworkers...and you can’t trust any of them?
1pm-2pm, Big Sky Studio, Music Hall
Tickets £9.50
author conversation
Thursday 24 February
thursday
author conversation
Chaired by Fiona Stalker
Year of scotland’s stories In partnership with Publishing Scotland, presented as part of the Year of Scotland’s Stories (funded by Event Scotland).
Two of the country’s most exciting new voices join us to celebrate 2022 as the Year of Scotland’s Stories. In Ewan Gault’s The Sound of Sirens, DI Stark faces a rise in teenage crime, a significant drug operation and vicious turf war in a small coastal town in North-east Scotland. While Leela Soma’s Murder at the Mela investigates the brutal murder of an Asian woman, exploring the hate that lurks in the darkest corners but also exists on the streets we walk.
6pm-7pm, Lemon Tree Studio
Tickets £9.50
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thursday
author conversation
Thursday 24 February
the first cut is the deepest - or is it? In 2002, Louise Welsh’s debut novel The Cutting Room won the Crime Writers’ Association John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger Award and the Saltire First Book of the Year Award. Twenty years on from his appearance, auctioneer Rilke returns, still walking a moral tightrope between good and bad, saint and sinner. This thrilling and atmospheric sequel delves into the dark side of twenty first century Glasgow and continues the legacy of one of Scotland’s most iconic novels of the twenty first century.
Chaired by Alex Clark
8pm-9pm, Lemon Tree Studio
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Tickets £11.50
Six of the region’s talented authors will read extracts from their noir fiction ahead of some of our festival events across the festival weekend. Friday 25 February
4pm, Lemon Tree
Friday 25 February,
7:30pm, Lemon Tree
norma beaton
Lexie Coningham Saturday 26 February
2pm, Lemon Tree
Saturday 26 February
4pm, Lemon Tree
scott cumming Bob Harper
Sunday 27 February
11:30am, Lemon Tree
Sunday 27 February
5pm, Lemon Tree
robert chisholm roy burnett
locals in the limelight
locals in the limelight
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friday
friday
castlegate, aberdeen - circa 1930 10
Friday 25 February
secrets and lies
Chaired by Alex Clark
Three international writers delve into the tangled web of lies involved in attempting to cover up the darkest of secrets. In River Clyde, Simone Buchholz helps State prosecutor Chastity Riley escape to Scotland to unlock her family’s past. Ryan Collett’s Doreen Durand is faced with her own secrets as she runs away after witnessing a horrific accident. And Sarah Bonner’s Her Perfect Twin follows Megan’s attempts to kill her estranged identical twin by assuming her identity.
12pm-1pm, Lemon Tree Studio
Tickets £9.50
author conversation
Friday 25 February
inside track
friday
author conversation
Chaired by Kate London
We take a look at how these authors’ work in the legal profession has influenced their writing and the stories they tell. Mari Hannah’s DCI Kate Daniels works a case by following clues left by her victim. In Dead Man’s Grave, Neil Lancaster takes us into the middle of a family feud going back centuries. Imran Mahmood’s unlikely protagonist has his memories questioned after witnessing a vicious crime and William McIntyre’s Robbie Munro defends the accused while his wife Joanna prosecutes.
2pm-3pm, Lemon Tree Studio
Tickets £9.50
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friday
workshop
Friday 25 February
Friday 25 February
workshop with eris young
We’ll be chatting about the art of the short story with a dark perspective. The work of Leye Adenle appeared in Lagos Noir, a collection that brings together brand new stories from some of Nigeria’s best loved writers. His short story The Assassination was a finalist for the 2017 CWA short story dagger award. Heidi Amsinck has written multiple ‘Danish Noir’ short stories for radio all produced by Sweet Talk for BBC Radio 4 and read by actor Tim McInnerny.
the unknown
keeping it brief
Drawing on literary traditions from the Uncanny to the Gothic, this workshop looks at the ways authors withhold information to create tension and unease, propelling readers through the story. Participants will look at the fears and appeals of the unknown in a range of genres and forms, and practice using these techniques. Eris Young is a queer, transgender writer of speculative fiction. Their alien contact story All That Water came first in the 2021 British Fantasy Society short story competition.
