Maureen as Director

Maureen has taken on her second role as director this Spring. She is to direct Judith Thompsons "The Perfect Pie" The tour commenced on 15th March 06 at the Tron, Glasgow and ends up at the Perth Theatre, Perth. Watch this space for press reviews over the next few months. More tour dates and booking details can be found on the "What's New Maureen?" page. Well done Maureen. Last year, Maureen made her directoral debut with "Good Things" a play penned by Liz Lochead "of MEDEA" fame. The play went on a mini tour of Scotland, kicking off at the Tron in Glasgow and finishing at the Perth Theatre. Details and reviews of the play can be found below. GOOD THINGS Director: Maureen Beattie Run sheet, for reference. 16 - 25 Sep 04 Tron Glasgow 27 Sep 04 Eastgate Arts Centre Peebles 28 Sep 04 Barrfields Theatre Largs 29 Sep 04 Howden Park Centre Livingston 30 Sep 04 Lochside Castle Douglas 1 Oct 04 Town Hall Falkirk 2 Oct 04 MacRobert Stirling 7 Oct 04 Gaiety Ayr 8 Oct 04 Arts Guild Greenock 9 Oct 04 Carnegie Hall Dunfermline 11 - 12 Oct 04 Eden Court Inverness 13 Oct 04 Cumbernauld Theatre Cumbernauld 14 - 15 Oct 04 Brunton Musselburgh 16 Oct 04 Palace Kilmarnock 19 Oct - 6 Nov 04 Byre St Andrews 11 - 27 Nov 04 Perth Theatre Perth GOOD THINGS A Romantic Farce By Liz Lochhead Directed by Maureen Beattie Borderline Theatre with the Byre Theatre St Andrews & Perth Theatre in association with the Tron Theatre Glasgow New comedy about the search for true love. Good Things - Change of Director Brian Pettifer, previously announced as director for Borderline Theatre Company’s production of Liz Lochhead's new play, Good Things, has withdrawn from the project and been replaced by Maureen Beattie. Mr Pettifer who had been working on the production for nearly a year asked to be released from his contract as a result of being offered a leading role in a new BBC 3 dramabeing filmed in South Africa. Eddie Jackson Producer, Borderline Theatre, said, "The reality is that Brian has been offered the second lead in a major film drama for the BBC as well as a scale of fee that would have made it churlish in the extreme had we refused to release him from his commitment. Brian has made a great contribution to the project in the time he has been involved with it and the release was given with much regret. However the silver lining is that Maureen Beattie has agreed to direct Good Things and has already started work in concluding the casting process. Both Liz Lochhead and I are delighted that Maureen's schedule had a gap which allowed her to join the creative team at very short notice." The last time Liz Lochhead and Maureen Beattie teamed up was with Maureen playing the title role in the Theatre Babel’s highly acclaimed production of Liz Lochhead’s adaptation of Medea. Good Things premiered at The Tron Theatre (Previews) 10th – 15th September (excluding Sun 12th & Mon 13th) and run from 16th – 25th September (excluding Sun 19th Mon 20th) and then tour all over Scotland until the 27th of November. For more information on Good Things contact Paul Brunton on 01292 281010 or e:paul@borderlinetheatre.co.uk ***GOOD THINGS A Romantic Farce By Liz Lochhead Directed by Maureen Beattie Borderline Theatre with the Byre Theatre St Andrews & Perth Theatre in association with the Tron Theatre Glasgow Wed 13 October @ 7.45pm Tickets £9/£6 Award-winning Borderline Theatre bring you a brand new comedy from the writer of Perfect Days and Misery Guts. Set in a charity shop in the West End, "good things" come in one size only and this time it's yours. Susan Auld is forty-nine and looking for true love. How long will it take and how many near misses will she have while being hindered and helped by friends and colleagues? Good Things is a sympathetic, funny and at times farcical take on how a woman of a "certain age" deals with the reality of being "traded in for a younger model" and still retains her sense of humour, sanity and dignity. "Borderline is the best breeder of comedy in Scotland. " The Scotsman "Scotland's greatest living dramatist" Scotland on Sunday about Liz Lochhead ***DIRECTING MIGHT NOT BE SUCH A GOOD THING FOR THIS TALENTED ACTRESS. RIGHT now Maureen Beattie is in a place that's somewhere between emotional turmoil and palpable excitement. And it's not at all the Maureen Beattie we've come to know. As an actor in television's Casualty or The Bill she has convinced entirely, performing as cool, unflappable characters excellently. And in a history of powerful