Arts diary: Richard Gadd's battle with a mic stand and the ballerina who wanted to become a vicar
Half Man was screened in Glasgow on Monday
On Monday, I was at the Glasgow screening of the first two episodes of hotly anticipated BBC series Half Man - Richard Gadd's first work after the legendary - and uncomfortable - Baby Reindeer, which won six Emmy awards, propelled Gadd into the public spotlight and sparked a $170 million legal case in the US.
Speaking at a Q&A after the screening, Gadd said he "owed everything" to the Edinburgh Festival, where a stage incarnation of Baby Reindeer attracted the attention of TV executives.
He also hinted he might consider an Edinburgh comeback at some point, saying he wanted to "return to the stage".
However, as he battled with an unruly piece of tech equipment to speak to the audience, Gadd was briefly transported back to his early days as a struggling comedian, playing the Free Fringe to meagre audiences.
"Every time I see a mic stand, I think of my stand up comedy days and it's not a good memory, I'll tell you that," he said.
New job for the ballerina who wanted to become a vicar
Former Scottish Ballet principal Bethany Kingsley-Garner has been appointed as artistic director of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland’s Young Ballet Company.
The company, which sits within the RCS Junior Conservatoire and meets weekly to develop repertoire and performance skills while creating work for performances throughout the year.
During her 17 years with the national company, Ms Kingsley-Garner performed in ballets including Romeo and Juliet, The Scandal at Mayerling, Emergence, The Snow Queen, A Streetcar Named Desire and The Crucible - as well as taking on the iconic part of Odette-Odile in Swan Lake.
The new job, however, does not take Ms Kingsley-Garner into the childhood role of her dreams.
In an interview published on Scottish Ballet's website, the dancer admitted that as a child - and right up until the age of 18 - she had had other ambitions for herself: to become a vicar.
"I was keeping my studies going and my connection with the church," she said of her childhood ambition.
"It’s still there with me and I find strength from it every day.”
Ms Kingsley-Garner, who is a regular guest teacher at RCS’s School of Dance, will take up her new role in September.
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