Panto power: Fife community drama group provides first aid and performance
By Mairi Damer
Buckhind Players
Let’s rewind to 2019 when two drama fans and friends fae Fife, Rachel-Jane Morrison and Ryan Smart, met for coffee and had the idea to stage a panto in the local area.
Back then, the pair had nothing but a budget of £20 and a decision to stage Aladdin. They got the ball rolling by posting a couple of notices on Facebook and when 20 wannabe theatre folk turned up, R-J and Ryan just knew they had the makings of something special. The new group, the Buckhind Players, was constituted quickly, with one memorable early meeting being held in a fellow community organisation’s food storage room over boxes of leeks!
R-J is clear that it wasn’t all plain sailing – the group was penniless in the early days, and activities were funded through a beg, borrow and liberate basis. Indeed, sourcing “proper” funding initially was impossible, because of concerns that the project might not work.
Undeterred, R-J was always prepared to show up and pitch, asking for forgiveness not permission if her vision for the group didn’t align with rules, regs and criteria.
And that vision was key to the progress of the Buckhind Players, as was a high level of expectation. As a former student at Glasgow’s RSAMD, R-J was always committed to setting the highest standards, unwilling to compromise artistic integrity. Being local people, Ryan and R-J also knew that they’d have to work really hard to persuade a “suspicious” community that they had something very special to offer – something that was truly inclusive for everyone in what they describe as a “forgotten” part of the world.
When it came to promoting the fledgling drama group, R-J and Ryan’s local savvy was critical. Alongside harnessing the undoubted influence of socials and the local paper, the pair knew they had to pull other levers to get people onside. As R-J says,
“Nothing in this community travels faster than local gossip, so we made sure that the right people knew what we were doing – they spread the word fast!”
As a result, participation numbers quickly swelled, they ended up with 60 people involved in the staging of the Players’ debut Aladdin panto. Numbers of bums on seats also confounded expectations – the initial aim of 500 was easily surpassed, with a total of 900 people turning out.
Support has come from unexpected quarters too. The local Sea Cadets are now regular partners after providing a one off tuck shop for the premiere panto, and there’s even been some crossover with a couple of young people moving seamlessly between the strict, regimented rules of the Cadets to running around in make-up, high heels and a wig! Further backing has come from unsung community champions, people who have reach and influence locally and who are brilliant at finding solutions to thorny problems.
Despite success, the process has been tortuous at times. R-J has sometimes felt overwhelmed by red tape, jobsworth behaviour and petty bureaucracy, and access to space for rehearsal, storage and performance can be incredibly difficult to secure. Some funding has been granted, but running the group will always be difficult financially, especially because one of the Buckhind Players most important principles is to keep fees at an absolute minimum.
One of the things that makes the Buckhind Players truly remarkable, a REAL community smash hit, is that everyone involved is a volunteer. Local people have become involved not only to perform, but to do all the behind-the-scenes hard graft too. Sharing and learning new skills is all part of the project, and the Players now boast two children and young people’s groups and one for adults.
What has emerged is a community drama group which goes far, far beyond the staging of an annual panto, although that is an undoubted smash hit. The show has become a regular celebratory Christmas night out for families and friends, and the Players are even seeing repeat panto-goers bringing new babies along for hilarity and ho-ho-ho. But beyond the pan stick and arc lights, the Buckhind Players have provided a space where people can really flourish, no matter their background or income level.
As R-J so memorably puts it,
“The arts are never considered as being all that important, but we offer a kind of first aid for people who need support for their overall wellbeing. At the Buckhind Players, we are really just looking after and caring for each other. This is a place where, despite many challenges, people can flourish and explore avenues that might not have been open to them before.”
And for that achievement alone, the Buckhind Players should all take a deep, deep bow.