100 puppets to tell stories of Covid-19 pandemic in Ross-shire communities
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
Stories of people's experiences during the coronavirus pandemic in Highland communities will be shared in performances featuring 100 puppets.
About 200 people from across the region have shared their stories of life, death, humour and connection as part of a community project.
It will culminate in an event, Windows of Reality, featuring live performance, film and stories at Eden Court Theatre in Inverness on Friday.
- Stretched unpaid carers speak anonymously through protest art
- Carers roadshow on a roll across Highlands
It has been organised by the arts organisation, Creativity In Care, which runs a range of projects for individuals and communities across the Highlands.
Creativity In Care director Karrie Marshall said the pandemic stories depicted in Windows of Reality recall heartbreaking and heart-warming situations.
One, for example, relates the experience of an Inverness family which faced the increasing alcoholism and subsequent death by suicide of a father who left two young children and their mother.
"One story is about having cabin-fever when furloughed, another about the peaceful roads," Ms Marshall said.
"There were farmers who were happy about having the roads to themselves and not having to pull over into lay-bys.
"Some stories are about the importance of connecting to nature, or about community support when grieving, and the social value of community food.
"Some stories are about confusion around the Covid-19 rules, or about the tensions between masked and unmasked people."
Participants included families and individuals from Inverness, Cromarty, Alness, Evanton, Invergordon, Ullapool, Wick and Fort William.
They included some unpaid carers and people supported by mental health charity, Centred, as well as intergenerational groups such as the Cromarty Youth Group and the Cromarty Four-Ways group as well as the Friday Futures group at Evanton Community Wood.
They made their own puppets ranging from life-size models to glove puppets to tell their stories.
"Some stories were really sad," Ms Marshall said.
"People couldn't see their relatives in care homes – they could only wave through the windows in care homes.
"People felt anxious or depressed but there were also wonderful stories of the community coming together.
"It is a real mix. It highlights the whole range of experiences and emotions."
Ms Marshall said some bereaved people had found themselves having to deal with grief on their own as they were unable to be with others at funerals.
"One mother lost her daughter in Glasgow and couldn't go to her funeral," Ms Marshall said.
She thought many people taking part in the project had found the process therapeutic.
"I think this has been part of the grieving process for some people," she said.
"It is also a way for people being able to express what happened to them and for it to be placed somewhere.
"I think for people who couldn't be with a family member or grieve, this in some way has helped people to place their feelings somewhere."
The Windows of Reality event, by coincidence, is being staged as the impact of the pandemic has returned to the public spotlight this week with the ongoing UK and Scotland covid inquiries.
Ms Marshall said some research has been carried out into how people had dealt with the pandemic.
She felt at the time of the pandemic no one understood what to do or how to deal with it but she felt that it was becoming clear that it was inhumane for people not to be able to see their families when they died.
Rehearsals have been taking place this week at the Perrins Centre in Alness ahead of Friday's free event which takes place in the Eden Court's Jim Love Studio between 12.30pm and 6.30pm.
Performances will be on the hour, every hour. Guest musicians Black Rock Ceilidh will take part and there will also be online Zoom experiences, Can You Hear Me?
The project has been funded mainly by the National Lottery and has involved producer Chris King, choreographers Frank McConnell and Cath Giles, puppet director Andy Jones and Creativity In Care makers and performers.
