Foot and Mouth 2001
Welcome to the Living History of Dumfries and Galloway Archive created by theatre company and charity Wonder Fools. This is the first of several archives we’ll be making about the area and was created in 2021 to commemorate Dumfries and Galloway’s experience as one of the hardest hit areas of the Foot and Mouth epidemic in 2001.
The archive will accompany a theatre production of And Then Come The Nightjars, a play about the crisis relocated to Dumfries and Galloway, which will be presented by Wonder Fools and Crossmichael Drama Club in spring 2022. More information and booking details for the production can be found here.
We’d like to thank everyone who has taken the time to contribute to the archive and hope that you enjoy exploring it.
Map
The Show
2001. Disease ravages the countryside, pyres are lit on the horizon, and dairy herdsman Michael is trapped as his farm becomes a battleground for his business, his heritage, and his friendship with local vet Jeff. Ten years on and the battle scars are as evident on their relationship as they are on the landscape.
17 – 19 February 2022, The Fullarton Theatre, Castle Douglas
About The Project
Wonder Fools are a theatre company whose sole purpose is to tell stories, most of which are from the communities with which we work. Co-Founder Jack Nurse is from Kirkcudbright and was a child in 2001. He, with Crossmichael Drama Club, directed a version of And Then Come The Nightjars in 2017 and only then did he begin to understand the hardship and trauma his community had faced. At Wonder Fools we feel that while it’s important to put on plays, it’s as important to tell the stories behind them and to speak to the real humans behind the headlines. For this reason, thanks to funding from the Culture Recovery Fund for Heritage, we have spoken to residents, vets, farmers, reporters and many more about their experiences of 2001.
This archive features recordings of interviews conducted by our Young Researchers Tess Syed-Tollan & Stuart Gray with mentoring from the Wonder Fools team, underscored by performance duo Van Ives (from Castle Douglas), as well as photographs and other submissions from an open call to the people of Dumfries and Galloway.
Supporters
This project is funded by the Culture Recovery Fund for Heritage. The Culture Recovery Fund is being delivered by The National Lottery Heritage Fund and Historic England, using funds provided by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.