National Theatre of Scotland announces the Five Minute Theatre running order.

Audiences will now be able to schedule their online viewing of the five theatre pieces from across the Highlands, all of which have been allocated time slots.

Produced by National Theatre of Scotland, Five Minute Theatre is an extraordinary 24hour live online theatre broadcast, taking place at http://www.fiveminutetheatre.com

from 5pm, Tuesday 21st June, 2011, until 5pm the following day.

Five Minute Theatre will feature over 1000 performers in eleven countries. Of the 235 successful entries, 202 will be performed in Scotland, thirteen across the rest of the UK, four in Europe and sixteen across the rest of the world.

A cross-section of the Highlands time slots includes the following:

Streamed between 9pm-10pm on Tuesday 21st June:

The tragic human story of the 1918 Portskerra fishing disaster in which seven men died is retold in Alex Patience’s entry, Portskerra Fishing Disaster.  Staged in Portskerra itself, local inhabitant, Alex hopes to settle on a final performance location that will have a significant resonance with the story, be it a fisherman’s cottage, a bothy or village hall.  Explaining his motivation for creating the piece, Alex says he hopes to: “draw the mind to understand our connection with the past and to human vulnerability to natural forces.”

Streamed between 9am-10am on Wednesday 22nd June:

Meanwhile, a tree-platform in Terry Langdale’s Strathpeffer back garden forms the stage for Levity, a performance based on the launch of a hot air balloon.

National Theatre of Scotland will be working in partnership with STV to enable eight of the successful Five Minute Theatre projects to be performed and filmed at STV’s studio at Pacific Quay, Glasgow.

The 24 hour online event will be streamed live on the website especially created by the National Theatre of Scotland for the project:  www.fiveminutetheatre.com and STVs own website: www.stv.tv on Tuesday 21st June.

Individual entries will be hosted online by both www.stv.tv on a specially designed micro-site and www.fiveminutetheatre.com after the event.

Rob Woodward, Chief Executive, STV, said:  “I am delighted that STV will make Five Minute Theatre available to our audience on stv.tv. STV is committed to the establishment of a vibrant creative industry sector in Scotland and this innovative 24-hour online broadcast is set to be a fantastic showcase of Scottish talent and originality.”

www.fiveminutetheatre.com contains up to date information including details on the selection process as well as regular features from the National Theatre of Scotland’s key creative team.

A selection of successful performances taking place in the Highlands:

9pm-10pm Portskerra Fishing Disaster

Alex Patience, Portskerra, Sutherland

1pm-2pm Catepillar Fantasy

Karrie Marshall, A forest in Ross-shire

9am-10am Levity

Terry Langdale, A tree house in Strathpeffer

Source: National Theatre of Scotland