Concerned Others

Tortoise in a Nutshell / Scotland/UK
Created with the support of Creative Scotland, The Stevenston Trust and the Leche Trust

Creative Team:
Performer/Devising Artist: Alex Bird
Lighting/Technical Design and Management: Andrew Gannon
Sound Composition: Jim Harbourne
AV Design: Lewis Den Hertog
Touring Production Management: Fi Fraser
Premiere Run Production Management: Elle Taylor
Set Construction and Co-Design: Guy Bishop

For Tortoise in a Nutshell:
Co-Directors: Arran Howie & Alex Bird
Producer: Kirsten McPake
Community Coordinator: Indra Wilson

With Special Thanks to:
Hannah Draper, Courtney Smith, Debbie Smith, Dr Jenny Higgs, Dr Danny Mogford, Dr Duncan Stewart, Dr Ian Scott, Davie Miller, Dr Jamie Tidder, Jo Tolkein, Dr Lynne Gilmour, Louise Honeybul, Mark Williamson, Tich Watson, Susie McClue, Thom Dibdin, Robbie Lyttle, Kris Robb, Sandra Holmes and the members of Families Campaign for Change, the team at North West Recovery Communities, Kelly Doig, SMART Recovery Highlands and Scottish Families Affected by Alcohol and Drugs .

Our greatest thanks as well to all of the numerous individuals, organisations, recovery groups, friends and loved ones who shared their stories, time, insight and experience with us in the making of this piece, but who elected to remain anonymous.

Concerned Others:
Scotland has the highest rate of drug related death in Europe. One of the highest known rates in the world. In communities across the country, families, loved ones, friends, act as support for people with lived experience of substance dependency.

Concerned Others is an intimate tabletop performance that presents the stories of these critically underheard voices, accounts that paint us as a nation struggling to recognise a deadly culture of shame, ignorance and misunderstanding surrounding substance dependence and drug-related death.

Halfway between dream and cold reality, Concerned Others is a collision of first-hand accounts, hopes and reflections on the weight carried by an entire community of care givers, healthcare professionals, policy makers and people living with addiction.

Tortoise in a Nutshell:
Tortoise in a Nutshell delivers unique projects that blend performance, participatory and creative development practice, to create experiences that inspire the imagination.

Our work is driven by a philosophical stance that everyone has the right to participate in the cultural life of their community. We aim to live out this philosophy through our everyday practice, creating exceptional Visual Theatre with, by and for audiences and communities across Scotland and internationally.

Formed in Leith, Edinburgh (Scotland/UK), in late 2010, from inception our specialism has been Visual Theatre practice. We create live, inspiring experiences that explore multi-textural theatrical forms and methodologies. Our stories have been original, bold, and inventive, utilising non-linguistic forms of language to interrogate complex societal and human questions.

A core-underpinning of our practice has been the growth and refinement of a collaborative form of making. An artist-led, self-producing organisation, we reject the notion of the ‘auteur-artist-genius’ and instead hold a passion for joint endeavour. We aim to host open and supportive creative processes, pushing ourselves to create stronger, kinder and more accessible work that is open to all.