Shirley Henderson is an extremely successful award-winning Scottish actress who grew up in Kincardine and attended Dunfermline High School. Her vast career has found her play a range of roles in films including Trainspotting, Star Wars and in various Harry Potter and Bridget Jones films. In recent years she appeared in a series of TV dramas including the hit BBC drama Happy Valley. Shirley has been successful on stage too, winning an Olivier Award (2018) for Best Actress in a Musical, Girl from the North Country.
“I left school when I was sixteen and went to Kirkcaldy Technical College in 1982 to 1983. We called it Kirkcaldy Tech. I auditioned for their one-year foundation drama course and was lucky to get accepted.
I loved every minute of it.
Lynn Baines and Andy Mackie, our drama teachers were brilliant. They taught us all about hard work and the long hours and practice you need to learn lines and develop and put on a show. The courage to make a fool of yourself sometimes when performing, the determination to keep trying.
We played games to open our minds to improvisation and to make us free to relax in front of each other and enjoy bringing a piece of drama to life. We did street theatre, developed a play for the fringe, worked on Arthur Miller classics and much more.
All of this was new to me but it helped me when I went on to drama school once the year was up.
It instilled a sense of play and a drive to keep trying when things get hard which they always do in the world of performance.
When I was leaving school there was little information about what was out there in the world and where to study and learn and my high school careers teachers knew of the college in Kirkcaldy and I am so glad she told me about it.
I was a very young sixteen-year-old and it gave me a grounding and a hint of what was out there to go and find. I couldn’t wait.
For young people today interested in going into theatre, film and tv, there is more information available and lots of opportunities but to have a year or two in a college like Fife College doing a foundation drama course can help you on your way and give you an insight into what lies ahead and it prepares you for the long , hard rehearsal days and the travelling and the budgeting and everything that goes with starting on your journey. One day at a time.
Remember it’s just the beginning. A way in to the business. Jump in there and see what happens.”
