Theatre Workshop Scotland (TWS) is a theatre and film production and development

Filmmaking

Filmmaking is the process of making a film, from an initial story, idea, or commission, through scriptwriting, casting, shooting, directing, editing, and screening the finished product before an audience that may result in a theatrical release or television program...

 company, based in Edinburgh

Edinburgh

Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...

, Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

. TWS aims to give a voice to marginalised groups, including immigrants and the disabled.

History

TWS was founded in 1965 as Theatre Workshop Edinburgh, by Catherine Robbins and Ros Clark. It was Edinburgh's first drama centre for children. In 1970, Theatre Workshop moved from St Mark's Unitarian Church on Castle Terrace, to its own premises at Hanover Street.
Since 1996, Robert Rae has been Artistic Director

Artistic director

An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre company, that handles the organization's artistic direction. He or she is generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogul, since the organization is generally a non-profit organization...

, and has directed, devised and written twenty professional shows and ten large-scale productions with non-actors. Actors including Ewen Bremner

Ewen Bremner

-Early life:Bremner was born in Edinburgh, the son of two art teachers. He attended Davidson's Mains Primary School and Portobello High School. He originally wanted to be a circus clown, but was offered a chance in show business by television director Richard D. Brooks. One of his first notable...

 have had their first acting opportunities at TWS. In 2009, the company announced that due to financial constraints, they would have to move out of their premises on Hamilton Place.

Aims

Theatre Workshop Scotland aims to create well crafted, challenging film and theatre, which will inspire and empower individuals and organisations to change themselves and the world around them. TWS aims to put the people their productions deal with at the heart of the creative process, and has championed the employment of professional disabled actors. It was the first fully inclusive professional theatre in Europe, routinely incorporating disabled actors into its main productions.

Degenerate

TWS hosts the annual "Degenerate" festival, the only international disability arts festival held in Scotland.

Trouble Sleeping

In 2007, TWS produced Trouble Sleeping, a feature film based around the experiences of refugees in Edinburgh, which premiered at the Edinburgh International Film Festival

Edinburgh International Film Festival

The Edinburgh International Film Festival is an annual fortnight of cinema screenings and related events taking place each June. Established in 1947, it is the world's oldest continually running film festival...

. It was later screened on BBC2, and won a number of awards, including Best New Work at the BAFTA Scotland

BAFTA Scotland

BAFTA in Scotland is the Scottish branch of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Formed in 1997, the branch holds an annual awards ceremony, the British Academy Scotland Awards , to recognise achievement by performers and production staff in Scottish film, television and video games...

 New Talent Awards, and Best Film at the 2008 Peace on Earth Film Festival, Rockport Film Festival, and Southern Appalachian International Film Festival

Southern Appalachian International Film Festival

Southern Appalachian International Film Festival is a yearly film festival. The purpose of Southern Appalachian International Film Festival is to publicly recognize and promote the work of independent movie makers and to encourage film production and culture in Southern Appalachia....

. Several of the actors involved were also nominated for Best Actor awards at film festivals.