Working Title
Visible Fictions' Working Title is a project which awards artists/creatives the space, time and money to be bold, innovative and to stretch their artistic ambitions. Our aim is to allow the selected individuals time to dream, to talk, to experiment and to develop a new story/idea suitable for young audiences.
Visible Fictions’ Working Title was first launched in 2021. This project was designed to award artists/creatives the space, time and money to be bold, innovative and to stretch their artistic ambitions. The aim was to allow the selected individuals time to dream, to talk, to experiment and to develop a new story/idea suitable for young audiences. We were fortunate to receive a huge number of thrilling applications for the project. The first cohort of artists selected were Ross McKay, Xana Marwick, David Wood, Fergus Dunnet, Nikki Kalkman, Daniel Padden, and Priyanka Jha.
Throughout their development periods under the Working Title project these artists explored their early stage ideas with support from the whole Visible Fictions team, drawing on the various expertise of the core team depending on the specific needs of each project. Visible Fictions then helped these artists to identify further opportunities or partners for their idea, as well as selecting some projects for further development with Visible Fictions.
Since then Visible Fictions have continued to support more artists under the Working Title project, by offering space, support, and resources, calling for artists once more reach out to us to seek support for their ideas.
Most recently, we opened a new callout for Working Title and were thrilled by the response. The sheer number of applications, and the ambition, imagination, and bold ideas within them, was truly inspiring. From this exciting pool, six exciting projects by the following artists were selected for support: Michelle Hopewell, Niloo-Far Khan, Rachel Keiller and Fiona MacKinnon, Beth Morton, James Peake and Liam Rees.
We have previously had the pleasure of working with Jason Brown, Katie Barnett and James Siggens (Aye Tunes), Roberto Cassani, Cameron Hall, Nikki Kalkman & the Audio Story Company, Daniel Livingston, Andy McGregor, Jonathan O’Neill & Isaac Savage and Colin Ross Waterson.
Working Title Projects 25/26
Michelle Hopewell
Sade’s Big Feelings
Sade’s Big Feelings will be a 15-minute audio drama for primary school children. Through the eyes of a young girl (Sade) visiting her mother in detention, this piece will explore the complex experience of a having a parent in detention. I'll use this development time to research with schools and organisations supporting refugees and aslyum seekrs, and explore how to make the story emotionally accessible to young listeners.
Niloo-Far Khan
Adapting Conference of the Birds
An ambitious adaptation of a myth with puppeteers, dancers and musicians! Adapting Conference of the Birds is a new idea for a multidisciplinary performance inspired by the 12th-century Sufi poem by Farid ud-Din Attar. Combining musicians, dancers and puppeteers it reimagines an ancient tale of unity, transformation, and collective strength for contemporary audiences.
Rachel Keiller and Fiona MacKinnon
Another Place
'Another Place is an immersive performance where a Scottish school splits open to reveal the invisible rules of patriarchy. Audiences journey through interactive rooms filled with surreal slippages before arriving in a utopia imagined by teenagers — a space that demands change and dares us to build something better.'
Beth Morton
Lazy Susan
I’ll be exploring the capabilities of XR technologies and use of second screens in live performance, and how they interact to create an immersive theatre experience with big narrative impact. This research will then feed into early creative development of a choose your own adventure show based on the novella Lazy Susan by Alan Bissett.
James Peake
Bumblebee Butt Dance
This project follows the story of Wee Bea. She gets lost in the park and meets Amanda Buttneedle, a gigantic dancing bee. It's about creatures great and small, from all walks of life - who on the surface may appear very different from each other - discovering that they have much more in common than they think. Join us for a party in the park, and, if in doubt, BE LIKE A BEE AND SHAKE YOUR BUTT 🐝🐝🐝
Liam Rees
Tank Life
Liam is collaborating with Flemish theatremaker, Ans Van Gasse, to develop a new show called Tank Life about an octopus whose attempt to escape its tank are interrupted by a curious chid trying to speak octopus. Who knows what form that will take onstage? But that's what Working Title is for!
