National Theatre of Scotland

The National Theatre of Scotland(NTS) has announced it's first programme, for Spring 2006.

A year after the appointment of its first director, Vicky Featherstone, NTS is working with venues across Scotland (it has no permanent venue of its own).

Writing in The Guardian, Featherstone says:

Scotland, for better or worse, has no great weighty theatre tradition behind it. There is no Shakespeare or Marlowe, no George Bernard Shaw or Wilde. Today we have Liz Lochhead, Anthony Neilson, David Greig, Chris Hannan, David Harrower and Zinnie Harris - all of whom are working with us in different capacities. Scottish theatre has always been demotic and vital, led by great performances, great stories or great playwrights. This is a chance to start building a new generation of theatre-goers as well as reinvigorating the existing ones; to create theatre on a national and international scale that is contemporary, confident and forward-looking; to bring together brilliant artists, composers, choreographers and playwrights; and to exceed our expectation of what and where theatre can be.