MacPhail Theatre, Ullapool, 7 March 2013
ALAN Greig Theatre and Grant Smeaton‘s Do You Nomi? –  a melange of theatre and dance – kicked off Ullapool Dance Festival 2013. And two lithe male bodies, sinuously and […]

Macphail Centre, Ullapool, 8 November 2012
WELCOME to a basement studio where ear-splitting, electronic music fuses with the kind of energetic percussion which resonates in the lower gut.

A GROUP of men […]

Macphail Theatre, Ullapool, 28 September 2012, and touring
IT MAY be a somewhat heretical statement but it nonetheless contains more than a grain of truth; a night at the theatre can be a tedious […]

Jenny McBain looks at a project aimed at breaking barriers and building bridges in mental health.
AN uneasy mix of compassion and control governs the relationship between mental health professionals and their […]

Taking Stock: The Claim of Crofting, Sabhal Mòr Ostaig,  Skye, 16 March 2012 A COUNTRY’S history is woven from many threads, and we need writers and artists to keep us connected with key events from the past. Without that connection we can blindly follow courses of action which betray core cultural values. Historian Dr Issie Macphail and […]

Macphail Theatre, Ullapool, 15 March 2012, and touring A THEATRE production which can pop up anywhere that an audience and a welcome can be mustered is a great innovation . Two plays which were first shown in Glasgow’s Oran Mor as part of the A Play, A Pie and A Pint initiative are being shown around the Highlands, […]

Macphail Centre and Village Hall, Ullapool, 9-10 March 2012 IS SEEMS so obvious.  Of course Ullapool should have a dance festival. AFTER all, it is a village which hosts festivals of books, beer and guitars.  It is the heartland of the feisean movement and even had a fish festival – once upon a time.  If Ullapool’s GDP […]

The Macphail Centre, Ullapool, 2 February 2012 ON A visit to the cinema we usually have more interaction with the person selling us popcorn than we do with those who actually made the film. SO FOR actor-writer-producer Tim Barrow to stand up in front of an audience and invite feedback on his 2007 film The Inheritance was an act […]

Macphail Theatre, Ullapool, 21 May 2011 There are certain artistically orchestrated moments that engender a sense of transcendence. On Saturday night the wild wind and driving rain that greeted our arrival at the Macphail Theatre in Ullapool was completely forgotten when James Ross picked up his taragot to play a  Romanian Fantasy by Gordon T…[Read more]

The Ceilidh Place, Ullapool, 3 April 2010, and touring THE MUSICAL trio Bellevue Rendezvous started out as a jamming session in a kitchen in Edinburgh’s Morningside. And the acoustic ensemble has managed to hold onto a spirit of spontaneity and sheer joy in the music – even when faced with a slightly wooden Highland audience. An […]

The Ceilidh Place, Ullapool, 27 March 2010 IN THE month when poet Ted Hughes was immortalised on the walls of Westminster Abbey, you could be forgiven for thinking that great writing is the preserve of an elite literati, many of whom are dead. The Golden Hour is an antidote to all that. If you are fed up […]

Macphail Centre, Ullapool, 25 March 2010 THE Ivan Drever Band’s rollicking blend of Rock and Roll and Celtic ballad has impact enough to fill a football stadium. And these accomplished musicians have had their moments on the world stage (both Drever and guitarist Andy Murray are former members of Wolfstone.) Yet they faced the challenge of […]

Macphail Centre, Ullapool, 23 March 2010 THAT STUDENTS made the journey from the RSAMD in Glasgow to Ullapool in order to perform the Bard’s work is to be applauded. The endeavour has the makings of a true cultural exchange – one which enhances understanding between north and south or rural and urban. It could also inspire […]

Village Hall, Ullapool, 20 March 2010 THIS EVENT served to launch the upcoming Ullapool Book Festival, but there was purpose beyond unveiling the programme for the event in May, or offering tickets and refreshments. Bi-lingual writer, journalist, broadcaster and poet Angus Peter Campbell from South Uist spoke with luminescence about the “joie-…[Read more]

Macphail Centre, Ullapool, 19 March 2010 GILMORE Productions have the makings of an interesting show in One Up One Down , but it is hard to escape from the feeling that what they are currently presenting to audiences is a work in progress. A brain-storming of ideas has evolved into an hour-long piece which lacks any narrative […]

JENNY MCBAIN embarks on a musical journey. AN EVENING at in the company of Anna Massie and Mairearad Green is a journey illustrated by music. The pair have collected tunes from all over the UK, Ireland and Scandinavia, along with a store cupboard of anecdotes for introductions. Their stage presence is characterised by a relaxed poise […]

The Macphail Centre, Ullapool, 19 November 2009 THE MACPHAIL Centre became an exotic location last Thursday thanks to a visit from Edinburgh-based dance company Ihayami. The dancers wear bells strapped round their ankles which emphasise each stamping step, yet supreme skill ensures that there is variation in intensity between movements. The…[Read more]

Ullapool, 9-11 October 2009 AS THE very last chord of the 10th Ullapool Guitar Festival reverberated, a question as to the future of this phenomenal event hung in the air. It’s not the aging audience which worries festival organiser Richard Lindsay – he refers affectionately to his loyal returning crowd as ‘silver backs’. Rather it is […]