Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Meet Wormit’s theatrical family – performing together since the 1990s

Jane and Kevin Campbell, both 65, met at drama school in 1989. Now their daughters love theatre as much as they do.

The Campbells (from left to right) Kevin, Gillian, Jenni and Jane. Image: Kim Cessford / DC Thomson
The Campbells (from left to right) Kevin, Gillian, Jenni and Jane. Image: Kim Cessford / DC Thomson

Jane Campbell was preparing to put on her play at The Little Theatre in Dundee when disaster struck.

“The girl who was playing the lead character became unwell and couldn’t play the part,” she recalls.

But the show must go on.

Jane, 65, called her daughter Jenni – a university student in Bath at the time.

‘Can you learn a script in two days?’

“I phoned her on the Wednesday and said, ‘Can you learn a script in two days?’

“And she went, ‘Yeah – send me it’.”

Then another disaster.

“She had to wear a wedding dress in the play and the girl who was originally wearing the wedding dress was thin – and my daughter is not thin.

“And I thought, ‘Oh my goodness’.”

Gillian (front) and Jenni both have college qualifications in musical theatre. Image: Kim Cessford / DC Thomson

Jane and her younger daughter Gillian spent the day trailing around Dundee looking for a “big poofy 1980s style wedding dress.”

Eventually, they found one in the window of a costume shop on Perth Road.

“It was a kind of busty top and a full skirt – this skirt could literally stand up on its own,” Jane laughs.

“It was so funny trying to get her onto the stage with this massive dress on.”

The Campbell’s shared love of theatre has brought them closer together. Image: Kim Cessford / DC Thomson

It is moments like this that have brought Jane and her husband Kevin, both 65, and their daughters Jenni, 31, and Gillian, 26, closer together.

The Wormit family – who have starred in countless theatre productions across Tayside and Fife since the 1990s – have always been involved in drama.

It’s literally how they started.

Jane and Kevin met at drama camp in 1989

Jane, a retired district nurse, and Kevin, a former physics technician at Ninewells Hospital, met at a holiday and drama school in Aberdeen in 1989.

Jane, originally from Glasgow, moved to Wormit to be with Kevin the following year.

They later joined multiple drama societies in the Tayside and Fife area, including the Dundee Dramatic Society, which has around 50 members.

The couple went on to share their passion for theatre with their daughters, who had their first taste of the limelight in ballet shows as four-year-olds.

Jenni as a young ballet dancer. Image: Jane Campbell

Jane says: “When the girls were wee, they were always dragged along to rehearsals, and so they saw us the stage.

“Then as typical wee girls, they would go to dance classes and stuff.”

The sisters were “hooked” after landing roles in their first shows.

Jenni secured a part in a Wormit show at the age of nine, while Gillian starred in panto at the Byres Theatre in St Andrews.

Gillian as Mrs Potts in Spring Awakening. Image: Jane Campbell

The pair went on to study musical theatre at college.

Now when they aren’t at their nine-to-five – Jenni works at Costa and Gillian at Apex Hotels – they can probably be found on stage.

Jane, who is also part of the St Andrews Musical Society with her daughters, says she and Kevin have “never forced” the girls into drama.

“It was up to them,” she says.

“But I think seeing [Kevin and I], and going to the theatre and watching a lot, they got the bug.”

Kevin and Jane met through their love of drama. Image: Kim Cessford / DC Thomson

Jane and Kevin have performed in countless musicals, plays and sketches together over the years, including Calamity Jane and Holiday Snap.

They’ve performed in venues such as the Little Theatre in Dundee and Byres Theatre in St Andrews.

“We were in Sailor Beware! together twice,” Jane says.

“Once he played the minister and once he played my husband, so I could be really rotten to him!”

Jane has also appeared in various pantomimes with Jenni and Gillian, including Aladdin, Snow White, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Addams Family, Calendar Girls and My Fair Lady.

Jane and her daughters appeared in a pantomime production of Aladan. Image: Jane Campbell

Each member of the family appears to have their ‘role’ in the drama world.

While Jane loves acting and writing, Kevin prefers to work behind the scenes “on the technical side”.

Meanwhile, Jenni’s passion is dancing and Gillian’s is singing.

While some families may be driven mad by spending so much time together – Jane says it has only strengthened their bond.

‘A lot of the time we come as a package’

“Because we all like the same thing, if there’s shows or whatever on, we’ll go and see it.

“It has kind of kept us together because we’ve all got the same interest.”

She adds: “A lot of the time we come as a package.

“We’ve done it for years and we enjoy it.”

The family are involved in several local drama groups. Image: Kim Cessford / DC Thomson

However, she adds they are “sometimes like ships that pass at night” because they are so busy with various theatre commitments.

Jane says she would recommend drama as a hobby to anyone.

“It’s a good hobby because even if you don’t want to be on stage, it doesn’t matter.

“[Drama groups] are always needing somebody to help out, serve coffees, do raffles and so on.

‘Drama is a great way to meet other people’

“So it’s a great way of meeting other people as well, and not necessarily being on the stage.

“There’s always wee bits and pieces that people can do, which is good.”

It seems to be addictive, too.

“I keep saying, ‘Oh, this will be my last play’.

“But then another good one comes up!

“And there’s still a couple of bucket list roles I want to tick off.”

Conversation