DunsPlayFest - At The Heart of The Community by Karen Thomas

Tiny Town Big Community

As preparations for DunsPlayFest 2026 gain momentum, it’s often good to take the time to reflect on just how this sleepy town in the much-overlooked eastern part of  Berwickshire has become host to one of Scotland’s most vibrant community-led arts festivals for 9 days every May. The first reason is that it’s probably a mistake to say that there’s anything sleepy about Duns - it has a strong and vibrant community with the Volunteer Hall (run by A Heart for Duns) at its core. Boasting both an Operatic Society and a Community Theatre Company, newcomers to the town often join either or both of these companies and rapidly feel part of the community - possibly because they actually do become vital and essential elements of it very quickly. Theatre is a very effective weapon against social isolation, and Duns has never been a stranger to the transformative power of the performing arts. Audiences still turn out here to feel the thrill of live theatre, whether the performance is something familiar or perhaps a more edgy and contemporary offering, despite the difficult economic climate under which we currently labour. There’s something very unifying in being in a audience watching talented members of your community taking risks with a difficult piece of theatre, or in bringing the whole family to the panto to watch local actors bring to life a tradition that has entertained families for centuries. It’s fantastic to watch local people of all ages gain in confidence year on year whilst engaging in theatre - it’s the ultimate teamwork and it’s also fun.

A Festival is Born

In 2019, accomplished playwright, actor, theatre director and Chair of Duns Players, John McEwen realised that there was potential to do more than enticing people onto the stage in the Volunteer Hall, and DunsPlayFest was born to give Borders writers the opportunity to write their own plays and see them performed live before an audience. Back then, Playfest was a relatively modest affair involving local writers and performers, but as word spread, so did the area from which submissions were arriving. Writing a play is more often than not a lonely and solitary act of faith, with no guarantees that your work will ever find an audience. It has never been easy, but opportunities to have new work staged seem to be diminishing as fast as arts budgets - theatre companies, venues and broadcasters are less and less likely to commission work if they feel the potential for financial return is uncertain. Whilst understandable, the danger with this scenario is that the theatre becomes a platform for already-successful writers, for tried-and-tested formulae, and for writers from cities with multiple venues, companies and opportunities for budding playwrights to approach. For many people, live theatre is seen as a uniquely urban, privileged middle-class occupation - DunsPlayFest challenges that.

Your Theatre Festival Needs You

 As the Festival grew, multiple opportunities for local people to engage with all aspects of theatre whilst adding substantially to their skillset soon became apparent. (A special mention should goes to the team from Berwickshire High School who built our lovely box office!) Thanks to generous funding, we are now able to offer paid internships to people of all ages and backgrounds in all areas of theatre production. We offer paid employment for local theatre technicians, who in turn mentor others aspiring to a career in theatre lighting, stage management or as sound engineers. DunsPlayFest now attracts young people from all over the UK interested in a career in theatre, whilst locals no longer have to leave in order to get vital work experience on their CVs and university applications. Aside from theatre skills, paid opportunities to learn about event management and marketing are also available to interns. We also offer education in the form of writing workshops free of charge for aspiring scriptwriters of all ages and backgrounds. We provide work for both in-house and mobile catering companies for the duration of the Festival.

However, it’s no exaggeration to say that without our extraordinary band of volunteers, this Festival simply wouldn’t exist. We are deeply privileged and grateful to our fabulous crew of Duns volunteers who seem to be able to turn their hands to absolutely anything and everything: set building and design, sewing massive panels for the cabaret bar, running the box office and front of house, serving behind the bar and generally taking ownership of the Festival. It’s theirs, after all…..

The Play’s the Thing or Getting it out There

Once you’ve written your play and had it approved for performance, our community-theatre performers, crew and professional technicians will always be at the forefront of getting those freshly-written shows onto the stage. In turn, DunsPlayFest gives both writers and theatre-makers alike the opportunity to observe and learn from the wealth of professional theatre companies, artists and writers from the Borders and beyond who now grace our main stage every year. We also have a special mission to showcase the innovative work of new graduates of theatre degree courses in Scotland, which is reliably of the highest quality and never fails to challenge and delight our audiences.

Have Show will Travel

Transport in this part of the Borders is a constant frustration; trains are non-existent and the few available buses don’t connect with many of the outlying villages, making it difficult for those unable to drive to come to the theatre. Thanks to our generous sponsors and funders, we’ve been able to take some of our shows out of the Volunteer Hall to remote village halls and have also expanded into residential care homes to allow those with mobility issues to experience a taste of the Festival. DunsPlayFest now operates across 4 venues in the town, plus family days for children of all ages in the beautiful settings of Duns Castle and park.

With a Little Help from Our Friends

Duns is exceedingly proud of its Festival, and takes much pride in being able to produce much of the manpower and creativity needed to realise it from amongst the ranks of talented local volunteers. It is hoped that DunsPlayFest repays their efforts both for the community and for the wider area -  the sense of achievement, opportunity and possibility in coming together to produce such a wonderful inclusive event is immense. However, without our generous funders, an event of this size would simply be impossible. We need funds to pay our fabulous Producer, Sara Best, without whose vision we’d be much the poorer in so many ways. We need to be able to pay our expert (and very tolerant) technicians, interns, photographers, actors, writers, travelling minstrels and itinerant theatre companies, film-makers, workshop providers, caterers, venue providers, printers and so much more. You enable us to keep ticket prices at a level accessible to all, which is always important, but more vital than ever in these straitened times. We will be eternally grateful to all of you for putting your faith in us.

Finally, to you, the audience - your support is immeasurable and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts for continuing to find your way to the theatre. You’re part of an amazing communication between you, the writers and the performers. Every ticket you buy literally helps make someone’s dream come true.