4pm-5.30pm, Central Library
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author conversation
Tickets £6
4pm-5pm, Lemon Tree Studio
Chaired by Peggy Hughes
Tickets £9.50
Friday 25 February
Chaired by Bryan Burnett
the century of deception
As we grapple today with fake news and digital tricks, we look back and remember we’ve always been vulnerable and manipulation has been with us for many years. In The Century of Deception, magician and historian Ian Keable tells the engrossing stories of these eighteenthcentury hoaxes and those who were duped by them. Public hoodwinks including swallowing whole tales of rapping ghosts, a woman who gave birth to rabbits, a levitating Frenchman in a Chinese Temple and outrageous astrological predictions.
6pm-7pm, Lemon Tree Studio
Tickets £9.50
podcast recording
Friday 25 February
bad people
friday
author conversation
Chaired by Kate London
podcast recording
Your favourite award-winning true crime podcast is coming to Granite Noir crime writing festival to record an episode in front of a live audience. There will be gripping stories, deplorable deeds, juicy ethical dilemmas and plenty of opportunity for questions, as criminal psychologist Dr Julia Shaw and stand-up comedian Sofie Hagen unravel a criminal case. If you’re a fan of true crime, comedy or science, this is for you.
9pm-10pm, Lemon Tree Studio
Tickets £9.50
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friday
author conversation
Friday 25 February
Chaired by Jenny Brown
brilliant women Three brilliant authors share the stage to talk about their books, how they found their place in crime fiction and their influence in leading the way for women’s voices. Ann Cleeves is the author of over thirty critically acclaimed novels and is translated into as many languages. She is the creator of popular detectives Vera Stanhope and Jimmy Perez from TV’s Vera and Shetland series. She is joined by bestselling authors Lin Anderson and Alex Gray, best known for the Rhona MacLeod forensic scientist and Detective William Lorimer series respectively, and for co-founding the Bloody Scotland Crime Writing Festival.
7:30pm-8:30pm, Lemon Tree Lounge Tickets £11.50
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A Ten Feet Tall production in association with Aberdeen Performing Arts
WITCH hunt
friday
Friday 25 - Sunday 27 February
Step into one of Aberdeen’s most iconic and atmospheric buildings, the historic Mither Kirk, to witness the trials and tribulations of those prosecuted for witchcraft. From the traumatic tales of prisoners awaiting trial chained up in the vault and spire of the Mither Kirk itself, to the harrowing story of Janet Horne, the last person to be executed in Scotland for witchcraft in the 17th century. This dramatised performance will feature excerpts from The Last Witch, a haunting script by Aberdonian playwright Rona Munro (Casualty, Doctor Who, The James Plays). Produced by Ten Feet Tall, an Aberdeenbased theatre company returning to Granite Noir following the sell-out success of See You in Court staged in Aberdeen Sheriff Court in 2020.
Friday 7:30pm, Saturday 2:30pm & 7:30pm, Sunday 2:30pm & 7:30pm Kirk of St Nicholas (The Mither Kirk) Tickets £9.50
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saturday
saturday
union street, aberdeen - circa 1972 16
author conversation
saturday
workshop
Photo by Christin Hume on Unsplash
Saturday 26 February
Saturday 26 February
Always wanted to join a book club but haven’t found the right one? Why not start your own? The team at Aberdeen Library Service will take you through some top tips for getting folk together over books. Just some topics we’ll cover are: recommended reading lists; conversation starters; using your library to help; inviting authors to chat to your book group; and the many ways to make it work whether online or over a cup of tea in person.
Stories interwoven with the surreal and the unimaginable. In The Spirit Engineer, AJ West’s tale asks if the spirits are truly communicating from beyond the veil or is it a parlour trick gone too far? Sinister rituals connect past and present in Helen Sedgwick’s Where the Missing Gather but no one wants to see, or tell, or hear, the truth. In Leviathan, Rosie Andrews uncovers not a tale of superstition but something dark and ancient, linked to a shipwreck years before.
diy book club
10am-11am, Central Library
Tickets £6
magic in the air
10am-11am, Lemon Tree Studio
Chaired by Theresa Talbot
Tickets £9.50
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saturday
author conversation
Saturday 26 February
bold new voices
Chaired by Katalina Watt
Our debut writer panel is back with three extraordinary new talents. Hannah King draws on dark and twisting storytelling, relationships, class, mental health and addiction... with a few murders thrown in! Graeme Armstrong’s The Young Team is an energetic novel, full of the loyalty, laughs, mischief, boredom and violence of life on the streets. Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé, is an incendiary and compelling thriller with a shocking twist that delves deep into institutionalized racism.
