Tag: Scottish Storytelling Centre

Ticket sales up at Edinburgh Tradfest

Julie Fowlis and a stage packed with some of the finest musicians in folk, brought this year’s Edinburgh Tradfest to a close on Monday 13 May with an outstanding rendition of Runrig’s ‘Fuaim A Bhlair’. 

The 11 day festival of traditional live music, talks, folk film and storytelling, saw over 80% of tickets sold for the music programme and multiple sell-out shows at the Traverse Theatre, Cameo and the Scottish Storytelling Centre.

The festival enjoyed a massive jump in trad fans coming out in support of live music, with sell-out shows and packed houses on both weekends (Triptic, Martin Simpson Daimh, Rachel Newton, Nordic Fiddlers Bloc, and VALTOS).

There was also a full audience for this year’s new commission Everyone’s Welcome to Edinburgh curated by renowned fiddler Robbie Greig and performed by Robbie and a stellar line-up of musicians including Hannah Rarity, Jenn Butterworth, Signy Jakobsdottir, Duncan Lyall and Megan MacDonald. Plus, there was not a seat to be had for Malin Lewis’ debut album launch Halocline.

The second weekend’s workshops also saw great attendance and 92% of places sold, with Bruce Ncube’s Zimbabwean singing workshop bringing home an abundance of joy-felt harmonies from an amazing standard of participants.

, over at the Scottish Storytelling Centre, Svend-Erik Engh’s improve your patter session for musicians was an early sell out, as was Shona Cowie and Neil Sutcliffe’s premiere of their new show Rickle O Stanes which galloped through the story of Scotland, from its geological formation right up to its present socio-economic condition told through stories and song. 

Another big hit at the Scottish Storytelling Centre was an emotional Hearth Fire Session which saw an incredible blend of live storytelling from Traveller Jess Smith, folk musician Sam Gillespie and basket-weaver Katie Warner, all guided by host Dougie Mackay who gifted Jess with a willow basket full of the stories and songs of the evening, to acknowledge her contribution to storytelling.

Further afield the Folk Film Gathering celebrated its 10th anniversary with a popular programme of Scottish and international films, many accompanied by live scores or introductory talks. Screen premieres included the sold out Scottish premiere of Songlines – a new documentary from Pat Collins celebrating the songs and singers at the heart of the Irish traveller community; and Itu Ninu set in a dystopian ‘smart city’ from Edinburgh-based Mexican director Itandehui Jansen. 

Plus, to close this year’s folk film gathering, musician Aly Bain introduced a screening of Mike Alexander’s film Down Home with some great chat and tremendous tunes.

Douglas Robertson and Jane-Ann Purdy, co-producers of Edinburgh Tradfest said: “This year’s festival was just brilliant, we took a chance and top and tailed the music programme with two big gigs at the Queen’s Hall and the Assembly Rooms and it really paid off, with audiences returning again and again to hear more great music and support the musicians.

“The buzz around the venues was fantastic and our thanks goes to everyone who has supported us in making the festival possible. Next year we are back 2-12 May – and we can’t wait!”

Jamie Chambers producer of the Folk Film Gathering said: “2024 was a banner year for us. It was great to be back in synch with our friends at Tradfest and to be working again with Cameo Picturehouse.

“Programme highlights for us included the combined voices of Jess Smith and Joss Cameron at the Scottish premiere of Pat Collin’s SONGLINES, celebrating the links between Scottish and Irish traveller culture; the sublime, emotionally overwhelming new score composed by Luke Sutherland and Semay Wu for Alexander Dovzhenko’s EARTH; the chance to host Finnish master musicians Lau Nau and Pekko Kappi, for the premiere of Katja Gauriloff’s moving JE’VIDA; and the powerful words of Palestinian-Scottish poet Nada Shawa at our screening of Michel Khleifi TALE OF THE THREE JEWELS.”

Daniel Abercrombie, Head of Programming, Scottish Storytelling Centre, said: “Tradfest continues to enhance our programme, it is a wonderful time of year!

“We were especially delighted that so many families and young people were involved in our song and story sessions, as well as joining together to celebrate the traditions of Beltane as May arrives. Looking forward to next year already!”

Edinburgh Tradfest is supported by The National Lottery through Creative Scotland and the William Grant Foundation.

