Emerging actors brought Hutton siblings to life at Royal Highland Show
Two emerging actors were chosen by public vote to bring pioneering scientist James Hutton and his sister Isabella to life at this year’s Royal Highland Show in Edinburgh.
Greg Cross and Cora Todd, final-year drama students at Queen Margaret University (QMU), were selected as winners of the James Hutton Institute’s Living Hutton competition. They performed as roaming characters at the show in June, offering visitors a unique chance to meet and interact with the siblings who helped shape Scotland’s scientific legacy.
James Hutton, widely regarded as the father of modern geology, was born in Edinburgh in 1726. The performances formed part of the Institute’s wider James Hutton Unearthed programme, marking the 300th anniversary of his birth.
Greg and Cora were selected through a public vote by Hutton staff and the Friends of Hutton supporter community.
We were delighted to see Greg and Cora selected for these roles. It was a fantastic opportunity for graduating students to bring history and science to life for a public audience at such a high-profile event. Experiences like this not only built confidence and creativity, they help highlight the value of collaboration between the arts and science, and we were very grateful to the Hutton Institute for providing this opportunity to expand the students’ repertoire.
Living Hutton formed part of the Hutton’s wider James Hutton Unearthed initiative, celebrating the life and legacy of the pioneering Scottish geologist.
The Hutton’s marquee, shared with the Rowett Institute, was located on 7th Avenue and provided a space for audiences to engage with the performers, learn more about Hutton’s legacy and experience a short, scripted performance during a special reception.
The James Hutton Institute is a world-leading scientific organisation encompassing a distinctive range of integrated strengths in land, crop, waters, environmental and socio-economic science. It undertakes research for customers including the Scottish and UK Governments, the EU and other organisations worldwide. The Institute has a staff of nearly 500 and 150 PhD students.
The Institute takes its name from the 18th-century Scottish Enlightenment scientist James Hutton, who is widely regarded as the founder of modern geology and who was also an experimental farmer and agronomist. More information is available at www.hutton.ac.uk .
For further media information contact Lynne Russell, Communications Manager, Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh E: lrussell@qmu.ac.uk (copy to press office E: pressoffice@qmu.ac.uk)