12pm-1pm, Lemon Tree Studio
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Tickets £9.50
workshop
Saturday 26 February
how to get published
A workshop for anyone who’s ever dreamed of becoming a published author. We’ll cover everything including approaching literary agents, what publishers are looking for, the pros and cons of self-publishing, and the support available to new writers in Scotland. Bring your questions! Jenny Brown established her agency in 2002 and now represents 50 writers. She was shortlisted in 2014 and 2020 for Agent of the Year at the British Book awards. She is former Chair of the Bloody Scotland crime writing festival.
12pm-1pm, Central Library
Tickets £6.50
Saturday 26 February
no escape
Chaired by Theresa Talbot
Three stories surrounded by water, mystery and suspicion. Alice Clark-Platt’s luxury Malaysian resort surrounded by pristine sea and beautiful jungle, may seem the perfect escape but there’s tension brewing. In After the Silence, by Louise O Neill, can a true crime documentary expose the real truth of an island murder? In Tom Watson’s Metronome we meet Aina and Whitney who have been in exile on an island for a crime they committed together – as secrets and suspicions reveal themselves, can they escape?
2pm-3pm, Lemon Tree Studio
Tickets £9.50
author conversation
Saturday 26 February
saturday
author conversation
Chaired by Bryan Burnett
closer than close
Three brilliant books where close relationships are tested to the absolute limits. Join us as Oyinkan Braithwaite shows us how blood is thicker – and more difficult to get out of the carpet – than water, in her acclaimed book My Sister the Serial Killer. LV Matthews explores an intense bond, and a bitter rivalry, and Lexie Elliott asks us: if you thought your friend deserved to die, could you kill her?
4pm-5pm, Lemon Tree Studio
Tickets £9.50
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saturday
author conversation
Saturday 26 February
the power of the past Our authors focus in on the past in a new series and explore some of Scotland’s most murky history. In Rizzio, Denise Mina brilliantly portrays the sexual dynamics and politics of power – between men and women, monarch and subjects, master and servants. Offering a visceral depiction of a culture of fear and superstition in Hex, Jenni Fagan explores the lingering connections between womanhood and the occult, and the obsessive mania of a king who saw the threat of demons and witches all around him.
Chaired by Alex Clark
6pm-7pm, Lemon Tree Studio
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Tickets £9.50
Make the most of your festival experience by taking advantage of these great Granite Noir ticket offers.
Buy 5 or more...................................... 15% off Buy 10 or more
20% off
Buy 12 or more
25% off
saturday
out for the weekend?
Locked Door games not included
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saturday
Saturday 26 February
cocktails shaken not stirred Dr Kathryn Harkup’s new book, Criminal Creativity, will look at the science behind the silly and not so silly ways to die in the world of 007. Can you kill someone by covering them in gold paint? How worried should Bond be about the laser between his legs? Can you be sucked out of a plane like Goldfinger? Lift the lid on the science behind the world’s favourite secret agent and sample his favourite cocktails along the way.
6pm-8pm, Coda Café Bar, Music Hall
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Photo by Stanislav Ivanitskiy on Unsplash
Tickets £20
SATURDAY
author conversation
Saturday 26 February
mysteries of life and death How do we die and what happens when we do? World-renowned forensic anthropologist Professor Dame Sue Black takes us on a journey of revelation from skull to feet and shows that each part of us has a tale to tell. Professor Andrew Doig’s This Mortal Coil is an entertaining work that looks at how death has changed over the past 10,000 years, and what this can tell us about the way different societies have lived.
Chaired by Fiona Stalker
8pm-9pm, Lemon Tree Lounge
Tickets £11.50
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sunday
sunday
marischal square,, aberdeen - circa 2021 24
Sunday 27 February
the dark ages
Chaired by Bryan Burnett
Four dark and thrilling tales from 500 years of history. From Sara Sheridan’s mysterious botanical Edinburgh of 1822 to the revolutionary intrigue of London in 1794 with Leonora Nattrass. And back to the sixteenth century with SW Perry’s The Heretic’s Mark and The Green Lady by Sue Lawrence, a tale of abduction and political turmoil, set within the beautiful wall’s of the North East’s Fyvie Castle.