Edinburgh Tradfest will return from 2 to 12 May 2025.

www.edinburghtradfest.com

Exhibition of Sustainable Tartan Fashion opens 23rd April

Vengefully Changed Allegiance by Alison Harm

Exhibition runs from  23rd  to 30th April 2024

Scottish Storytelling Centre, Edinburgh EH1 1SR

Vengefully Changed Allegiance is a solo exhibition of work by fashion designer Alison Harm, the founder of Edinburgh’s own Psychomoda clothing brand. Using industry scraps, vintage cloth and broken jewellery, Alison mixes different tartan patterns to create clothing items that challenge our opinions on tradition, and on what we should wear.

Curated specifically for the Pomegranates festival of international traditional dance (25-30 April), this exhibition of sustainable fashion also explores the living heritage of the tartan cloth still used by Highland dancers and for kilts.

By tradition, tartans are chosen according to a person’s clan however, Alison’s garments mix different tartan patterns together to create contemporary designs that question our need to safeguard our intangible cultural heritage, at the expense of innovation and fashion.

Fashion Designer Alison Harm said: “Fashion is cyclic, nothing is new. Just as today we might wear clothes of a bygone era to show our allegiance to a culture from the past, the Victorians did the same.

“A political Jacobite revivalist movement swept the UK in 1886, bringing a renewed interest in all things Scottish into the arts and fashion. Tartan cloth became a significant part of that movement. 

“Almost a hundred years later, the youth of the UK, against a background of political and cultural dissent, again chose tartan as part of their tribal uniform, with a naive style consisting of a home-made, make-do-and-mend ethos.

“An anti-capitalist statement by the wearer. The wheel has turned again and sustainability is now the focus of the fashion industry. People want to express their dislike of the fast fashion behemoth which is ruining our planet.

“I have returned to tartan cloth to express  this symbolism. By using industry scraps and remnants along with found objects, in the punk tradition, and irreverently mixing tartan patterns together to challenge the viewer’s perception of who can wear what, and to where – therefore suggesting they can step outside of societal expectations.”

Vengefully Changed Allegiance is part of Traditional Dance Forum of Scotland and TRACS programme of events showcasing Scotland’s traditional arts and cultural heritage. TRACS has been recently appointed as an advisor to UNESCO on Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) in Scotland and this exhibition showcases ICH in practice through highlighting the sustainability in the fashion industry while exploring the role of tartan in Scottish trad dance.

Admission to the exhibition is free, and includes daily drop-in, on-demand artist and curator-led tours. 

Established in 2022, Pomegranates is Scotland’s springtime festival of Scottish and international traditional dance curated by the Traditional Dance Forum of Scotland and produced in partnership with TRACS, Moray House School of Education and Sport, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh City Libraries, Dance Base and the Scottish Storytelling Centre.

The festival celebrates Scottish traditional dance and traditional dance practised by cultural migrant communities across Scotland.

It provides a platform to showcase new dance commissions, exhibitions and residencies accompanied by live music, poetry, and art; and invites audiences to participate in ceilidhs, workshops (both in person and live streamed), tours, and talks about traditional dance from Scotland and around the world.

For tickets and more information visit: 

https://linktr.ee/pomegranatesfest, https://www.tdfs.org/pomegranatesfest2024/

Dance adaptation of Hamish Henderson’s poetry at the Pomegranates Festival

ELEGIES – Saturday 27 April, 7.30pm 
Scottish Storytelling Centre, 43-45 High Street

Hamish Henderson (1919-2002), was a soldier-poet and scholar-folk revivalist. Elegies is his first-hand account from the North African desert military campaign for which he won the Somerset Maugham Award.

His dedication of the book: “for our own and the others” sets the story within our own common bonds, fragility and humanity, in the setting of the ‘deadlands’ of Cyrenaica (modern-day Libya). The Elegies also reveal the shared helplessness of those loved ones at home waiting, praying – and dancing.

This production is led by a duo of dancers and choreographers Helen Gould and George Adams who together with dancers Nicola Thomson, Edwin Wen and Aimee Williamson embody and represent the characters from the ten elegies set both in the desert and the dance hall by using ceilidh, jive, swing and lindy hop – the popular social dance culture of the 1940s. 

Through their movement directorship Gould and Adams weave into the dance, the reading of the Elegies for the Dead in Cyrenaica by spoken word artists Morag Anderson and Stephen Watt; and specially composed and newly arranged trad music and song by Cera Impala. 

