Alison’s portfolio spans several years. She has worked extensively with companies and choreographers including Barrowland Ballet, Catherine Wheels, Charlotte Mclean, Farah Saleh, Grid Iron, Kirsten Newell, Lung Ha’s, The Lyceum, Malcolm Sutherland, The Macrobert, Rob Heaslip, Scottish Dance Theatre, Starcatchers, Suzi Cunningham, and Mufutau Yusuf.
Futuristic Folktales
2024
Futuristic Folktales, a dance for hope, reimagines the story of creation. Through storytelling, acts of birth and un-birth, Scottish Highland and contemporary dance, we attempt to tell the unknown tale of the first ever womb - the place we have all come from. This experimental dance theatre show questions the preservation of tradition, myth and identity whilst scrutinising body politics and reproductive injustices, set alongside an evocative soundscape of experimental bagpipes composed by Malin Lewis.
Concept & Director Charlotte Mclean
Creative Producer Helen McIntosh
Lighting Designer & Production Manager Emma Jones
Writer Nelly Kelly
Composer Malin Lewis
Costume Designer Alison Brown
Dramaturg Rob Evans
Performers Astro Scheidegger, Seke Chimutengwende, Orrow Bell
Technical Manager Lynn Wiseman
Photography Brian Hartley and Amy Sinead Photography
Strawboys
2021
Strawboys is a vibrant and energetic outdoor pop-up performance, blurring the lines between traditional and contemporary dance and music.
Featuring luminous straw dancers whirling to Balkan inspired beats, the work is a unique spin on the cultural tradition of ‘The Strawboys’, also known as Mummers, Guisers, Burdie Boys and Skekklers; identified by their ornate straw costumes while out rambling streets, fields, towns and parks, parading their merriment to the joy of onlookers.
Choreography & Direction Rob Heaslip
Costume Designer Alison Brown
Composers Zoe Katsilerou, Eilon Morris
Performers Amy Robertson, Jorja Follina, Molly Scott Santer, Malcolm Sutherland, Tess Letham, Joanne Pirrie, Salma Ataya, Sophie Hutchinson, Favour Odusola, Anita Durtová
Rehearsal Directors Jen Wren, Kristin Fontanella
Wardrobe Team Hilary Haman, Cleo McCabe, Zoë Beth Murdoch, Caragh Vetch Philip, Ruth Main, Catherine Rose Elliot, Lise Bech
Textile Designer Lorna Brown
Producer Helen McIntosh
Photography Amy Sinead Photography and Ruari Barber-Fleming
The Last Forecast
2023
The Last Forecast by Bridie Gane and Catherine Wheels Theatre Company, is a visually striking, witty and thought-provoking dance work for younger audiences.
Somewhere, on an island, Gael, a gecko-like creature lives alone, in harmony with the surroundings. Everything matches, everything is perfect.
Unfortunately, Gael is not alone for long. A stranger arrives, laden with earthly belongings and starts setting up home, disturbing this island sanctuary. However, the forecast is for rising water levels and soon there won’t be space for either of them…
Creator/Choreographer Bridie Gane
Dramaturg Ros Sydney
Set Designer Alisa Kalyanova
Lighting Designer Emma Jones
Costume Designer Alison Brown
Sound Designer Calum Paterson
Sound composition Caitlin Mulgrew
Performers James Southward, Bea Bidault, Kieran Brown, Shanelle Clemenson
Looping:
Scotland Overdub
2018
Looping is a dance, party and political experience where everyone is welcome.
Led by Scottish Dance Theatre’s full company of dancers and embracing the collective spirit of ceilidh dancing and Brazilian street festival vibes, Looping is an immersive performance-party with a distinctively Scottish edge. Celebrating individual freedom and the collective right of revolution through text produced in collaboration with acclaimed writer Kieran Hurley, and set to a fresh electronic dance score performed live by Torben Lars Sylvest.