10am-11am, Lemon Tree Lounge
Tickets £9.50
children’s event
sunday
author conversation
Sunday 27 February
storytelling with pauline
Join local storyteller Pauline Cordiner for some tales of thrilling thefts, vicious villains, pathetic pirates, dreadful deaths and maybe even some troublesome toilets! Pauline will tell traditional stories from the North-east of Scotland, Europe and around the world in this session suitable for children aged 5 and up.
11am-12pm, Central Library
Tickets £3.50
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sunday
author conversation
Sunday 27 February
unravelled
Chaired by Katie Goh
Two stunning novels inspired by found documents and intriguing clues. In Case Study, Graeme Macrae Burnet presents notebooks interspersed with his own biographical research into Collins Braithwaite. The result is a dazzling - and often wickedly humorous - meditation on the nature of sanity, identity and truth itself. In The Twyford Code, Janice Hallett uncovers the life story of a forgotten children’s writer, forty years after finding a book full of strange markings and annotations.
11:30am-12:30pm, Lemon Tree Studio
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Tickets £9.50
young adult event
Sunday 27 February
Chaired by Katalina Watt
influencers, activists and rebels
Dead Lucky is Andreina Cordani’s second novel, a thriller set in the glamorous cutthroat world of influencers. In Green Rising by Lauren James we meet Gabrielle, a climate-change activist who shoots to fame as a teenager with supernatural abilities. And Laura Lam shares the explosive finale of the Sunday Times bestselling Seven Devils series. We are thrilled to welcome these three top young adult writers to Granite Noir for the first time.
2pm-3pm, Central Library
Tickets £9.50
Sunday 27 February
Chaired by Jacky Collins
cold blooded scandi
sunday
author conversation
We are once again delighted to welcome a panel of fabulous Scandinavian writers to Granite Noir. Dead of Winter is a thrilling new standalone suspense novel from award-winning Swedish writer Anders de la Motte. One of the fathers of the Nordic Noir genre, Kjell Ola Dahl paints a fascinating portrait of Oslo’s interwar years in The Assistant. Debut novel Reptile Memoirs is a biting and constantly shifting tale of family secrets, rebirth and the legacy of trauma, by Silje Ulstein.
1pm-2pm, Lemon Tree Studio
Tickets £9.50
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sunday
author conversation
Sunday 27 February
pandemic tales
Chaired by Katie Goh
Three perspectives. Three compelling tales. Catherine Ryan Howard’s pandemic thriller 56 Days has us wondering if lockdown has created the opportunity to commit the perfect crime. In How to Survive Everything, Ewan Morrison shows us one teenage girl’s survival guide for navigating life during a deadly pandemic. In The Health of Strangers, by Lesley Kelly, we meet the North Edinburgh Health Enforcement Team, an uneasy mix of seconded Police and health service staff working to stem the spread of a mutant virus.
3pm-4pm, Lemon Tree Studio
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Tickets £9.50
archives talk
Sunday 27 February
GRACE MCINTOSH: THE LIFE OF A VICTORIAN CRIMINAL In association with Aberdeen Archives, Gallery and Museums
Grace McIntosh was born on Jack’s Brae in Aberdeen, making her first court appearance in 1838 aged just 11. From then until her death in 1880, a vivid picture of her life has been recreated using evidence from original records. Her repeated trials and incarceration left a remarkable historical record of a life of poverty and desperation lived against the backdrop of the rapidly developing nineteenth century Granite City. A talk by Dr. Dee Hoole, (Hon. Research Fellow, University of Aberdeen) and Phil Astley (City Archivist, Aberdeen City & Aberdeenshire Archives).
4pm-5:30pm, Cowdray Hall
Tickets FREE
Sunday 27 February
Chaired by Sally Magnusson
a sense of place
The scene of the crime can be an extension of the character involved and much of the action could not take place anywhere but the specific site of some stories.
sunday
author conversation
Get to know Logan MacRae’s Aberdeen, Harry McCoy’s Glasgow and Clare Mckay’s St Andrews as Sally Magnusson chats with Granite Noir ambassador Stuart MacBride, alongside Alan Parks and Marion Todd about their outstanding books and how their detectives have been shaped by the cities in which they are set.