Previous Working Title Projects
Fergus Dunnet
Hercules
"Working Title provided a practical opportunity to learn about story, narrative and character. Supported by Visible Fictions to collaborate with other artists and explore the story we wanted to tell. The dedicated time, support and focus made for a rich and exciting period of learning. Since Working Title, the project has received development funding from Creative Scotland, and the Touring Fund for Autumn 2025."
Jason Brown
The Flip Side
Art Director Jason Brown and Visible Fictions have been working together to pitch for funding and support to develop an exciting new production featuring Augmented Reality as a key story telling tool - the immersive production will blend 3D animation, illustration and sound design. Whilst very much in its embryonic stage, Jason continues to trial AR storytelling techniques, and we are excited by the potential this idea holds, as we continue to explore avenues to bring this work to fruition.
Roberto Cassani
Timeless
“I am working with Visible Fiction’s to develop a music-filled play around a most amazing family story. The story is very moving and totally bonkers in equal measure, and I could think of nobody better than Dougie, Visible Fictions and actor/director Ros Sydney to work on its development. I am so glad to be working with this dream team. My strengths lie in playing double bass and performing improvised music, so the VF team is helping me step into a new, wonderful world…and I’m loving it! I hope that funding will allow us to continue this work and produce something magical, educational and very funny for young (and young-minded) audiences all over”.
David Wood
Blanked
'Blanked' is a site-specific play about the mounting pressure young people face to be perfect, re-imagining the exam hall as a bespoke escape room. Working Title gave me the opportunity to bring in a designer and performer, making exploring such a 'stuff-heavy' world possible and giving us the rehearsal space to experiment with the various iterations of the show. Feedback from the VF team was invaluable in solidifying our next steps, and Working Title helped us form working partnerships that carried on into future projects.
Nikki Kalkman
Gust
"Inspired by Nikki's own personal history, Gust will explore the themes of identity, travel and changing gender roles, and use the music of the 40’s, 70’s and 00’s to explore the stories of three brave women. In 2025, Nikki will begin the next stage of Gust development. Based on the amazing opportunity Working Title has been able to provide, Nikki has recently applied to the Creative Scotland Open Fund for further script writing time and three weeks of intensive development with director Beth Morton and a cast of six performers."
Xana Marwick
Pigeon Girl
"Working Title was an incredible opportunity that came at exactly the time I needed it. The support from Visible Fictions allowed me to develop an idea that has been living in my head for a very long time - an idea about a girl who's brother goes missing, and only she seems to care. Working through iterations of this idea, with the freedom to explore, and the support to think beyond what might be my usual practical limitations, has been, and still is, an inspiring and galvanising process. I am so grateful for the Working Title project and this opportunity to let Pigeon Girl spread her wings."
Andy McGregor
Luna
"Working Title was an excellent opportunity for me to develop an idea I had for a story called Luna. It allowed me to deepen my collaborative process with the writer Isla Cowan and gave us the time and space to explore the possibilities of the story. With Visible Fictions looking at all sorts of interesting ways to tell stories outwith theatre, we had some really exciting ideas that stimulated us and helped bring the story forward."
Ross McKay
Daddy’s Bad Bed Day
"Me, My Dad and The Monster is an animated short film script developed as part of Working Title. I wanted to create an artistic resource that could help explain parental mental health difficulties to children. I worked with Dougie and the Visible Fictions team to hone the story, and we are now working together towards production. Being part of Working Title came at a crucial point in my career as I pivoted into writing. Since Working Title, I have continued writing screenplays and I am writing episodes for two new animated series to be screened on CBBC and Cbeebies."
O’Neill & Savage
Trading Card Musical
“Being part of Visible Fictions Working Title was invaluable for developing our early idea for a musical about trading cards, into an interactive experience designed to share within schools. Dougie and Laura’s expertise in crafting experiences for young people, helped us to explore the mechanics of the show, evolving it into a piece that not only involved students within the live performance, but incorporated their ideas and trading card creations into the story. We are still developing the project and have brought the lessons learnt from this opportunity into our other shows for younger audiences.”
