ELFIE PICKET THEATRE
ELFIE PICKET THEATRE
A Wee Bit Aboot Taylor and Calum
TAYLOR DYSON
Taylor Dyson is a performer and theatre maker based in Dundee. She graduated from MLitt Theatre and Performance Practices at The University of Glasgow in 2018. This year, Taylor has been appointed the National Library of Scotland's Scots Scriever for 2025-2026, and won the New Writer's Award for Spoken Word with Scottish Book Trust.
Taylor's work focuses on Scots langauge, spoken word and social issues. She wrote her debut show Ane City which was perfomed at Prague Fringe and Edinburgh Fringe in 2019. She has performed as a spoken word artist and as an actor, with her poetry featured on BBC Social & BBC Loop.
Taylor is a facillitator working with local arts charities in Dundee and is passionate about community work- starting Elfie Picket's first community tour in 2022 with her new play, Dolly Parton Saved My Life, a heartfelt comedy about generations of a Dundee family and all the difficult and beautiful things wummin' go through. In 2023 Taylor took her one wummin' show Ane City tae her hametoon o' Dundee, at Dundee Rep.
In 2023 Taylor was nominated for Scots Language Performer o' The Year as well as co-hosting the awards. In 2024 year she starred in her play Pushin' Thirty (written with Calum Kelly) which was produced at A Play, A Pie an A Pint in association with The Traverse Theatre and Ayr Gaiety. In 2025, she performed and co-wrote their second A Play, A Pie and A Pint show, Goodbye Dreamland Bowlarama which was in co-production with D&G Arts Festival.
CALUM KELLY
Photo by Juilan Bailey
Calum Kelly is a playwright, director and performer based in Dundee, and originally from the Isle of Skye.
He graduated from MLitt Playwriting and Dramaturgy from The University of Glasgow in 2018 and co-founded Elfie Picket Theatre with his partner, Taylor.
Calum wrote and directed The Parable of Lysistrata, a Scots adaptation of the Greek comedy which he debuted at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2017. He has directed Ane City for the Prague Fringe 2019, Edinburgh Festival Fringe as winner of Assembly Roxy's ART Award, The Union & The Crown in 2019 as part of Assembly Roxy's Season of Protest and in Dundee, 2020. His directing credits include Knights Theatre's Ewan MacColl:Manchester Rambler & Jaimini Jethwa's Last Queen of Scotland for Dundee Rep Stripped. His new play JOAN was featured at Dundee Rep's REP STRIPPED festival in June 2022 which he is also directed. He also wrote Pushin' Thirty alongside Taylor in 2021, a new play with original music for Dundee Fringe Festival.
Calum directed Dolly Parton Saved My Life Elfie Picket's new play during our 2 week Research and Development in 2021, a funded staged reading for Hilltown Community Centre in 2022, and for our Creative Scotland funded community tour around Dundee, Fife and East Renfrewshire to sold out audiences. He recently finished the Playwright's Studio Scotland's Mentoring Programme. This year Calum's play with songs, Pushin' Thirty was produced at A Play, A Pie and A Pint, where he was also musical director.
For Enquiries: calum.ck@gmail.com