Poignant performances this month in Dunblane of Archie’s Issues following author’s death

02 March 2023

Forth Valley Creative Veterans – a theatre group of veterans and emergency services personnel with a common love of the arts – in conjunction with senior pupils from Queen Victoria School, Dunblane, will stage Archie’s Issues, a play spanning some 50 years of military experiences from locations as diverse as St Valery, Northern France in 1940 to 1990s’ Grangemouth.

Sponsored by the Forth Valley Branch of SSAFA, the Armed Forces charity, Archie’s Issues will play from Wednesday, March 15 to Saturday, March 19 at Queen Victoria School, Dunblane.

The play has been adapted by Sean McGinlay from an original story by David Gray, another of the Creative Veterans and late of the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders.

A well-known artist, writer, and business entrepreneur, David was the driving force behind the memorial to his regiment on the summit of Dumyat in the Ochil Hills north of the Forth Valley.

David, however, died on November 11, 2022 though he lived to see the first production of his play. He said the Creative Veterans had “… made an old man very happy”.

From its first performance last year, Archie’s Issues has received plaudits for its truth, compassion, and gritty humour.

One audience member commented: “What a triumph. I haven’t felt so moved by a play for a long time.”

To book tickets, contact Mary Kenyon at maryelizkenyon@gmail.com or on 01786 870360. A minimum donation of £5 per person is requested with proceeds going to Forth Valley Creative Veterans.