Wendy Timmons and Iliyana Nedkova, Elegies co-curators and producers from Traditional Dance Forum of Scotland said: “Elegies is a dance poem of serious reflection – a lament for all lives lost not only in WWII but in our world of conflicts, oppression and inequality.

“We were delighted by the positive reaction we received when it was first performed on Remembrance Day last year, and very proud of everyone who has worked with us on this revised adaptation as part of this year’s Pomegranates Festival.”

Elegies was originally commissioned for the Scottish International Storytelling Festival 2023, then extended and revised for Pomegranates Festival 2024. 

Trad Dance Session

There will be a post-performance lindy hop social dance session, led and accompanied by Pomegranates 2024 resident musicians from the Castle Rock Jazz Band, in the main atrium at the Scottish Storytellling Centre. All welcome. Tickets are Pay What You Can £5, £10 or £15 and available through the Scottish Storytelling Centre Box Office here

Edinburgh Youth Gaitherin’s Back!

Edinburgh Youth Gaitherin’ is back in partnership with Edinburgh Tradfest to  offer an exciting opportunity for young musicians in 2024, with support from  the William Grant Foundation. 

EYG Big Band is a three-day programme for ages 13–18. It will be led by some of  Scotland’s finest musicians, who will support participants to learn traditional music  together and create their own arrangements as a group. Band tutors are Kirsty Law,  Tom Oakes and Lori Watson, supported by Shea Martin and Jonathan Foster. 

New for 2024, there will be two optional taster workshops in advance of the EYG  weekend, where young people can try out some music-making together and get to  know each other and the tutors.  

This event is for young people who would like to develop their skills on their  instrument, play with other young musicians, sing, write their own songs and learn  tunes. There will be also be exclusive performances and Q&A sessions from some of  the acts appearing at Edinburgh Tradfest. EYG Big Band is all about creativity,  making friends through music and having fun. 

Taster workshops will take place 10am–1pm on 20th and 27th April at the Scottish  Storytelling Centre, Edinburgh. 

EYG Big Band will be based at the Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh from 10am–4pm on  4th–6th May. The group will perform on the evening of 6th May as part of Edinburgh  Tradfest’s special commission show, Everyone’s Welcome To Edinburgh.  

Tickets and registration: https://eygbigband2024.eventbrite.co.uk

Pay-what-you-can and fully-subsidised places available. 

FISHING – new exhibition of work inspired by the North East coast – opens 3 May

FISHING by Stephanïe Vandëm

Opens 3 May until 15 June

Scottish Storytelling Centre, Edinburgh EH1 1SR.

A new exhibition inspired by Scottish fishing communities and seascapes of the North East will go on display at the Scottish Storytelling Centre as part of the TRACS programme during Edinburgh Tradfest from 3 May to 15 June 2024.

Artist Stephanïe Vandëm imaginatively combines oils and mixed media materials salvaged from harbours, beaches and shipyards to create large-scale works that evoke the linkages between the communities of the North East of Scotland and their fishing heritage. 

Drawing from the rich traditions of Renaissance and Latin American art, FISHING will present 13 semi-sculptural works that explore the pressing environmental and identity concerns of our time. 

Rubber gloves, ropes, nets, buoys, and crab shells are used to give tri dimensionality and texture to the works. Plastic sushi fish drained of their soy lifeforce cling to the surfaces making us ponder their infinite life expectancy and the material’s detriment to all sea and land-living creatures.

Screws, nails, and other metal bits left by the artist’s late husband populate the paintings’ surfaces recreating the colours and textures of a busy shipyard. Pinecones turned into lobster tails; twigs turned into crab’s eyes all used to create compositions that connect us emotionally to Time, Identity, Heritage, and the Environment.

Artist Stephanie Vandëm explains: “My work is firmly rooted in classical principles, merging time-tested oil painting techniques and semi-abstraction, to pressing contemporary themes and universal human struggles, resulting in monumental semi-sculptural paintings.

“The pieces resemble an archaeological find sedimented in cement, sand, metal and found objects. They create puzzles, connecting the personal, political, and spiritual elements of my own life and practice. Aberdeenshire’s motto, ‘from mountain to sea’ inspired me throughout this collection.”

Sculptural pieces in the exhibition include boxes encased in sand, cement and the ‘bones’ of a metal creel looking like they have been hauled from the sea depths, bearing witness to the many lives lost across generations and continents. 