5pm-6pm, Lemon Tree Studio
Tickets £9.50
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sunday
Sunday 27 February
criminal tunes with the bbc big band The world-renowned BBC Big Band return to Aberdeen with a spectacular musical finale to Granite Noir. Through the twentieth century and beyond, Jazz and Big Band music has become interlaced with the crime fiction and movie genres. This specially curated programme will include classic TV and movie sound-tracks such as Shaft, Mission Impossible, James Bond, The Pink Panther, and Catch Me If You Can - through to classic Big Band and Swing numbers inspired by all things crime (with a few surprises along the way!) - all performed in the BBC Big Band’s own inimitable style. “ World-class musicians … a brilliant musical force” The Telegraph “A wonderful band!” Tony Bennett “ They brilliantly continue the tradition of Big Band music. As such they are important, as well as marvellous!” Michael Parkinson
7:30pm, Music Hall Auditorium
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Tickets £15
Saturday 26 & Sunday 27 February
shadow at the speakeasy 30 minute Escape Game The owner of the speakeasy ‘The Granite Lounge’ made his fortune by smuggling and selling alcohol...until he was found murdered. Detective Sullivan has been called in to discover who the murderer is but he can’t do it alone; your team must revisit the crime scene, collect clues and solve a variety of puzzles in order to crack the case! Shadow at the Speakeasy is a 30-minute escape game for teams of up to six. Two teams can play at the same time. Each will enter an identical crime scene and race to see who can solve the murder first!
Various times, Rondo, Music Hall
Tickets £10
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crimewatch
crimewatch film screenings Curated and introduced by Dr Jacky Collins aka Dr Noir. Dr Noir is a keen enthusiast of both crime fiction and crime dramas. With some of the most iconic examples in the Film Noir genre being produced in Hollywood in the 1940s and 1950s, I’ve chosen three fabulous examples to accompany Granite Noir’s 2022 programme. They might not be the first titles that spring to mind when we think of film noir, but this selection offers us an opportunity to savor fabulous performances, excellent script writing and mesmerizing camera work, all with the irresistible dark touch of noir.
Belmont Filmhouse To purchase tickets visit www.belmontfilmhouse.com or call 01224 343500
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crime watch
Friday 25 February, 8:30pm
In a Lonely Place
Saturday 26 February, 6pm (1950)
With this existential endgame of a movie, Nicholas Ray provides a suspenseful tale of the darkness found in post-war Hollywood. Film icon Humphrey Bogart plays a quick-tempered script writer suspected of murder, who is provided with an alibi, and perhaps more than he bargained for, by his lovely neighbour Laurel Gray (Gloria Grahame). I chose this film for its bleak ending and the outstanding performances by the leading actors.
the killers
(1946)
With the perfect noir formula, Robert Siodmak’s The Killers is the film said to have launched Burt Lancaster’s career. This adaptation of Ernest Hemmingway’s short story weaves a complex tale of treachery and crime with an unfortunate ex-boxer becoming the unsuspecting victim of the criminal underworld and of the gorgeous, mysterious Kitty Collins (Ava Gardener). My reasons for including this film are the depiction of the criminal gang and the overwhelming allure of the femme fatale.
Sunday 27 February, 6pm
touch of evil
(1958)
Our final film could be seen as a forerunner to those popular contemporary TV series featuring Latin American drug wars and powerful cartels. Orson Welles’ dark and sinister thriller is a perfect example of classic noir with the lone investigator having to deal with dangers on all sides in their pursuit of the truth. The gripping storyline, brooding atmosphere and incredible cinematography made Touch of Evil a must for this festival season.
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drama at granite noir
Tuesday 22 - Saturday 26 February
the hound of the baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Adapted for the stage by Steven Canny and John Nicholson for Peepolykus UK Tour Directed by Tim Jackson, Original Direction Lotte Wakeham Produced by The Original Theatre Company & Octagon Theatre Bolton
“Rib-bustingly hilarious.” The Times Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s most celebrated adventure gets a brilliantly farcical overhaul in Lotte Wakeham’s acclaimed production. World-renowned detective Sherlock Holmes and his colleague Dr Watson are asked to unravel the mystery surrounding the untimely death of Sir Charles Baskerville. With rumours of a cursed giant hound loose on the moors, they must act fast in order to save the Baskerville family’s last remaining heir. A hit in the West End, this ingenious adaptation combines an exhilarating collision of farce, theat-rical invention and wonderfully comic performances to offer a brand-new twist on the greatest detective story of all time. A whodunnit for all ages.
