Lucy is an award-winning performer, theatre-maker, and drama lecturer from Inverurie, Aberdeenshire.    

Lucy is a native Doric speaker (the traditional dialect of the Scots Language spoken in the North East of Scotland). Lucy seeks to make and perform work in Doric as a means of continuing to render the dialect present. 

Her show Ma Name Is Isabelle won an Edinburgh Fringe Theatre Award and received a 5-star review from Binge Fringe Magazine, alongside four-star reviews in The Edinburgh Reporter and The List. Her short film Fit Wye Nae? won Best Newcomer at the 2024 Doric Film Festival. 

Lucy’s work responds to the momentum around Scots languages, including the recent passing of the Scottish Languages Bill in Parliament and the National Theatre of Scotland’s commitment to presenting Scots Language works. Recent Census reports show that over one million people speak Scots. But some media narratives claim Doric is losing relevance. As such, Lucy challenges this by placing Doric at the centre of her creative practice. 

Ma Name Is Isabelle was originally commissioned by Eden Court Theatre and Tobar an Dualchais/Kist O Riches for the Under Canvas Festival. The piece reimagines the story behind the famous bothy ballad, Bogie’s Bonnie Belle, from the perspective of the titular Isabelle, whose perspective of being impregnated against her will and ostracised by the society of the time has been overlooked. The piece seeks to celebrate Isabelle’s wit, warmth and triumph over adversity.  

Lucy has toured Ma Name Is Isabelle around Scotland. She has also self-produced a Doric performance night in Huntly, where she presented Ma Name Is Isabelle alongside some more of her Doric work. This event responded to the community’s ongoing passion for the Doric dialect.  

Beyond solo projects, Lucy was cast in Ten Feet Tall Theatre’s production of Guilty by Rona Munro as part of the Granite Noir Festival. The run sold out and received strong reviews. She was hired as a Doric consultant for TaleGate Theatre’s pantomime of Dick Whittington at Aberdeen Arts Centre. Lucy adapted the script to include Doric, which was key for supporting early dialect exposure to young audiences.