Poet Debuts New Poem At Perth Theatre's Fun Palaces Weekend

Perthshire poet Jim Mackintosh has written a heartfelt poem about his love of live performance, the positive impact it has on people's lives, how much everyone is missing gathering for theatre and concerts, and the devastating effect venue closures are having on those who work in the live events industry.

Announced today for National Poetry Day, Everyone Means Something will be premiered on Saturday 3 October as part of Perth Theatre's Fun Palaces weekend of creativity in the community.

Jim Mackintosh performs the poem from the empty Perth Theatre auditorium to a video of images of productions, performances and audiences. The video will be broadcast on Perth Theatre's free Zoom Palace channel at 11.30am on Saturday 3 October.

Jim is also calling out to the people of Perthshire to take part in a film poem that he is creating about what they've missed about theatre and live performance and what their hopes are for the future. He is asking for theatre and concert lovers to record a short video clip "I saw ... " about a memory they have from a show they've attended, or an idea they have about what they want to see when venues reopen - "I see ...". The clips will be edited together to create a new and original work for broadcast at a future date. Further information will be available on the Fun Palaces page at www.horsecross.co.uk after the premiere of Everyone Means Something on Saturday 3 October.

Jim Mackintosh said:

"The idea for Everyone Means Something was sparked when Perth Theatre asked me to take part in the Fun Palaces weekend. Thinking about what I could do for the event made me reflect on how desperately we miss live performance - either doing it or watching it. I also want to draw attention to the terrible plight faced by all those working in the events industry whose lives have been devastated by the effects of venue closures and the ongoing impact this is having on organisations such as Horsecross Arts.

The film poem which I'm hoping that everyone will take part in is a way of asking audiences of all ages as well as performers and people working in the Arts to reflect on what it is they miss and what they're looking forward to when our theatres and concert halls reopen. So I'm asking: What have you missed? What have you missed about theatre? What are you looking forward to? We need you to tell us. We are going to make one long film about all that we miss and all that we hope for the future."

Jim joins a line up of locals who will be sharing their skills at Perth Theatre's free online Zoom Palace from 11am until 4.30pm on Saturday 3 October. These include Pete Wishart MP who'll be teaching the introduction to Runrig's classic version of Loch Lomond on keyboard, Perth panto dame Barrie Hunter will give a lesson in panto dame make-up and Rhona Sullivan from Perth Museum and Art Gallery who is running an Ask a Curator session. Artist Sarah Draper will be offering some inspiration for how to decorate windows to turn the streets of Perth into galleries on the evening of 3 October.

And the whole family can join in the Fun Palaces weekend by sharing creative ideas in their community. Social distancing may have put paid to gatherings for now, but there are many innovative ways to get involved from decorating windows to chalking out a pavement hopscotch course to holding a doorstep dance off or serenading the street!

To see the full list of Perth Theatre's Zoom Palace performances and for free tickets visit the Fun Palaces page at www.horsecross.co.uk.

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