Mark Hannah – författare

“Voices, shouts, stories, days and nights, Edina echoing through theages, for time shall be the only marker.”Alan is late for his daughter’s concert, Liam has fallen in love, and Maureen just wants to get home. Athens of The North is a love letter to Edinburgh and the small cosmic ways we impact each other’s lives.Told across three monologues, the lives of Edinburgh residents and visitors interweave across a single day in Scotland’s capital. Set against a UNESCO World Heritage backdrop of over-tourism, gentrification and eroded communities, each of them examine what home means to them in their pasts, their presents as well as theirfutures.“three interlinking monologues rich in the culture and place namesof the city. Punchily written and powerfully performed, these portraitshold the audience spellbound.”—The Guardian“Hannah thus explores the complexities and beauty of human nature,using his magic ability to suddenly switch from buoyant banter to raw,dark emotion. He lucidly communicates a powerful message aboutone’s intertwined connection to one’s past, present, and future in thisstunning poetic tribute to the Athens of the North.”—Corr BlimeyCAST: 1-3 actorsDURATION: 60 minutes

There is a buzz of excitement in Cataloochee these days. Visitors come into this section of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park by the thousands to view the majestic elk and other wildlife roaming the valley. However, there were no elk in Cataloochee for almost 200 years. European settlers arrived in North Carolina in 1587 and the Eastern Elk was hunted to extinction in the 1790s. Fortunately, elk were successfully reintroduced (from Kentucky and Canada) into Cataloochee in 2001 and appear to be on a path to success. But what about the people? What about the Cataloochans who arrived after the elk? The valley has always been difficult to access and the people who came in to the valley and settled it in the 1800s were made of sterner stuff than most. What happened to this settlement in the beautiful, remote Cataloochee Valley, which at one time boasted over 1200 residents and was the largest settlement in the Smokies? This is their story ... as told by them.