Enter stage left to applause for lifetime's work

IT was only supposed to be a bit of fun, something for the "shy girl" to do in the summer holidays away from Boroughmuir High.

The teenage Irene Beaver never dreamed the Edinburgh People's Theatre would turn into a life-long passion.

"When I joined, my friend and I worked at the Fringe box office and it all seemed so glamorous," recalls the 59-year-old retired teacher.

She recalls the night she got hooked. It was 1966, and the EPT was staging the world premiere of the stage play of Whisky Galore – Sir Compton MacKenzie's famous tale of the shipwrecked whisky-laden SS Cabinet Minister – at the Church Hill Theatre.

Although she didn't meet any of the stars, the excitement of the evening, and mingling with the invited guests, was seductive. She says: "The men were all dressed up in their suits. We were just silly wee lassies, but people stopped and took time to talk to us. It was great, and I just loved it."

Irene – who taught deaf and hearing impaired children, at St Giles School for the Hearing Impaired in Broomhouse, then Forrester High, until retiring three years ago – is still part of the EPT more than 40 years on.

In the intervening decades she has done everything from making the tea to writing and directing, with stage roles – ranging from princess to ugly sister – along the way.

On Saturday she received long overdue recognition for her work, receiving the inaugural Edinburgh Playhouse and Evening News Spotlight Award, which recognises an outstanding individual who has dedicated their time and energy to the city's amateur drama world.

"I was so honoured, more than anything else, especially as I was nominated from someone in my drama group who thought I was worthy of such an award," says Irene, from Kirkliston, who was nominated by her friend and fellow EPT stalwart, Mandy Black, who's been the company's choreographer since 1985.

Irene was presented with her trophy and a £1000 cheque before Saturday evening's performance of High School Musical at the Playhouse.

"Normally amateurs just get on with it, so to be recognised is amazing," says Irene. "And to be given the award at the iconic Playhouse, that was just great."

Irene's award-winning work and devotion to amateur theatre impressed West End theatre impresario Bill Kenwright, who sat on our judging panel alongside Gordon Blackburn, regional representative of the National Operatic and Dramatic Association, and Fiona Rogan, development officer with the Scottish Community Drama Association.

But despite the plaudits Irene says she is still having trouble believing it has all happened.

"Last Monday there was a message on my answer machine, and I thought they were phoning to ask me about Mandy, as I had nominated her myself. So I rang them back thinking it was to tell them more about her. When they told me I had won I nearly fell off my chair."

In the eyes of the rest of the city's theatre world, the honour was no surprise at all. After all, Irene, who is currently EPT president, has done it all.

"I joined properly when I was 19 and I'd left school, while I was at university studying to become a teacher. I worked as front of house during all the plays, welcoming guests and serving teas and coffees during intervals. When I graduated, I did my first audition for the Owl and The Pussycat," she explains.

"After that I was in every pantomime up until 1982. I played the lead role once in Aladdin when they were awfully short on princesses. But usually I was more comfortable in the background or taking the daft parts."

Irene was asked to direct her first pantomime, Cinderella, in 1993.

One year later she directed Humpty Dumpty. "I only think they asked me as I was heavily pregnant so I could be a joke for everyone involved," she laughs.

After Irene gave birth to her daughter, Mairi, now 22, she was back volunteering, and even gave her then nine-month-old daughter a role in Sleeping Beauty.

That early role, as a babe in arms, perhaps fuelled Mairi's own passion for acting, as she now treads the boards with EPT and the Leith Theatre.

Irene has been plagued with chronic pain, as a result of a serious car accident when she was 12, which resulted in her spending a year in hospital. That eventually led to her early retirement in 2005. But, despite that obstacle, she never wavered from her hard work with the EPT. In 1993, the theatre company won a Fringe First for their Festival show Hatches, Matches and Dispatches, and the following year she received her first award for directing.

"It was for Cambusdonald Royal, which won an Evening News Capital Award," she beams. "It was fantastic to win it, and I was so pleased for everyone who was involved."

As Irene talks animatedly, yet modestly, about her work, her love of theatre is evident, especially when she talks of fulfilling a long-held ambition to write her own Scots comedy.

Stooshie at the Store, which is set in Edinburgh's old St Cuthbert's Co-operative store, in 1959, received its premiere two years ago. Before writing the comic play, she spent months speaking to anyone and everyone who had a tale to tell about the Edinburgh of that era.

"It was a comedy for Edinburgh people, and we had sell out audiences almost every night during the Fringe show," she smiles.

So what does the future hold? "I'm the front house co-ordinator for our next play, Of Mice and Men, then I'm the production manager for The Steamie, which opens in May, and then I'm directing a play I've written for the Fringe.

"I'm retired now so this keeps me off the streets – and I'll be there as long as they'll have me. After all, I can always pour a cup of tea."

IN THE SPOTLIGHT SINCE 1943
FOUNDED in 1943 by Scottish Playwright Andrew Wilson, the Edinburgh People's Theatre (EPT) amateur drama club proved a popular hobby for many Edinburgh residents, both those who hadn't gone to war and for those who had returned injured.

Staging its initial performances in The Pleasance before moving to the Church Hill Theatre in Morningside, the EPT is the Fringe's longest running company, having put on a show every single year since 1959.

During the 1950s and 1960s, the EPT's alumni included some well-known professional actors and playwrights such as Ian Richardson and Bill Tennant.

In 1966 it staged the world stage premiere of Scots comedy, Whisky Galore, the famous comedy by Sir Compton MacKenzie.