The drugs conviction of a Dundonian actor could harm the future of the world-famous play, Black Watch, it has been claimed.
Award-winning actor Keith Fleming has been hailed for his role in the gritty National Theatre of Scotland production, which focuses on the regiment’s ordeals during the Iraq war and has toured worldwide to massive acclaim.
However, it was suggested his career will be effectively over after he was caught with a gramme of cocaine worth £50 at last year’s T in the Park music festival. It was hidden in a plastic bullet believed to have been a prop from the production.
The play is currently on tour in America, with cast members set for a civic reception in Washington this week. Fleming’s drugs conviction makes it extremely unlikely he will gain a visa to join them, damaging the production and Scotland’s reputation, his solicitor Marco Guarino told Perth Sheriff Court on Monday.
He said, “Mr Fleming remains the lead actor in the Black Watch production. It is a worldwide production which has attracted a substantial amount of plaudits and is seen as a brand for Scotland, a highly decorated piece of art.
“The production is currently in America, where it is going to have an extended run with a civic reception in Washington, with dignitaries from the highest level.
“This has brought sharply into focus what has been risked in his personal life, and also the reputation of the NTS and Scotland’s reputation and the esteem in which the production is held.”
Mr Guarino said a complete discharge would see Fleming, whom he described as “one of the country’s finest actors” and “pivotal” to the play, free to join his colleagues. He said the NTS would stand by Fleming but the bad publicity of a drugs conviction could force it to sack him.
“He has been an excellent ambassador for Scotland and will continue to be so and he’s done a significant amount of work for the community, unpaid,” Mr Guarino said. “A conviction of this nature would put paid to that as well. His NTS contract will be terminated and his reputation will be in absolute tatters, of that there’s no doubt.”
Sheriff Derek Livingston refused to grant the request and fined Fleming £135.
The court heard how the 38-year-old, of Minard Road, Glasgow, was caught by a police sniffer dog as he entered the Balado festival site on July 11.
Mr Guarino said the native Dundonian and former Dundee Rep cast member had bought the cocaine a week earlier from a stranger in an Edinburgh pub. Despite a nearby “amnesty bin,” he tried to sneak it past police.
Fleming pled guilty to possessing cocaine.
Since its inception four years ago, Black Watch has been seen by over 100,000 people in three continents and won countless awards, including four Olivier Awards.
Fleming, who played the writer/sergeant in the play, won a Critics Awards for Theatre (CATS) in 2008 for his role in the NTS/Dundee Rep production of Peer Gynt.
An NTS spokesman said the incident took place before he was employed by it and he will not be part of the US tour.
A spokeswoman said, “As a result of today’s outcome, the National Theatre of Scotland is reviewing Mr Fleming’s future relationship with the company.”