Tatha Gallery welcomed a very special – and “vibrantly outrageous” – visitor this week – Hollywood legend Miriam Margolyes.
The Newport-on-Tay arts venue delighted locals with a Tweet on Wednesday showing Margolyes dropping in for a visit during a filming stint in Dundee.
A long-time fan of Tatha-exhibited artist Norman Gilbert, Margolyes has been interested in the gallery for a few years, but had not managed to visit until now.
“We connected with Miriam through the artist Norman Gilbert, when we first exhibited his work in 2018,” explains gallery owner Lindsay Bennett.
“Miriam already owns a piece of Norman’s work, so she got in touch with us. Through his subsequent shows, we’ve always connected with her, and she always promised to visit the gallery.”
‘True to her word’
This week, the chance to make good on the promise arose as Margolyes visited Dundee for filming – and she didn’t disappoint.
“She’s a lady true to her word!” laughs Lindsay. “She emailed me to say, ‘Hey! I’m close, can we make the visit happen?’”
We were utterly thrilled to have a visit from a very special visitor this evening! The one and only, very lovely Miriam Margolyes came to enjoy the wonderful art on show in the gallery and a couple of little extras out of the cupboard too! pic.twitter.com/U15lyVI9EB
— Tatha Gallery (@Tathagallery) August 24, 2021
Working around the strict Covid bubble set up for the actor, Lindsay and the gallery staff arranged a special visit to the current exhibition, Inside Outside.
“So in she came,” says Lindsay, “And what an amazing woman! She’s strong, hilarious and vibrantly outrageous!
“We also can’t forget that she’s got a discerning taste in art. And she absolutely loved this show. We spent a lot of time talking about works in the show while she was here.”
The current offering, Inside Outside, sees four Scottish landscape artists exploring the beauty of the country’s land and sea in different ways.
“Tatha Gallery is a glorious and exciting place to visit – in a wonderful location,” Margolyes says.
“The art Lindsay and Claire present is truly invigorating and astonishing and to cap it all, the famous Masterchef restaurant, the Newport Inn, is through their back door. Do not miss.”
And it’s unsurprising that this would appeal to “adventuring” Margolyes. The actor is known for her eccentric – and expletive-laden – enthusiasm, with her latest project tipped to be a three-part Channel 4 travel show with actor Alan Cumming, which will see the pair traversing the Scottish landscape in a van.
“I won’t tell you what she said at the exhibition, because you wouldn’t be able to print it,” chuckles Lindsay. “But like you and me, she’s a normal person and she’s got an awful big heart.”
Inside Outside is running at Tatha Gallery until August 28.