Tom Pow (Playwright)

Tom Pow was born in Edinburgh in 1950. He has published many poetry collections. He has also written plays, travel books and books for children and young adults. One of his main interests, since 2007, has been the effects of depopulation in rural areas. Travels through Europe – from Spain to Russia – resulted in the book, In Another World: Among Europe's Dying Villages (2012). The Village and The Road and Towa Mura have allowed him to continue that exploration in dramatic form. Ghosts at Play – Poems from Rural Japan (with translations by Nao Miyauchi) was published in Japan in 2024.

The Galloway Agreement (Music)

The Galloway Agreement is an alternative strings quintet featuring Wendy Stewart (clarsach, vocals), Ruth Morris (nyckelharpa), Gavin Marwick (fiddle), Beth Porter (cello, vocals) and Stuart Macpherson (double bass).

The band is based in Dumfries and Galloway. Their repertoire is a mixture of original compositions and favourite tunes and songs from Scotland and other European traditions. They all come from very different musical backgrounds, including Scottish traditional music, classical and jazz, and so their music is wonderfully eclectic. They all enjoy composing music for this lovely combination of instruments.

They are vastly experienced musicians that have been involved in many collaborations all over the world, most notably the Made In Scotland award winning ‘The Village and The Road’ with poet Tom Pow. This was developed into a touring theatre show, which had a two week Edinburgh Fringe run and subsequently visited Japan twice, leading to a further cross cultural collaboration, 'Towa Mura' by Tom Pow, with Matthew Zajac and the wonderful Bird Theatre from Tottori, Japan.

Matthew Zajac (Actor/Dramaturg)

Matthew Zajac grew up in Inverness and studied drama at Bristol University. He has worked as an actor in theatre, film, TV & radio for 44 years. Theatre includes: Citizens Theatre Glasgow, Manchester Royal Exchange, Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse, Bristol Old Vic, Edinburgh Lyceum, and London theatres the Bush, Young Vic, Half Moon YPT & Lyric Hammersmith. He has also worked with Swedish companies Riksteatern, Profilteatern and Västerbottensteatern. In 2009, he was named Best Actor in the Critics’ Awards for Theatre in Scotland for his performance in his play The Tailor of Inverness. The play has won several other awards and has played around the world. His best-selling memoir of the same name will be re-published this year. A documentary film, Circling A Fox – the Story of The Tailor of Inverness, was broadcast by the BBC. Other plays include The Sky Is Safe (2017) and his adaptation of James Robertson’s novel The Testament of Gideon Mack (2025). He has been Artistic Director of Dogstar Theatre Company since 2004.

Pete Renwick (Producer)

Creative Director- CatStrand Arts

Pete Renwick has been involved in the arts since running club nights in the early 2000s. Early highlights include producing Edinburgh's notorious Beltane Fire Festival, alongside freelance work on projects including Big Man Walking, the Edinburgh Mela, and the city's Hogmanay celebrations.

Since relocating to Dumfries & Galloway in 2009, Pete has produced in the region of 2,000 live events. He spent nine years with Dumfries & Galloway Arts Festival, progressing from Development Officer to Programme Director, during which time he helped transform it from a volunteer-led organisation into a professionally-run regional arts body.

A period working with SURF — Scotland's Regeneration Forum — saw Pete support the Tarras Valley community buy-out in Langholm before returning to the arts. Since 2021 he has run the arts programme at CatStrand Arts, one of Scotland's most celebrated small venues.

Catstrand (Partner)

CatStrand Arts & Visitor Centre is a premier performing arts venue in Dumfries & Galloway and the cultural hub of the Glenkens. Situated in the Royal Burgh of New Galloway at the gateway to the Galloway Forest Park, it is an important stop on the Scottish theatre and music touring circuit and a mainstay of the region's cultural offering.

Owned and operated by the Glenkens Community and Arts Trust, CatStrand is a creative hub for public engagement, artist development, and professional performance; celebrating the nature, heritage and community of rural South West Scotland alongside work from artists across Scotland and beyond.

Renowned for its warm welcome, appreciative audiences and high-quality, diverse programme, CatStrand delivers around 130 events a year to over 4,000 people. It is a place for creative exploration, social connection and wellbeing — and, as one audience member put it, part of the fabric of who we are.