2017 Fellow: Morna Young hosted by Creative Learning, Aberdeen City Council
Playwright, actress and musician Morna Young was appointed to the 2017 Dr Gavin Wallace Fellowship, hosted by Creative Learning, Aberdeen City Council.
The theme of the 2017 Gavin Wallace Fellowship was, ‘The Folk, Language and Landscape of the Northeast’, and during her fellowship, Young produced a full-length play exploring under-represented female voices in the Northeast of Scotland by conducting grassroots interviews and research in the area. She also engaged with Creative Learning’s wider work, including supporting emerging writers through The Writers’ Room.
The Fellowship marked the next step in Young’s career, following on from successful Scotland-wide tours of her plays Neverland and Netting. Following her time as Gavin Wallace Fellow, Young won the ‘Tomorrow at Noon’ 2018 award for female playwrights (Jermyn Street Theatre). In 2018, she was selected for the New Zealand Playwright Exchange. Since then, she has written and staged a number of plays, and is working on her first novel.
On receiving the Fellowship, Morna said: “I am truly delighted to have been appointed as the 2017 Dr Gavin Wallace Fellow. It is a privilege and one that I still can’t quite believe. This Fellowship marks a new chapter for my writing and I am honoured to be working alongside Creative Learning: a vibrant team with shared interests and ambitions for the Northeast.’
Regarding Morna’s appointment, Kate Latham, Artistic Pathways Manager at Creative Learning said: ‘While we had a lot of very strong candidates at the interview stage, Morna shone through as a writer who shares the values and aims we have at Creative Learning in terms of engaging with, and giving voice to, under-represented communities through creativity and culture.’
