Point and Sandwick Trust sponsors touring Hebridean drama about women

LAST week saw the debut of a remarkable play on the history of women in the Hebrides.

Deeds Not Words, created by the Rural Nations Scotland CIC theatre and arts company, opened in An Lanntair in Stornoway on Thursday for three nights before going on tour throughout the islands.

The play focuses on what happened when island women got the vote in 1918. It tells the story of the Stornoway suffrage society — and fills in some of the blanks in this period of history.

Audiences will learn more about the herring gutters as an economic powerhouse and about some women of great achievement, including Helen MacDougal from Barvas.

The play is the result of a massive research effort by writer Toria Banks and director Muriel Ann Macleod into the story of women’s suffrage in the isles. The research phase took three years and the total cost of creating this professional touring production was nearly £40,000.

A lot of public money went into making it possible – mainly, a grant of £19,000 from Leader. Other funding came from the Scottish Government, Comhairle nan Eilean Siar and Bòrd na Gàidhlig.

A whole raft of local businesses made donations — either in cash or in kind — and community wind farm charity Point and Sandwick Trust gave £1,000.

Sonja Macleod, a board member of Point and Sandwick Trust, said they were delighted to support the play — and that she was very much looking forward to seeing it.

‘It looks amazing. The thing that got me is that it’s not just the play; there are workshops and it’s open to the schools, and the fact it’s travelling round small village halls is lovely,’ she said.

She said the £1,000 from PST would ‘make a very small dent’ in the costs of such a production — but if it even covered the costs of hiring the village halls then it was a job well done to give all communities the chance to see it.

Ms Macleod commented: ‘Although life is a lot easier in some ways for women now, because we’re not gutting herring on the side of the harbour, things are still very difficult for women in getting their voice heard and getting equality.’

The music and songs have been written by Mary Ann Kennedy and will be performed by Josie Duncan. Three actresses will be playing all the roles — 25 in total.

Perfomances are still to be held in Carinish Hall, North Uist, tonight (Thursday), Stonebridge Hall in South Uist tomorrow (Friday) and Castlebay Hall in Barra on Saturday.