His Majesty’s Theatre
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Tickets £37.50 - £20.50
Chapter in My Life blog, February 2021
locals in the limelight
“ The line up for the weekend was sublime and I gorged myself on a whole feast of crime writing greats!”
“ one of the country’s leading literary festivals” The Scotsman, Jan 2021
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meet our chairs Jenny Brown established her agency in 2002. She was shortlisted in 2014 and 2020 for Agent of the Year at the British Book awards and is former Chair of the Bloody Scotland crime writing festival. She represents 50 writers and likes to work closely with her writers, almost all of whom are based in Scotland.
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Bryan Burnett is the host of BBC Radio Scotland’s popular evening music programme, Get It On Aberdeen born Bryan began his career as a teenage magazine journalist before moving into radio and TV presenting. He has presented a wide range of shows over the years from arts and entertainment to quiz shows.
Alex Clark is a critic, journalist and broadcaster. A co-host of Graham Norton’s Book Club, she is also a regular on Radio 4 and writes on a wide range of subjects for the Guardian, the Observer, the Irish Times and the Times Literary Supplement. She is a patron of the Cambridge Literary Festival, and has judged many literary awards.
Dr Jacky Collins aka Dr Noir, formerly Senior Lecturer at Northumbria University in Literature, Film & TV and Spanish Language & Culture, is currently based at Stirling University. In 2014 Jacky established the International Crime Fiction Festival that is Newcastle Noir.
Katie Goh is a writer, editor and critic based in Edinburgh. She covers culture for publications like i-D, Huck, VICE and the Guardian and is Intersections Editor at The Skinny. In 2019, Katie was shortlisted for PPA Scotland’s Young Journalist of the Year award and, in 2021, shortlisted for the Anne Brown Essay Prize.
Peggy Hughes is Head of Programmes at the National Centre for Writing, a literature house dedicated to the exploration and celebration of the artform of writing based in Norwich. Previously, she worked in various literature organisations in Scotland. She is also on the board for the publishers 404Ink and the charity Open Book Reading.
Fiona Stalker is a senior radio and tv presenter and journalist at BBC Scotland. The Aberdonian presents programmes including DriveTime & The Sunday Show on BBC Radio Scotland and Seven Days on the BBC Scotland channel.
Theresa Talbot is an author, radio broadcaster, podcaster and gardener. Best known as the voice of traffic and travel for BBC Radio Scotland, and host of the Tartan Noir podcast. In a broadcasting career spanning 25 years, she’s covered The Dunblane Tragedy, the death of Princess Diana and the case of Harold Shipman among others.
Katalina Watt (she/they) was Longlisted for Penguin Write Now 2020 and received a 2021 Writers Grant from Ladies of Horror Fiction. Her short fiction has been published in various magazines and anthologies including Haunted Voices, Unspeakable, and Extra Teeth.
the chief interrogators
Sally Magnusson is a writer and broadcaster. She began her career at The Scotsman before moving to the BBC, notably as a long-serving presenter of BBC Scotland’s Reporting Scotland news programme. Her memoir of her mother’s dementia, Where Memories Go, won her the Glenfiddich Spirit of Scotland Award for Writing in 2014.
the chief interrogators
Kate London joined the Metropolitan Police Service in 2006. She finished her career working as part of a Major Investigation Team on the Metropolitan Police Service’s Homicide Command. She resigned from the MPS in 2014 to write full time.
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festival information
Tickets can be booked by visiting the box office at His Majesty’s Theatre or the Music Hall, by calling 01224 641122, or through our website aberdeenperformingarts.com, deals and discounts are available.
