Shattered

Adam Smith Theatre, Kirkcaldy, May 29; Birnam Arts Centre, Dunkeld, June 9; Dibble Tree Theatre, Carnoustie, June 16

It’s 7.45am. The house lights are on and the streetlights are off. Four minutes later, door number five opens, followed by door number nine. He’s early, she’s late. They always see the woman watching them from her window but they never wave.

After months of watching her husband move in and out of her world, Lucy’s unexpected encounter with a stranger starts her journey to reconnect with life following the sudden death of her baby.

Inspired by real-life experiences surrounding cot death and how communication is key to coping with grief, Shattered is a new play written by playwright and producer Lisa Nicoll, who grew up in the Angus town of Kingennie.

Lisa – who did a lot of the research herself – says: “Shattered came about as the chief executive, Lynsay Allan, from the Scottish Cot Death Trust approached me and talked about how grief and isolation can occur years after a loss.

“She wanted to find a way of connecting with audiences and people about this.”

Directed by her colleague at Glasgowbased In Motion Theatre Company, Jordan Blackwood, the play makes its debut this month with a Scottish tour, taking in three of Courier Country’s stages: Kirkcaldy’s Adam Smith, Dunkeld’s Birnam Arts and Carnoustie’s Dibble Tree.

Following a sellout performance at Edinburgh’s Basement Theatre, Lisa says: “The cast and director have really brought the play to life in a beautiful, stunning way and I just want audiences to see this play and not be scared of the storyline, as there is so much more to the story.”

A performance at next month’s International Conference on Still Births and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome is also scheduled. The cast includes Nicola Roy as Lucy, Gavin Jon Wright as husband Ben, Kirsty Findlay as Katy and Nebli Basani as Tom.

Lisa, whose dad and aunt co-founded Carnoustie Theatre Club, has also secured funding to develop and write a play, which will tour in 2019, as part of Paisley’s bid to be the UK City of Culture 2021.

Shattered has been produced in association with Paisley Arts Centre and is funded by The National Lottery.

Picture: Mihaela Bodlovic. Nicola Roy as Lucy and Gavin Jon Wright as Ben.