Fringe award for QMU lecturer

Kate Nelson, a lecturer at Queen Margaret University (QMU), has won a Scotsman Fringe First Award for a play staged on her own allotment.

The production, entitled Allotment, was written by Jules Horne and describes the complicated and sometimes bitter relationship between two sisters.

In-keeping with its title, the play was performed outdoors at the Inverleith allotments, with no lighting or protection from the elements. Audiences were greeted with a cup of tea and a home-made scone on arrival, before settling down amongst Ms Nelson's vegetable patch.

Ms Nelson, programme leader for Drama and Theatre Arts at QMU, staged the play in collaboration with the Assembly and Nutshell Theatre. She is also Nutshell's Artistic Director, having directed a number of plays for the company, and has worked with the Traverse and Citizens' Theatres based in Glasgow.

A fellow QMU colleague, Sarah Paulley, was responsible for the set design. Ms Paulley lectures in Costume Design and Construction.

The idea for the play’s staging came to Ms Nelson during last year’s Fringe as she took to working on her allotment as a form of respite from the hectic festival atmosphere. However, she discovered that there were similar themes present between the drama and the vegetable gardens, making the Inverleith allotments an ideal setting. She told The Journal: “People do come here to dig furiously, to work things out”.

The production received favourable critical attention, with Fest, The List and The Telegraph each awarding it four stars. Fest described the play as “one of the most treasurable sensory experiences on offer at this year's Fringe”. On awarding Allotment a Fringe First prize, The Scotsman said that the show was “charming, thoughtful and deep; it is remarkable how much ground […] is covered by this comparatively short play”.

The Scotsman Fringe First Awards were set up in 1973, and are designed to recognise original drama. The awards are presented weekly during the Festival and the work must be premièred in Edinburgh. Shows featured in the Comedy, Events, Music or Exhibition sections are not considered eligible.