theatre performances, such as Medea, the Glasgow-born actor portrays women who could walk through the eye of a hurricane and come out unscathed. But then Maureen Beattie has never tried her hand at directing before. She smiles as she admits that taking on the task of staging Liz Lochhead's new play Good Things is wonderfully terrifying. "I've wanted to direct for some time now," she explained. "And the chance came up when Liz Lochhead told me about her new play and asked what I was doing. "I'd actually I had been putting out signals for some time that I'd loved to direct and I guess people were picking up on them. But once I said yes to Liz the panic set in. After all, Liz is a great writer, the actors are terrific and Liz is a pal. If it all goes wrong then it's me to blame." On the face of it, Good Things wasn't an easy play to direct, although Maureen loved the script. It's the story of Susan, suddenly single and with the dreaded big Five O glaring her in the face. She has to contend with an old dad in his second childhood, a daughter in the throes of aggravated adolescence and an ex who, unfortunately, still has the power to wound. Should Susan try again - or give up on love all together and get a cat? Set exclusively in the Charity Shop where she's a volunteer, it's a fast-paced romantic comedy with a cast of four who also play characters. Making sure it all flows wonderfully - and drawing the line between pathos and dreary self-absorption - represented a formidable task. And Maureen admits she took professional advice before making a final commitment. Luckily, she had an expert on hand to dispense large doses of theatrical wisdom - hard dad, Johnny. "Dad read it and said immediately, 'Do it. This is a great play.' And that was enough for me." It has however been a strange experience switching from poacher to gamekeeper. "It has really changed my perspective of what's required of a director," she revealed. "I've discovered that people will ask every question of you; they will want to know how you want the lighting, what time to fix up rehearsals, what you expect of the actors - there are a million things. "And I've discovered that I don't have all the answers. But you just have to put your hand up and trust your instincts." Maureen never consciously studied other directors at work but agrees she picked up a great deal by osmosis. "You do learn all the time. I'd say that if I'm bringing anything to this then it's an understanding of how an actor operates." Maureen smiles as she acknowledges she's more sympathetic to actors' needs that many directors, far removed from Billy Wilder's disdain who would request his cast on scene with the call 'Bring on the cattle.' "What I'll take away in turn is a heightened sense of what a director needs from an actor. I honestly think I'll be a better actor from having had this experience as a director." Curiously, Maureen felt no burning desire to be up there on stage with the cast, "When I decided to direct that was it," she said. "I didn't see the two go together. And I've really enjoyed this step back from acting." Interestingly, Maureen hopes that no-one will recognise the directorial input she makes in the show. "There are some pieces that work with clever direction that deserves to be recognised, the big moments in a play, the heavy stylisation. "But this is a play set in a charity shop where people drop in and out the whole time, with two central characters. The real challenge is to make it all seamless, so the audience aren't aware of the direction." She added: "What I'm doing is working as hard as I possibly can and then I'll wait to hear if the audience go along with it. "That will be the real test and it's a terrifying thought." A smile broke into laugh. "But at the same time I can't wait. It's an incredible feeling." Judith Thompson's play serves up a slice of life about childhood, friendship and old secrets. While Patsy married a prosperous farmer and stayed in her hometown, wild-shild Francesca followed the lights of the big city and became an actor. As they revisit their less than carefree childhoods, the two girls now women, confront the choices they have made and a past secret. This play marks Maureen Beattie's directorial debut. As an actor she has just finished a season with the Royal Shakespeare Company playing Queen Elizabeth in Richard III and Tamora in Titus Andronicus. Her most recent work in Scotland was as Medea in Liz Lochhead's acclaimed version of the play for Theatre Babel.