IT CAN sometimes seem like an achievement in itself just getting a young farmer to appear on stage, but the thespians of Stirling, Strathendrick and Strathkelvin YFC seem to have no such fears.

They’ve just returned from a highly successful mini-tour of Orkney, where they performed their award-winning production of David Tristram’s “Little Grimley presents Strictly Sex Factor (On Ice)” in the Orkney Theatre, Kirkwall and the Birsay Community Hall.

Stuart Rankin, Laura Paterson, Scott Rankin and Amanda Stewart performed in front of over 100 drama enthusiasts each night.

“I couldn’t be more proud of these four young farmers from the three S’s,” explained producer Ian Turner on their return to the mainland. “They’ve worked hard over the last few months developing their characters and improving their technique and the result has been an extremely professional and funny production.

“Their performances on Orkney were flawless, resulting in overwhelming praise from the very knowledgeable and enthusiastic island audiences.”

Orkney has more drama clubs per capita than any other area of Scotland. ‘The Orcadian’, the island’s newspaper’s review of the Kirkwall performance said: "The four characters were honed to perfection. The ensuing mayhem was hilarious in the hands of these four, well-rehearsed characters, who delivered their comic lines with expert timing and aplomb."

SSS YFC won the SAYFC drama competition in February for the second year in a row, with Stuart Rankin collecting the award for best actor. They also took first place in the Stirling district round of the Scottish Community Drama Association’s national one-act play competition, and collected the trophy for ‘best moment of theatre’.

“The three S’s have not only done themselves proud with this play,” continued Ian. “They have done SAYFC proud and done much to put young farmers’ drama back on the map.

“It’s a great shame that fewer and fewer young farmers clubs have been entering the drama competition in recent years. Hopefully, the quality, fun and success of this production will encourage more clubs to take part in years to come.”

The SSS YFC actors received financial support for their tour from their own club, Clyde and Central District and the Ellen Kerr Award Scheme.