Assembly: A Scratch For Wee Ones (Light the Blue 2026)

Assembly: A Scratch For Wee Ones (Light the Blue 2026)

Aberdeen Performing Arts in partnership with Catherine Wheels and Playwrights’ Studio, Scotland

We’re hosting a gathering of actors, writers and primary school aged children to test out extracts of brand new plays for young audiences. Following a sharing of first draft ideas by Scottish writers, we’ll invite a show of hands and ask the experts, our young audience, to share their thoughts and inform the next stage of development for the plays.

See you in the Assembly Hall!

Please see the line-up for Assembly below!

Sky, a Plane and Four Walls by Joanne McGuiness

Twelve-year-old Sky has never been on a plane. She wants to win Capital Radio’s Free Summer Holiday Competition. All she needs to do is film a video of herself looking like the most adventurous girl in the West of Scotland.

But she can’t leave the house. Her mum needs help getting about, and today is the council assessment. That’s not going to stop Sky. If she can’t leave the house, her four-walled bedroom can transform into whatever she needs it to be. She will win that competition!

A play full of verse, song, imagination and wanted to be two places at once.

Joanne McGuinness is a playwright and actor born and raised in North Lanarkshire. (where she loves to set all her plays.) She loves to laugh at her own jokes, sing, and obsess over stories working-class people are told about their identity and ability. Busy looking after her family, when she can’t chat about it, she pours it into her plays.

After graduating with an MSc in Playwriting from Edinburgh University her play Essential Education was long listed for the 2025 David MacLennan Award. As an actor, she has worked with The Old Vic, National Theatre, NTS, Lyceum, Regents Park, Citizens Theatre, Kings Theatre, Vox Motus, Traverse, Play Pie and a Pint.

Star Suit by Sarah Ord

Star Suit is a play about school discos, self-expression and the joy of embracing your authentic self!

Sarah Ord is an emerging writer, performer, theatre-maker and Creative Producer of Mayfly Theatre from Aberdeen whose work is rooted in a love of children’s theatre, playfulness, and creativity. She writes stories for young audiences that challenge gender expectations while celebrating identity, freedom of expression, and joy. Through her work, she aims to create theatre that encourages children to dream bigger and imagine new possibilities for who they can be.

The Bodach and the Bees by Alex Zawalnyski

The Bodach And The Bees is a funny and heartfelt play about nature and searching for the things that your heart is missing.

The bees arrived on the same day that Margret disappeared. In an instant, the swarm was everywhere. In the flowerpots and in the old man’s hair. The bodach, a Gaelic word for old man, tries to get on with his life as normal. But that’s impossible. The bees won’t rest until they’ve found their flowers, and the bodach won’t rest until he’s found Margret. These two must find a way to work things out and lead a normal life.

Alex Zawalnyski is an Edinburgh-based writer and theatre-maker, focused on finding visual ways of telling meaningful stories. He loves puppets, shadows, and people, using them to immerse the audience in the story and change the way they think.
His work for younger audience includes The Truth About Trees, was shared at Light The Blue last year, before going on to have a successful Edinburgh Fringe run.
When Alex isn’t making theatre, he works with Capital Theatre’s Creative Engagement team to connect with communities and share his enthusiasm for theatre.