Ayrshire: Dalry 'witch' Bessie Dunlop story is now an audio book

Over the past year, a team of local folk have been hard at work recording a play about Bessie, which dramatises a grim period in Scottish history almost 450 years ago.

The recording was made in Irvine's Harbour Arts Centre and is now available as an audio book on Amazon.

"One of the earliest and most extraordinary cases on record" is how a 19th century historian described the fascinating case of Bessie, a healer who was burnt as a witch on Edinburgh’s Castle Hill in November 1576.

Her story had been long forgotten in the Garnock Valley until local author, John Hodgart, and the late Martin Clarke, wrote a play about her, which was performed in Garnock Academy, Kilbirnie in 1977.

The recording session at the HAC (Image: Julie Wales)

That memorable production was 46 years ago, but in the autumn of last year, as a contribution to Scotland’s Year of Stories, a group of amateur dramatic enthusiasts from the Garnock Valley and beyond, began working on an audio book (radio play) of John’s revised version of ‘Bessie Dunlop the Witch o' Dalry’, produced by Barry Robertson’s Grey Hill Productions of Ardrossan and directed by Mark Thomson of Beith Theatre Group.  

The revised version of the play is now available as an e-book or a text from the Association for Scottish Literature (with funding from the Scottish Government).

This recording project was only made possible thanks to the enthusiasm and enterprise of Julie Wales and the Dalry Bypass Art Group in obtaining funding from Garnock Connections.

The Bypass Art ladies have also obtained funding for many heritage projects in Dalry, including the filming of the poem ‘The Hilltap Toon’ by John Hodgart which involved about 150 Dalry folk of all ages.

Julie said: "I have lots of good memories from the production and it's been a pleasure to have worked with such a talented and friendly group of people.

"So glad I took part in the audio - was buzzing after the recording. What an experience."

Although four professional actors were employed in the recording, over 30 local folk gave up their time to learn the songs, enjoy the Scots language of the play and try out many challenging roles in a cast list of over 50 characters.

The groups involved included Beith Theatre Group, Dunlop Players, Dalry Bypass Art Group, Dalry Burns Club and Barrmill Jolly Beggars (i.e. Donald Reid) and the Cunninghame Choir.

Many of the cast are former pupils of Garnock Academy, including the director, Mark Thomson and his wife Jen, as well as Donna Morrison, who teaches English in Garnock.

Another English and drama teacher, Kirsty Strachan, not only played a part but also persuaded her daughters Oriana and Rosie to play the roles of Bessie’s children and sing a beautiful song in the play.

Other songs are performed by the cast, James Dippie, Alister Sim and Stevie Richmond of Dalry Burns’ Club, as well as Eilidh (Hodgart) Hill, John’s daughter, and Lorna Manson.

While the timescale was extremely tight, with only about five weeks available for rehearsals before the actual recording, everyone gave very generously of their time and talent to create a community arts project that brings Bessie’s tragic tale to life and shows its relevance to our modern world. 

Rehearsals were mainly held in Beith Parish Church Hall, plus a few local hostelries and although it is a tragic tale, it has to be said that the practices were not only a great learning experience for all involved but also very enjoyable sessions with a great deal of fun and hilarity along the way, especially the ones in the pubs

A future development might well be a new dramatic production of the play.

“I think we could make it happen on stage,” said Mark. “The enthusiasm for the project was infectious.

"I am privileged to have been asked to direct a play that I studied at school, written by my English teacher, with such amazing talented people from across the Garnock Valley and wider Ayrshire area. I know that we have delivered a great production for all and hope that you enjoy listening to it as much as we enjoyed producing it”

The main recording was done at Irvine’s Harbour Arts Centre last autumn, but the audio book has taken longer to complete than expected with all the necessary sound effects added, songs inserted and mistakes corrected, thanks to the technical wizardry of the project’s sound engineer, Stevie Bull of Stevenston.

It could also not have been completed without the support of Barry Robertson of Grey Hill Productions who has long wanted to put on a performance of the play.

But finally the audio book has been released on Amazon and is now available for listening to or downloading.

Local launch events of both the audio book and the revised version of the play will be held in the Garnock Valley over the next couple of months, firstly in Dalry Library this Saturday, July 1.

It will be in Beith Library on Saturday, August 5, at 10.30am, while further events are planned for the Autumn at Kilbirnie Library and possibly Seahorse Bookstore, Ardrossan.

John Hodgart said: "This was one of the most enjoyable creative experiences I have ever been involved in and it would simply not have been possible without the enthusiastic involvement and commitment of so many talented local folk and friends."

He is especially appreciative of the support of his many former pupils who took part along with his colleagues from Dalry Burns Club, Alister Sim, Steve Richmond, Willie Wallace and Alex Finlay.

And he added that it certainly wouldn’t have been possible in the short time available without "the patience, good humour and positive direction of Mark Thomson and the enthusiastic support of all the local groups involved - a brilliant community project and a great team-effort altogether".