NHS Lothian Charity: Tonic Arts Welcomes Trolleydarity to the Western General Hospital

Trolleydarity’s Scratch n Sniff Staycation for the Discerning Static Traveller is an innovative new project by artists Shona Reppe and Alan Grieve co-curated for patients and staff across NHS Lothian presented by National Theatre of Scotland and NHS Lothian Charity: Tonic Arts.

Shona and Alan will present Scratch n Sniff Staycation for the Discerning Static Traveller across Western General Hospital wards with Minnie Crook and Dan Brown facilitating the Staycation in St John’s Hospital, Livingston and East Lothian Community Hospital, Haddington, from January to March 2026.

Scratch n Sniff Staycation for the Discerning Static Traveller is a series of artistic one-to-one encounters with hospital patients, visitors and staff presented by Shona and Alan (Trolleydarity.) These unique and surprising interventions will offer discerning travellers an opportunity to explore the world in a way that feels both real and magical, through the power of sound and scent. Participants will be transported on a journey without having to catch a plane or leave their beds.

Shona Reppe and Alan Grieve’s Trolleydarity’s “immersive sensory micro adventure” will be brought to hospital bedsides, wards and waiting areas by trolley; all that will be required to explore the world is a pair of headphones and a complimentary postcard.

This brand new project transforms the everyday into the extraordinary, from the scent of a luxurious spa to the sound of crisp snow underfoot, all brought to life through the magic of sound and smell. Participants are invited to stay where they are, close their eyes, scratch, sniff and go!

This project is part of an ongoing partnership between National Theatre of Scotland and NHS Lothian Charity: Tonic Arts to help improve and support the health and wellbeing of NHS Lothian patients and staff. It follows on from an existing collaboration on the hosting of Portraits of an LGBTI+ Generation exhibition, at the Charity’s Tonic Galleries in both St John’s Hospital Livingston and the Western General Hospital.

Len McCaffer, NHS Lothian Charity’s Tonic Arts Manager, said:

We are thrilled to be partnering with the National Theatre of Scotland to bring these magical sensory adventures to patients in hospital – for the patients themselves, it gives them a gentle escape during their hospital stay and for staff, it provides a joyful shared moment to brighten a long shift. Trolleydarity reminds us that care is more than clinical — it’s sensory, human and about making connections. And this is exactly what our Tonic Arts programme is all about.”

About the Artists

Shona Reppe is a Scottish theatre-maker, designer, and performer best known for her award-winning small-scale shows for children and families, including Cinderella, The Curious Scrapbook of Josephine Bean, and Potato Needs a Bath, which she has toured extensively across the UK and internationally. Since 1994, her intricate designs, quirky humour, and surreal storytelling have established her as a key figure in Scottish children’s theatre, including her work for White by Catherine Wheels. Shona’s recent work for National Theatre of Scotland includes designing set and costumes for Charlene Boyd’s June Carter: The Woman, Her Music and Me and Millipede (National Theatre of Scotland/ThinkArts) a creative commission as part of COP26, co-created with Andy Manley. Other collaborations include Co-Creator/Designer of PEKKU with Andy Manley and Director of Pickled Republic with Ruxy Cantir.

Alan Grieve is a Fife-based artist. Since graduating from Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art with an MFA in 2008, Alan has become widely respected as an artist and creative agitator, building a loyal following both online and off as a committed community practitioner. Alan has exhibited widely, including SHELTER STONE – The Artist and the Mountain (2018) and REVEAL (2023) at the Royal Scottish Academy and most recently RING OF TRUTH at Blackie House Library and Museum as part of the 2025 Edinburgh Art Festival. In recent years Alan has led projects in the National Galleries of Scotland; for the NHS; The Carnegie Trust; in schools and universities; with Skye Adventure Mountain guides and National Theatre of Scotland. In 2010 he opened Workspace DunfermIine; a studio space combining his original trade of hairdressing with diverse creative activities.

Dan Brown is a dance artist, theatre maker and practitioner based in Glasgow. His practice is based in dance and theatre making, utilising persona and popular iconography to contextualise meaning and mediate his own autobiography, opening up the micro to relate to the macro. Dan has worked on a range of projects in dance and theatre with companies such as 21COMMON, National Theatre of Scotland and Imaginate. He consistently challenges the expected ways of seeing a socially engaged practice, interrogating and subverting accepted outcomes.

Minnie Crook is an interdisciplinary artist based in Glasgow, Scotland. Her work often explores ideas of autobiography, memory and personal history, engaging audiences through visual projection, choreography and song. She regularly works with young people through Imaginate, 21Common and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, and has worked as a facilitator on Sally Charlton’s commission for Lyra’s Bright and Wild Festival 2025. Her most recent work includes Activating The Archives, a collaboration project with Althea Young, Laura Bissell and Maia Harding at Glasgow Women’s Library where she co-created Teratoma, a performance response to the archives housed there.

Trolleydarity will be visiting Western General Hospital, Edinburgh in Jan 2026. St John’s Hospital, Livingston in Jan and Feb 2026. East Lothian Community Hospital in March 2026.