Arts of Lochaber

from Lochaber Life #333 July 2021

Where in Lochaber?

The Great Outdoors?

Arts of Lochaber Ilona Munro

Lochaber is the Outdoor Capital of the UK. We are used to donning our wellies and fleeces for biking and hillwalking – heck, we even put them on for sunbathing, because well, you know, it’s Scotland. There is a belief that everyone lives here for the Great Outdoors, but from one ‘I like indoors’ human to another: some of us only go outside so we don’t kill our families. Or to get chocolate at the shops. Can a love of arts get us out our central-heated comfort zone? As the country moves from online to outdoors, wonderful fresh air culture is emerging, from amphitheatres to shipping container stages. In Lochaber, we don’t really have a history of outdoor performance other than that nice busker in the underpass…and he is wise enough to take shelter from the sideyways Fort Bill rain. I’ve performed in snow, rain, scorching heat (once) and belting winds. Some years ago, Lochaber Youth Theatre and I did a flash mob in howling rain to entertain a soaked audience on the Christmas High Street. The best bit of all? It was broadcast on the radio. Think about it… Working Belladrum and the Edinburgh Fringe creates an understanding of the differences between indoor and outdoor performance. Talking to companies from the south of England, whose flowers have all bloomed and died before Lochaber’s even get a chance to sprout, makes you very aware of the UK’s weather differences. Moreover, you cannot simply plop an indoor event outdoors. It just doesn’t work. And then there are the midges. ‘Why bother?’ is often my instinct. When you make families laugh amidst the wild elements or you’re chilling to an orchestra in a beautifully lit ruin, then you know it’s worth the bother. Besides, who doesn’t love embarrassing their children at a festival? ‘Mum, stop dancing!’ I have many favourite cultural memories from the cosy indoors, but they are blown out the water by the night we made a disco in a campsite, sang and put lasers over the loch. You are not imprisoned by rain – you are a magical, waterproof being that can create the crowd, the applause and the camaraderie. Besides, the midges don’t like lashing rain. For cultural events, indoors and out, why not check the Dramafish page on Facebook?

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