The tactile and playful nature of the work invites audiences to interact with it by moving the ropes and nets, to create new images and build stories within stories to explore beneath the surface layers leaving space for personal interpretations.

Steve Byrne, Director of TRACS said: “As someone who grew up on Scotland’s east coast, I was immediately struck by the familiarity and strong imagery of Stephanie’s work.

“It resonated with me and the sense of place I feel about that part of the world. I recognised the shapes and colours of the kind of work taking place in harbours up and down the coast that have been a key part of local communities for decades. 


“In celebrating the contribution of fisher folk, the exhibition gives voice to those involved in a precarious industry that has so much heritage, tradition and craft to explore, which often mean a great deal to fisher folk and their families. 

“The works also challenge us to think about our impact on the environment through the inclusion of shore finds, opening up conversations around sustainability.

“At TRACS we look forward to helping safeguard that living heritage and lore, the traditions and customs of fisher communities through our developing work with Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) in Scotland.” 

The exhibition will also be complemented by information panels on traditional craftwork related to fishing communities, in partnership with the Scottish Fisheries Museum at Anstruther. 

About the artist

Brazilian by birth and educated in Paris, London, New York, and Florence Stephanïe Vandëm worked extensively abroad before settling in the Northeast of Scotland. Her style lies between realism and abstraction, painting and sculpture with a strong sense of narrative derived from the artist’s Latin American roots.

The artist’s creative practice is a fusion of videography, soundscapes, installations, social media participation and mixed-media that creates engaging and powerful contemporary pieces.

With some awards under her belt, Stephanïe Vandëm works in her studio between the mountains and the sea in the idyllic Scottish countryside. The artist’s strong background in the world of portraiture also sees her work on many private commissions, including painting the formal portrait of the Bishop of Aberdeen.

Her pieces can be found in many national and international private collections such as the luxury Fife Arms Hotel, owned by international art dealer Iwan Wirth.

FISHING is part of TRACS’ (Traditional Arts and Culture Scotland) programme of events showcasing Scotland’s traditional arts and cultural heritage.  

TRACS has been recently appointed as an advisor to UNESCO on Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) in Scotland and this exhibition showcases ICH in practice through highlighting the unique ways of life, practices, and rich folklore of fishing communities on the east coast of Scotland. 

Making Magical Memories for Mercy

Mercy Cuthbertson from North Tyneside is a six-year-old girl who has enjoyed a very special experience day in Edinburgh after Newcastle-based train operator Lumo learned of her passion for the company’s bright blue trains.

Mercy is bravely fighting an aggressive paediatric brain tumour. Her parents Lorraine and Paul have already raised more than £113,000 towards a target of £120,000 for some life-saving trials abroad.

Open access train operator Lumo contacted Mercy’s parents offering a special VIP day trip to Edinburgh where the family were invited to an exclusive performance at the Scottish Storytelling Centre in the city’s Royal Mile followed by a visit to Edinburgh Castle.

Richard Salkeld, Head of Communications and Partnerships at Lumo, said: “When we heard about Mercy’s story and her love of our trains, we began to create a truly memorable experience for her and her parents.

“We teamed up with Imaginate: The Edinburgh International Children’s Festival, the Scottish Storytelling Centre and Edinburgh Castle to help organise what was a very special action-packed visit to Edinburgh.

“As a company proudly based in Newcastle, we’re committed to supporting the communities on our route so today has been a joy to help make happen for Mercy.”

As part of the visit Mercy was invited into the driver’s cab after they arrived at Edinburgh Waverley where she posed for photographs with some of the onboard team from Lumo.

Mercy Cuthbertson travelling on a Lumo train

Lorraine Cuthbertson, Mercy’s mother, said: “Today has been incredible. We’ve been made to feel so welcome and enjoyed some magnificent magical moments that we’ll never forget. Mercy loved her visit to the driver’s cab on the train and meeting the unicorn at the Scottish Storytelling Centre.”

The whirlwind visit to Edinburgh was Mercy’s first time travelling on the all-electric Lumo train. She posed with a specially made giant ticket as a memento of her day before boarding at Newcastle on Friday morning.

Paul Cuthbertson, Mercy’s father, said: “She’s had a brilliant day and has been treated like royalty. It’s been so special, and I think everyone had a tear in her eye when she reached out and stroked the unicorn who she named Twinkle. Thanks to everyone who helped make today so unforgettable.”

