A RISING Scots star has said he believes the Gaelic TV show he is a part of is a “stepping stone” towards a future in which the language plays a key role in the entertainment industry.
Finlay Morrison, 14, has family from Harris and has spoken Gaelic more or less his entire life.
His passion for performing and acting eventually led him to star in Triùir aig Trì (below) – a show about the adventures of two sisters running an bed and breakfast on a fictional island and their friend Marco.
“It’s sort of a comedy-drama for kids that’s set in four parts in a Gaelic-speaking community”, the young actor told The National.
“Their dad owns this bed and breakfast and the girls put a lot of work in so it’s really just about the adventures they get up to with their friend Marco.”
Journey to acting
Morrison, from the Southside of Glasgow, explained that his “spark for storytelling” started when he took some drama classes at the Citizen’s Theatre.
“I got involved with a production of Cyrano de Bergerac which was a great experience. It was my first acting job and then through school I heard about Gaelic voiceovers and on the side I was doing my own stuff wiring films and recording things.”
His work led him to FilmG - a Gaelic short film competition - where he first picked up a prize in 2020.
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Through this, he landed his role in Triùir aig Trì and has never looked back since.
Importance of Gaelic
Being able to speak Gaelic is something Morrison takes a lot of pride in and he hopes that the TV show he stars in can act as a springboard for greater success.
He explained: “I’m so proud to be a Gaelic speaker and I love to be able to tie that in with my acting. If I can do both at the same time then it’s great.”
On the show, he believes youngsters seeing the language on-screen is the perfect way to help normalise it.
“It’s great immersion in the language not just for kids going through education but for those who don’t have it spoken in the house.
“It’s a stepping stone to the future of Gaelic kids TV and it has an important place in Gaelic culture.
“It means people don’t just associate it with learning. My Gaelic teacher showed it in class and it put smiles on the faces of students and teachers.”
Finlay’s mum, Kathleen, echoes her son's thoughts and explains that the feedback from parents whose children had watched the show was all positive.
What is FilmG?
As well as winning a prize back in 2020, Morrison also picked up two awards at this year's ceremony in February.
He won Best Youth Performance and picked up the Rising Star Award for a short film that he and his brother had put together.
Even though it wasn’t his first win, Morrison particularly enjoyed this year’s event as 2020’s was forced to be held online due to the pandemic.
He explained: “We took inspiration from stuff on Alba and elements of Triùir aig Trì went into our films. We wanted to make it fun and be a bit daft and so we did an impersonation of a Gaelic TV host.
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“I think as we’ve gone on the films have got more professional. They’ve been set around an actual script rather than just something we’ve shot in a day.”
His mum added: “I’m massively proud of him and his brother because they did such a great job and worked so hard.”
Triùir aig Trì is available on BBC iPlayer now.
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