Travel Details Where to park: Parking near the Granite Noir venues is available at the Bon Accord centre (Harriet Street and Loch Street), Denburn Car Park and on West North Street. st We No rth
Central / Childrens Libraries
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By air: Aberdeen has an international airport located in Dyce, on the North-west of the city. The city centre can be accessed by taxi or bus from the airport. By train: Aberdeen train station is conveniently located in the city centre and is walking distance from Union Street and all Granite Noir venues. Regular services arrive from south and west of the city. By bus: Aberdeen bus station is situated next to the train station and in convenient walking distance from the city centre. Buses and coaches arrive regularly from all cities providing good access to Aberdeen. By road: South: On the A90 from Dundee West: On the A96 from Inverness, A944 from Alford, A93 from Braemar/Ballater North - A90 from Peterhead/Fraserburgh Dundee……..1 hour 30 minutes drivetime Edinburgh…..2 hours 45 minutes drivetime Glasgow…….2 hours 45 minutes drivetime Inverness……2 hours 45 minutes drivetime Elgin…………1 hour 45 minutes drivetime
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How to Book
Venue Pg
All day
The Grit in the Granite Archive Exhibition
1-2pm
One By One at One
2pm
The Hound of the Baskervilles
6-7pm
LT/MH 5 MH 7 HMT 34
7:30-8:30pm
Brilliant Women
LT 14
7:30pm
Witch Hunt
8:30pm
In a Lonely Place (film)
BF 33
8-9pm
Mysteries of Life and Death
9-10pm
Bad People Podcast Recording LT 13
Saturday
Venue Pg
All day
The Grit in the Granite Archive Exhibition
The Year of Scotland’s Stories LT 7
From 10am
Locked Room - Escape Game MH 31
7:30pm
The Hound of the Baskervilles
10am
DIY Book Club
ACL 17
8-9pm
The First Cut is the Deepest - or is it?
10-11am
Magic in the Air
LT 17
12-1pm
Bold New Voices
LT 18
12-1pm
How to Get Published
ACL 18
2pm
Locals in the Limelight Scott Cumming
LT 9
2-3pm
No Escape
LT 19
friday
HMT 34 LT 8 Venue Pg
All day
The Grit in the Granite Archive Exhibition
LT/MH 5
12-1pm
Secrets and Lies
LT 11
2-3pm
Inside Track
LT 11
4pm
Locals in the Limelight Norma Beaton
LT 9
4-5pm
The Unknown Workshop
ACL 12
4-5pm
Keeping it Brief
6-7pm
LT/MH 5
KSN 15 LT 23
Sunday
Venue Pg
All day
The Grit in the Granite Archive Exhibition
LT/MH 5
From 10am
Locked Room - Escape Game MH 31
10-11am
The Dark Ages
11am-12pm
Storytelling with Pauline
ACL 25
11:30am
Locals in the Limelight Robert Chisholm
LT 9
LT 25
11:30am-12.30pm Unravelled
LT 26
1-2pm
Cold Blooded Scandi
LT 27
2-3pm
Influencers, Activists and Rebels
ACL 26
2:30pm
Witch Hunt
KSN 15
3-4pm
Pandemic Tales
LT 28
2:30pm
Witch Hunt
KSN 15
2:30pm
The Hound of the Baskervilles
HMT 34
4pm
Locals in the Limelight Bob Harper
LT 9
4-5:30pm
The Grit in the Granite - Talk
CH 28
LT 12
4-5pm
Closer Than Close
LT 19
LT 13
6-7pm
The Power of the Past
LT 20
Locals in the Limelight Roy Burnett
LT 9
A Century of Deception
5pm
7:30pm
Locals in the Limelight Lexie Coningham
LT 9
6-8pm
Cocktails - Shaken not Stirred
MH 22
5-6pm
A Sense of Place
LT 29
6pm
Touch of Evil (film)
BF 33
7:30pm
The Hound of the Baskervilles
HMT 34
6pm
The Killers (film)
BF 33
7.30pm
Witch Hunt
KSL 15
Witch Hunt
KSN 15
7:30pm
The Hound of the Baskervilles
HMT 34
7.30pm
Criminal Tunes with the BBC Big Band
MH 30
7:30pm
ACL . ... Aberdeen Central Library BF ......Belmont Filmhouse
CH.......Cowdray Hall KSN.....Kirk of St Nicholas
TAR......The Anatomy Rooms HMT.... His Majesty’s Theatre
MH .....Music Hall LT........Lemon Tree
granite noir at a aglance
Thursday
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We would like to thank Aberdeen City Council and Creative Scotland for their funding support for Granite Noir. We are also indebted to Waterstone’s for their enthusiastic support.
Granite Noir is produced by Aberdeen Performing Arts on behalf of Belmont Filmhouse, Aberdeen City Libraries and Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire Archives.
facebook.com/granitenoirfest @granitenoirfest #granitenoir
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Box office 01224 641122 aberdeenperformingarts.com/granite-noir
