The Big Reveal!

In November, we were delighted to host a fabulous party for the special unveiling of a portrait of Leith legend, Mary Moriarty, and to share the reveal alongside the Queen of Leith herself! We’re still celebrating the fact that Leith Theatre is the permanent home for this amazing piece of art.

For 25 years Mary was the landlady of one of Edinburgh’s most colourful bars, the Port O’Leith on Constitution Street, where people from all walks of life came together to drink side by side as part of Leith’s vibrant community! Mary Moriarty’s associations with Leith started before she moved to the port area in the 80s, and she has been witness to all the changes in Leith over the years. Mary, now in her 80s, still cuts quite the dash and is a key force behind the popular Leith Festival. 

Edinburgh based artist Sarah Muirhead was commissioned by Ms K Hamilton to paint Ms Moriarty and we are delighted to hang the portrait in our Crush Foyer so that Mary can watch over us as we continue our work to bring the full theatre back into regular use. All our friends and visitors to the Theatre can see the portrait when they attend any of our regular classes, gigs, workshops or events.

Sarah Muirhead is a figurative painter born in Glasgow and based in Edinburgh since graduating from Edinburgh College of Art.  She has exhibited extensively in the UK and was nominated as one of 10 new sensations by a panel including Kirsty Wark and Tracy Emin.  She has exhibited in group and Solo exhibitions in The UK, Europe and US.  A recent solo exhibition 'Scopophilia' was named in the Whitechapel Gallery top 5 during Frieze week.  Sarah’s work hangs in public buildings such as Oxford University and has been commissioned to paint several famous figures known for their contributions to art and science. Her work explores the physicality of altered bodies, focusing on voyeurism and the sensation of being watched. She refers to classical art and allegory and plays with the idea of control, judgement and sexuality, more recently referring to the ownership and decay of objects of antiquity and contrasting these with depictions of the human form.

“I thought it right to make her halo a scene of Leith Links and to include a photograph of her husband who still feels like a very present figure in her life and that of the community of Leith.  I included various objects in her home which she was kind enough to show me around and tried to communicate her warmth, character and nature which I think is distinct and unique.  It was a pleasure painting someone I would have liked to paint regardless of the commission because she is fascinating and has a powerful presence.”

“I was delighted to be asked to paint such an extraordinary woman.  It was important to me that Mary was honoured and represented as someone who is so loved and respected in
her community and known quite rightly as Queen of Leith.  A nod to her status as elected monarchy is the formal composition of the painting.  I wanted the optics in the bottom left corner to look like jewels but to refer to her trade and background.” 

Sarah Muirhead

We are so grateful to be the permanent home for this amazing piece. Not only to have the work adorn the walls of our original 1930’s tiled Crush Foyer for all to appreciate for years to come, but it is such a great opportunity to bring our local residents and visitors into the theatre and allow us to share with them the work and transformations that are happening within. There is so much potential for the future of this building but we have a huge amount of money to raise to fully realise this. We are always keen to find creative and innovative ways of bringing people in and embedding the identity in Leith and this wonderful portrait of Mary is just perfect! Cheers to our lovely local suppliers Leith Distillery and Pilot Brewery for sponsoring the evening; the drinks went down very well!

Everyone had a wonderful night, made even more special by a live gig from The Bevvy Sisters who played a tribute to Mary by singing “Mary Moriarty”  from the Joseph Malik’s album ‘Out of the Ordinary’ released on Ramrock Records.

All photographs by Amanda Rogers.