This humble beginning was well received and encouraged us to stage our first full length production in September of the same year. Phyllis Nagy’s adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s ‘The Talented Mr Ripley’ (download PDF programme) was a challenging and invigorating step forward for a company that had been in existence for such a short time. It proved to be a rewarding and educational experience for all involved.

In 2004, Acorn entered two different categories in the Scottish Community Drama Association Festival of One Act Plays. In the youth section we presented ‘Laundry Girls’ by Bill Owen, and in the main festival our entry was Edward Albee’s ‘The Zoo Story’. Both plays won on their respective nights; the former going through to the divisional youth final and the later winning the award for Outstanding Achievement.

Our September 2004 production was a play that contrasted quite strikingly with much of what we had done before. 'Biloxi Blues' (download PDF programme) by Neil Simon was a genuinely funny World War II comedy that once again met with a favourable response from our audience. Immediately following our successful run of Biloxi Blues the company diversified by instigating a regular youth theatre group on a Monday night. In many ways this was going back to our roots, as originally the company had grown out of a successful school based theatre group.
Acorn Youth is intended to introduce young people to theatrical performance and allow them to develop their talent as individuals within an atmosphere of shared responsibility. A healthy company ethos and sense of identity are key to our aims.

The new venture’s first production was Liz Lochhead’s ‘ Cuba ’. This story of two schoolgirls living through the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 was presented along with ‘Letterbox’ by Anne-Marie Di Mambro and a revival of One Good Beating. (2005)

In 2006, we presented ‘ Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland’, (download PDF programme) focusing on both the fantastically colourful and darkly disquieting aspects of the heroine’s subterranean adventures. This year also saw one of our company write and direct her own play, Spirit which won through first round of SCDA competition as well as Outstanding Achievement.

'A Midsummer Night’s Dream' (download PDF programme) is the first time that Acorn has ventured into the realm of Mr Shakespeare.