Bless thee, Bottom! bless thee! thou art translated.

A big Commonty congratulations to Crossmichael Drama Club who have made it through to the final of SkyArts programme Stagestruck!


Theatre luminaries Miriam Margolyes (Harry Potter, Black Adder and Wicked), Quentin Letts (BPA Theatre Critic of the Year 2010) and Bill Kenwright (Producer; Whistle Down the Wind and Blood Brothers) judged the auditions and selected Crossmichael for the final:



The club was born in 1941 so this is their 70th anniversary. They have less than a dozen members from all around the Castle Douglas area of Galloway in south-west Scotland, including two retired farmers, a fibreglass laminator and a hitch-hiking modern languages teacher. When they’re not able to rehearse in the community centre they make do with a leaky wooden hut that doubles up as a prop store.


They are a big hit on the festival circuit, having won through to 30 Divisional Finals, 15 Scottish Finals and 1 British Finals in the Scottish Community Drama Association Festivals. Their most successful was 2008 when they won 7 awards, including best stage presentation (with no set! they mimed everything) and best director in Scotland. Their Scots version of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream was an instant hit with all three judges.


Break a leg in the final folks.