First published by https://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/19879636.robert-burns-comedys-carlisle-date-postponed-february/

The writer of a comedy which was set to take place in Carlisle’s Old Fire Station this weekend has announced that the performance has been postponed.

Gillian Duffy, who wrote ‘The Ghosting of Rabbie Burns’, has confirmed that Sunday’s performance will now take place on Thursday, February 10.

Citing the pandemic and cast changes behind the delay, Gillian insisted that the delay is ‘for the best’.

Discussing the show, which focuses on an author who has just come out of a toxic relationship and receives dating advice from the ghost of Robert Burns, Gillian said: “The play is a romantic comedy and we’re dedicated to putting the show on as I think now more than ever, comedy and music and some of the things that people need at the moment.”

Real life couple Gill and Colin McGowan are set to play the lead characters, heartbroken author Emily and Robert Burns.

As well as writing the play, Ms Duffy is the show’s producer.

The Ghosting of Rabbie Burns is just the start of a busy year for Gillian, who is also the co-writer of The Wedding Planner. She has another two new plays premiering in 2023, comedy drama Two Girls, and new drama Invincible Summer.

Gillian shared: “I am also writing a script about Mary Shelley and the events which lead to the creation of Frankenstein.

“I am a female writer, approximately the same age as Burns when he died, a modern woman writing about modern love, but also taking a look at love over the centuries and how interaction and relationships have changed and evolved from the 18th Century to now.”

The adaptation will be directed by Jimmy Chisholm, who appeared as the soldier Faudron in Mel Gibson’s Braveheart and classic Scottish TV shows Taggart and Rab C. Nesbitt.

Gillian shared: “Scotland’s second national treasure (after the Bard) Jimmy Chisholm is directing the show. Jimmy is a master of stage and screen. He currently plays Sonny in BBC’s River City, and he has most recently been in Shetland too.”

Tickets for the show cost £17.50 and are still available through the Old Fire Station website.