Originally performed as part of The Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2015, 'Ripped From The Wire Spine' was an hour long show written and performed by Josephine Sillars. It told a coming-of- age story about growing up in the Highlands and navigating adulthood in the central belt. The show explored the Scottish music scene, looking at the challenges young people face when balancing the creative side with the business side, as well as other challenges life throws at us. The show included interviews from Rachel Sermanni, Emma Pollock, Declan Welsh, We Came From Wolves, Chrissy Barnacle, Finn LeMarinel and Emme Woods, and poetry from spoken word artist Ross McFarlane. It was performed across Scotland between 2015 and 2017 including at venues such as Eden Court Theatre and The Scottish Storytelling Centre.
"Ripped From The Wire Spine gives an insight into the independent music scene in Scotland and doesn’t shy away from discussing the hardships and personal turmoil that this can bring. Other than focusing on selling records and getting bookings, Josephine looks at the practical nature of making music and how to find confidence and belonging in the local music scene." - ⭐⭐⭐⭐ review from TVBomb. Full review available.
"The One Touch Theatre was the perfect venue for this multi-media performance from Jo Si and invited guest performers. More theatre than gig she articulates with some courage her life as lived and the influences of life experiences on her art. At some point during the performance you knew she was going to speak to something that would resonate on a deeply personal level - for me that happened more than once - it is that connection on which a performance such as this should be judged..." review from InvernessGigs. Full review available.
"Josephine Sillars brought an astute mix of filmed interviews from friends on the Scottish music scene, thoughtfully chosen stories and well executed original show tunes charting Sillar’s adolescent years journeying from small town highlands to Glasgow. Her show, much more of a performance than your average gig – with Sillars introducing songs as what can be imagined as accurate versions of her formal self, lead us towards a vision for a more socialist Scottish music scene" review from qmunicate magazine. Full review available.