Choreographers Felipe De Assis, Leonardo França, Rita Aquino
Lighting Designer Emma Jones
Costume Designer Alison Brown
Wardrobe Supervisor Cate Mackie
Textile Design Timorous Beasties
Music DJ Twitch, Torben Lars Sylvest
Text Kieran Hurley
Dancers Kieran Brown, Harry Clark, Alison Jaques, Luigi Sardine, Adrienne O’Leary, Jessie Roberts-Smith, Oscar Péréz Romero, James Southward, Pauline Torzuoli, Reece Carver, Molly dancer, Georgia Pirozzi
Masked
2021
The use of masks in rituals and socially significant ceremonies is an ancient practice across the world and significant to many cultures. Masks in various forms (sacred, practical, or playful) have played a crucial historical role in the development of what it means to be human, because they permit the imaginative experience of what it is like to be transformed into a different identity, or to affirm an existing social or spiritual identity.
Masked was a self led project funded by Creative Scotland during the coronavirus pandemic, a period when masks as PPE were mandatory. The creative aim was to pay homage to the mask as an object of cultural significance, social commentary and camouflage.
Costume Designer & Maker Alison Brown
Performers Suzi Cunningham, Niamh O’Loughlin
Lighting Designer Emma Jones
Photographer Brian Hartley
Solitude Without Loneliness
2025
In this evocative performance choreographed by Malcolm Sutherland, bodies and characters collapse, separate and reform in a constant search for meaning, attachment and understanding. Voices extend from these bodies as they navigate busy streets, seeking comfort in their unique landscapes. This exhausting yet familiar quest for connection unfolds through moments of humour, intimacy and longing. From karaoke bars to restaurants, this contemporary dance work combines text, movement and situational absurdity. Solitude without Loneliness invites empathy through the cyclical endurance of the performers, reminding us of the universal desire for union with one another and with ourselves.
Creator & Choreographer Malcolm Sutherland
Costume Designer Alison Brown
Lighting Designer & Production Manager Simon Gane
Composer Hörour Már Bjarnason
Dancers Jorja Follina, Alex Henderson, Jessie Roberts-Smith
Dramaturgical Support Luke Pell
Wardrobe Assistant Tatjana Stevenson-Oake
Producer Róisín O’Brien
Photographer Brian Hartley
TutuMucky
2017
Powerful and complex, TuTuMucky by Scottish Dance Theatre, explores how we’re shaped by the world around us, searches for peace in chaos, and celebrates revolt against the regimens of modern daily life. Blurring the boundaries between ballet, contemporary, and hip-hop technique, this work challenges traditional convention to offer a distinctively innovative form of dance.
Choreographer Botis Seva
Creative Associate Victoria Shulungu
Composer Torben Lars Sylvest
Costume Designer Alison Brown
Lighting Designer Emma Jones
Rehearsal Director Naomi Murray
Rehearsal Assistant Victoria Shulungu
Dancers Kieran Brown, Harry Clark, Francesco Ferrari, Amy Hollinshead, Anne-Charlotte Hubert, Alison Jaques, Oscar Pérez Romero, Jessie Roberts-Smith, James Southward, Astrid Sweeney
Photographer Brian Hartley
Peekaboo Poncho
Available to book
Inspired by the game of peekaboo, hide and seek and various beloved childhood toys, Peekaboo Poncho was designed and made by Alison Brown during lockdown, with support from Catherine Wheels Theatre Company. A feast for the eyes, the Poncho incorporates sound, movement and the development of colour. Beginning only in black and white because strong black and white pattern helps focus babies’ attention, the Poncho is brought to life and colour by Dancer/Choreographer Suzi Cunningham and culminates in an explosion of joyful dance.
Peekaboo Poncho is available for pop up performances by contacting Scottish Theatre Producers.
Creator & Designer Alison Brown
Choreographer & Performer Suzi Cunningham
Performer & Stage Manager Alma Lindenhovious
Director Gill Robertson
Composer Coll Reekie
Photographers Eoin Carey, Ruth Armstrong
Mama
2022
MaMa is a motherhood-inspired South Asian dance production exploring themes of pregnancy and early motherhood. The production reflects on the joys and the fears, the exhilaration and exhaustion of becoming a new Mum. Bringing together gorgeous videography, an irresistible blend of Celtic and Carnatic music and two dancers performing with sympathy, sensitivity and skill, MaMa does not shy away from some of the darkest feelings that can overcome new parents, but neither does it indulge them. Instead, it observes them and lets them be. It is a compassionate, supportive and inclusive piece. New parents, overwhelmed whether by joy or anxiety, can feel the need for their own mothering. This production is about mothers, but it is also a mothering caress.
