'Lady Lane' will take to the stage in the Aberdeen Arts Centre tonight and tomorrow before heading for the One Touch Theatre, Eden Court, on October 17 and 18.

It is the first musical collaboration between musicians Kenny MacDonald and Fred McDonald and is the result of years of hard work.

The musical is directed by Henri Edwards and performed by members of the Red Shoes Theatre. It played to packed houses at Elgin Town Hall last year and received rave reviews.

Fred, who lives in Nairn, said the cast were rehearsing in preparation for their Aberdeen and Inverness performances.

Last year’s production of 'Lady Lane’ was funded through Highland 2007 and was an entrant in Eden Court and Cameron Mackintosh’s Highland Quest to create a new Scottish musical.

Unfortunately, the economics of touring the production means the cast has had to be halved from its original size of more than 40 performers.

Kenny, who came up with the idea for the musical, said: “The 'Lady Lane’ thing was glaring me in the face, obviously it was going to be a musical.

“I’m over the moon at what we’ve done and the cast have been amazing, I’m really pleased for them.”

He added that it had always been the intention to take the musical to Aberdeen and Inverness, and the pair would definitely work together again, and were considering several ideas.

Jessie Kesson was born in Inverness in 1916 and was brought up in Elgin.

'The White Bird Passes’ is a semi-autobiographical work told through the experiences of eight-year-old Janie McVean and her upbringing in one of Elgin’s lanes during the 1920s.

The youngster, who struggles to find any kind of warmth in her relationship with her mother, escapes the poverty and hardship of her life by disappearing into a magical world full of colourful characters.

Her mother’s drinking, prostitution and neglect of her child soon sees Janie sent to an orphanage in Aberdeenshire and over time she builds a better life for herself by unearthing a talent for writing.

Mrs Kesson died in the 1990s leaving a collection of Novels, poems and radio and television plays, which are still studied in schools as part of the Standard Grade and higher curriculum.

Tickets are still available for all performances through the Aberdeen Box Office and Eden Court.

h.lawson@northern-scot.co.uk

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