AWARD-WINNING novelist Ali Smith is the subject of this month’s main interview, and there is no coincidence in the fact that Dogstar Theatre will be touring a production of her play ‘The Seer’ in May and June.

As Hamish MacDonald explains in Dogstar’s HITN profile this month, the production marks a new phase in the work of the company. It comes hard on the heels of new touring work by Theatre Hebrides and Arts In Motion/Aye! Productions, not to mention a stream of productions from furth the Highlands & Islands. Busy times for theatre-goers across the region, and long may it continue.

The tenth anniversary of the death of Orkney poet George MacKay Brown is being marked in various ways this year, including a new biography and events in the St Magnus Festival in June. Alistair Peebles explores the connection between the poet and composer Peter Maxwell Davies in a fascinating interview.

Georgina Coburn caught up with an interesting initiative in the visual arts in Fort William in the Art Galore project. On a less happy note, the bi-annual Highland Open came and went in Inverness with almost no publicity and much grumbling over poor hanging and late production of a brochure.

This seems a very poor effort for what should be an important element in the Highland visual arts calendar. We have invited Highland Council’s exhibitions department to comment, but as yet with no response.

We have no new Arts Folk feature this month. It was the turn of Shetland to contribute, but they are in the middle of considerable changes up there in the northernmost corner of our region, and have asked for an extension until June. Accordingly, Moray’s contribution will remain in place in May, and both Shetland and Inverness will feature in June.

We also plan to introduce the first of a new series of regular showcases in June, featuring the work of artists who have received HI~Arts funding awards. As a prelude, Robert Livingston, the director of HI~Arts, explains how the awards operate. Elsewhere, Fiona MacKenzie and Steve Robertson chart their experiences from two very different musical events.

There is already a considerable buzz surrounding the big music festivals scheduled for the summer, including the dance music event in Dores in June, the Hebridean Celtic Festival in Stornoway in July, and Tartan Heart in Belladrum in August. Tickets are on sale now for all these festivals, and may already be gone for the Dores event.

As always, please keep checking back for more news, reviews and feature articles.

Kenny Mathieson
Commissioning Editor, Northings

Kenny Mathieson lives and works in Boat of Garten, Strathspey. He studied American and English Literature at the University of East Anglia, graduating with a BA (First Class) in 1978, and a PhD in 1983. He has been a freelance writer on various arts-related subjects since 1982, and contributes to the Inverness Courier, The Herald, The Scotsman, The List, Times Educational Supplement Scotland, and other publications. He has contributed to numerous reference books, and has written books on jazz and Celtic music.