Artistic direction & Choreography Kirsten Newell and Oxana Banshikova
Costume Designer Alison Brown
Photography Brian Hartley
The Lover
2018
The Lover is an exotic tale of remembered passion written by Marguerite Duras and adapted for stage by Fleur Darkin and Jemima Levick.
In 1984 French novelist Marguerite Duras wrote the story of her own youth in Vietnam, a personal truth told in passionate, vivid fragments. These incandescent glimpses of remembrance became one of the most acclaimed and widely read books of modern French literature.
The Lover was co-produced by:Stellar Quines, The Royal Lyceum Theatre and Scottish Dance Theatre.
Adaptors & Directors Jemima Levick & Fleur Darkin
Dramaturgy David Greig
Cast Susan Vidler, Amy Hollinshead, Yosuke Kusano, Francesco Ferrari, Kieran Brown
Set Designer Leila Kalbassi
Costume Designer Alison Brown
Lighting Designer Emma Jone
Sound Designer Torben Lars Sylvester
Float
2025
Designed especially for babies up to 12 months old, Float, by Kerry Cleland and Starcatchers invites the audience to relax with their baby and enjoy a gently interactive performance, with music, dance, visual projections and sensory objects, in a beautiful, calm space inspired by the healing properties of water. Audience members and their babies are free to explore this safe tactile world and engage with the performers or unwind and de-stress in Float’s tranquil space.
Concept & Director Kerry Cleland
Producer Starcatchers
Performers Maddie Broad, Kerry Cleland, Hayley Earlam, Shiori Usui
Set & Costume Designer Alison Brown
Maker Caragh Veitch Philip
Sound Designer Kim Moore
Lighting Designer Emma Jones
Production Management SNC Productions
Stage Manager Lucy May Wilson
Technical Stage Manager Lynn Wiseman
Pop!
2019
Originally an Imaginate commission for the Edinburgh International Children’s Festival, Pop! by Vince Virr, is a high energy dance duet inspired by the surprising and unknown changes that occur in adolescence. Exploring how two males navigate this new territory individually and together, journeying through the awkward to culminating in a celebratory togetherness.
Choreographer Vince Virr
Devisors & Performers Vince Virr & KJ Clarke-Davies
Costume designer Alison Brown
Music Rival Consoles, Brandt Brauer Frick
Photographer Ruth Armstrong
Little Red
2015
Little Red sets off from home, destined for her Granny’s house, trying to be the girl she’s expected to be. But as the woods get darker and the path more strange an overwhelming urge arises; to step off the path, go into the forest and find out what’s really out there.
Little Red is a fun and thrilling show for children aged 7 and up, presented by Barrowland Ballet. It is a story about growing up. Reaching the point where we have to make our own decisions. Which path to take? How far to go into the woods.
Choreographer/Director Natasha Gilmore
Dramaturg/Director Robert Alan Evans
Text Robert Alan Evans
Performers Jade Adamson, Kai-Wen Chuang, Vince Virr
Set & Lighting Designer Fred Pommerehn
Costume Designer Alison Brown
Composer/Sound Design Kim Moore
Producer Belinda McElhinney
Endling
2019
An endling is an individual that is the last of its species. Once the endling dies, the species becomes extinct. With Endling, Rob Heaslip reimagines mourning rituals through dance, vocals, music and design. Popular and folk culture collide in a world where death is tinged with acid pink, green and purple.
Concept & Choreography Rob Heaslip
Composer Michael John McCarthy
Performers Michelle O'Rourke, Robbie Blake, Gillebrìde MacMillan,
Marion Cronin, Evan Schwarz, Tamsyn Russell, Joanne Pirrie
Dramaturgy Brigid McCarthy
Set and Costume Designer Alison Brown
Lighting Designer Rob Moloney
Producer Helen McIntosh
Photographer Brian Hartley