Millions of people around the world ushered in the arrival of 2017 by linking arms and singing Auld Lang Syne.
But the Robert Burns poem holds a special significance for members of a Moray stage school, who are casting their thoughts forward to a bright future.
Lossie Entertainment Academy yesterday revealed that its musical about Scotland’s Bard could be playing before audiences in America within months.
Robert Burns The Musical has already received glowing reviews, following a number of performances in Scotland.
And management confirmed plans “were under way” for a run of performances in New York during the early part of 2017.
Producer, Diane Aspinall, explained that the version the group hopes to take to New York will be slightly reworked to make it more appealing to US crowds.
She added: “This is the break we have been waiting for. It takes years for shows like this to develop, and we have been proud of every version so far.
“The version we have prepared for New York will focus more on how Robert Burns’ writing impacted his family and his lovers.”
The show’s creator, Tish Tindall, divulged that a TV documentary crew – Avant Garde films – had been in touch and was eager to capture the group’s artistic journey from Moray to New York.
She said: “We are all over the moon at the prospect of a documentary that will trace the history of this fabulous piece.”
Ms Tindall has dedicated the past few years of her life to bringing Burns’ poetry to new audiences through the musical, which imagines how the Ploughman Poet would fare in modern times.
The new version of the show features an ensemble cast of 10 performers from the Lossiemouth stage school.
Last night, Moray MSP Richard Lochhead commended Lossie Entertainment Academy on its global ambitions.
He said: “The team is putting Moray on the map, and making a mark in Scotland and beyond.
“The academy has the potential to go from strength to strength and establish itself as a premium training ground for young performers.”
