Whitburn to appear in National Theatre of Scotland stage production

Whitburn Band has confirmed it will be part of a major project next year with the National Theatre of Scotland.

The band will perform in Martin Green's Keli as it tours Scotland for the first time.

Whitburn will play in 12 shows in total in May and June when Keli is performed at the Macrobert Arts Centre in Stirling, the Lyceum Theatre in Edinburgh and the Tramway Theatre in Glasgow.

This follows Whitburn’s collaboration with Ivor Novello winner Green on Keli, which first premiered at the Lyceum Theatre in Edinburgh in 2022 and was followed by a landmark performance at Celtic Connections in Glasgow earlier this year, which was described as a “profoundly moving” show in a five-star review by The Scotsman newspaper.

Keli will feature brass band music from Green’s acclaimed album Split The Air. Working with Whitburn and other local brass bands around Scotland, this production continues to sustain ongoing relationships with Scottish brass bands and the communities they represent.

Keli tells the story of a fiery, sharp-witted 17-year-old in a former mining town. Coal means little to Keli, but the mines left music in the blood of this place.

As the best player her brass band has ever had, music is easy. Everything else is a fight. Feeling trapped in small-town life, pressure mounts. When the chance to change everything arises, can Keli keep a lid on it all?

Marking 40 years since the miners' strike and featuring a sharp, hilarious script, Keli is a gripping show about community, creativity and music.

The production, which contains strong language, is written and composed by Green and directed by Bryony Shanahan.

You can read more about the production and book your tickets here.

Martin Green outside the National Mining Museum Scotland in Newtongrange

 PHOTO CREDITS: Sandy Butler