Comedy play about Stewarton coming to Kilmarnock's Palace Theatre

Apr 24 2009 by Lizzie Struthers, Kilmarnock Standard

PLAYWRIGHT Daniel Jackson is becoming famous for putting the spotlight on his home town.

The 29-year-old has penned his second comedy play about Stewarton – which is to go on tour across Scotland.

The Ducky is a story centred on four young adults and set at a popular bathing spot for children in the town’s River Annick.

The play will have its premier at the Palace Theatre, Kilmarnock, on Friday, May 1 and Saturday, May 2.

During rehearsals, Daniel took the cast and directors to see the spot where he had played as a youngster.

The former Stewarton Academy pupil said: “It didn’t look like how I remembered it from when I was 12. Instead of a tropical lagoon, it was a muddy river.”

He added: “I prefer to have my plays set in real places. I do always seem to gravitate back to Stewarton.”

Daniel, who now lives in Glasgow, says he often returns home to visit his family, watch Killie play football at Rugby Park and to read the Kilmarnock Standard.

He is excited to have his play debut at the Palace where he attended youth theatre as a boy.

The Ducky is a follow-up to Daniel’s award-winning play The Wall which centred around four teenagers on their school summer holidays in Stewarton. The characters, who are now at university, come back to Stewarton to muse on love, loss and getting older.

“It is a bitter sweet comedy,” said Daniel, whose pen name is DC Jackson.

Daniel, who became a full time playwright after the success of The Wall, said: “Before, I was working as a press officer for a theatre company and had seen a lot of plays. I thought to myself I probably could have a go at writing plays.”

He entered The Wall into a competition and won. It has been so successful it is now being taught to pupils at secondary schools.

“I’ve been very lucky,” said Daniel.”I’ve no pattern to my writing. It mostly gets done when the deadline is due.”

He has spent the past year in London writing for The Royal Court Theatre.

Daniel is busy currently penning plays for BBC Radio Scotland, Radio Four and the National Theatre of Scotland.

He is also writing a television sitcom with the Comedy Unit, the company which makes shows like Rab C Nesbitt.