The National Theatre of Scotland has commissioned ten of the best theatre directors working in Scotland today to each explore the theme of ‘Home’, one of the most evocative words in the English language. Each director will offer their own unique vision and interpretation, working together with artists and local communities and drawing inspiration and relevance from their surroundings. The 10 projects include physical spectacle, intimate story telling, multimedia installations, verbatim theatre, children’s theatre, live music, documentary film and sound-scapes.

From shop fronts to tenements, museums to ferries, huts to factories, the range of spaces will reflect many different facets of Scottish life and demonstrate that theatre can happen just about anywhere. 10 unique theatrical encounters involving a hundred fiddlers on a ferry, a tower-block siege, a meditation on memory and death, a secret journey through the woods, asylum seekers in a derelict tenement, a dance in a 1950’s ballroom, a Doll’s House, First Minister’s Question Time through the eyes of children, an octogenarian odyssey and a living photograph album.

Many of the projects are being created with the help of their local communities – involving young people, residents of care homes and tower blocks, craft practitioners, youth theatres and amateur performers.

10 locations, 55 performances and unforgettable theatre for 10,000 people.

HOME is a chance for people all over to join in celebrating the launch of the National Theatre of Scotland: a firework display of theatrical work set off across the country.

On Shetland you are never more than 3 miles from the sea. For centuries, traveling by boat was the only way to get to or away from home in Shetland. Both an intimate audio journey and a dramatic live performance, HOME SHETLAND takes over the Lerwick-Aberdeen Northlink ferry, M.V. Hjaltland, in Lerwick harbour, from the hold to the cabins to the upper deck. Drawing on the intense feelings about home which are often experienced on a journey over the water, the flight paths of migrating birds, contemporary and archive images and the rich musical tradition of the islands, HOME SHETLAND will be created by a team of artists from both within and without Shetland and will involve local performers alongside a professional company. An evocative multi-sensory experience in a unique setting by a site-specific theatre specialist.

The performances of Home Shetland will take place on 23 and 25 February at 12 noon, 1.15pm and 2.30pm. On 27 February the three daily performances will be slightly earlier at 11.30am, 12.45pm and 2pm.

Tickets are available from Islesburgh Community Centre, Lerwick. The production is suitable for those aged 14 years and over and the number of tickets available is limited.