Mercy’s fundraising campaign continues to receive generous support from people in the North East but has also received donations from around the world as her parents work tirelessly to raise funds in a bid to do all they can to help Mercy.

For anyone wishing to donate to Mercy’s campaign, they can visit here.

TODAY: A Girl’s Own Guide to Surviving History

SCOTTISH INTERNATIONAL STORYTELLING FESTIVAL

Would you know what to do if you were accused of being a witch in the 17th century? How would you cope if your castle came under siege in the Scottish Wars of Independence? Wouldn’t life be easier if it came with an instruction manual?

Thankfully, Gillian Paterson and Nicola Wright have found just such a book for their show at this year’s Scottish International Storytelling Festival, A Girl’s Own Guide to Surviving History.

Told in the style of a Boy’s Own adventure book, A Girl’s Own Guide to Surviving History is filled with hot tips about surviving life as a pirate, fighting the system, and being a master (or mistress) of disguise. Told using silly songs, and a ridiculous amount of props this show presents a light-hearted look at the serious subject of the challenges faced by women through the centuries.

Gillian Paterson originally from Arbroath has worked as a costumed historical storyteller at museums and events around the country. She has a knack for finding the funny side of history, taking irreverent approaches to subjects and bringing them to life through her passion for history and storytelling.

Nicola is equally passionate about history and delivers entertaining and engaging workshops to primary and secondary schools on subjects ranging from castle life and the cursed Stewarts to Jacobites and WW1.

Gillian Paterson said: “I love history and entertaining audiences with stories of derring-do, fighting the system and life across the ages.

“It’s a chance to tell all the best bits and I really hope that this new show about women’s history, particularly all those great feisty women that have been buried in the history books over the years, will be as fun to listen to, as it is to tell.”

The Girl’s Own Survival Guide to History with Gillian Paterson and Nicola Wright is on TODAY Sat 21 Oct at 4pm at the Scottish Storytelling Centre, 43-45 High Street, Edinburgh EH1 1SR,

Tickets are available at www.sisf.org.uk

The Scottish International Storytelling Festival runs until Sunday 29 October. Tickets to each event in this year’s programme cost a maximum of £10, with family events costing just £5 per ticket. For those planning on attending multiple events, the Festival Pass (£20/£10)  offers discounted tickets to many live festival events, online and at the Scottish Storytelling Centre, as well as a discount at the Scottish Storytelling Centre’s bookshop and Haggis Box Café.

Full programme is available here  or visit sisf.org.uk for more details.
 @ScotStoryFest #RightToBeHuman

Real life story inspires Caring

New play premieres in Edinburgh in November

A mother’s experience of caring for her severely disabled son is the basis for a new play which will be performed next month at the Scottish Storytelling Centre.

Caring, by Rhona McAdam from Edinburgh, describes the daily struggle of living with a disabled teenager, and is based on her own life story.

The play, performed by Citadel Arts Group on November 3 and 4, with support from the Lottery, will be free, with a special invitation extended to carers’ groups in the city.

Rhona McAdam, who lives in Colinton, says: “It’s a realistic view of a mother caring for her teenage son.

“She is finding it tougher to care for him because he has a lot of physical care needs.  Now he’s getting older she is maybe mothering him too much.  In the play it’s his fifteenth birthday and she’s telling him he can’t have another beer.”

According to charity Care for Carers there are now more than 800,000 adult carers in Scotland, and 82 per cent have no time for respite or breaks.

Rhona based the character of Joey on her own son Ruairidh, who had Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy and died this year, aged 29, shortly after she finished writing the play.

Boys and young men with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy lack a protein which causes progressive muscle weakness, leading to respiratory problems and difficulty swallowing.

The writer hopes others will be able to relate to the story.

“These are characters and these are their struggles – but it could be any teenager or any mother.

“All Joey wants to do is play on his X Box   For Joey it’s a world where he can do things, run, and fight.”

In the play the character of the mother struggles to look after herself as well as her son, but comes to realise she needs to find a way to do this.

“I tried to make it realistic.  Mum is no saint – in fact neither Mum or Joey is angelic.  They are both a bit grumpy with each other. Mum is tired and a bit frustrated and Joey resents his mum for being annoyed.

“I wanted to show the reality of caring – but also that normal life goes on – whatever difficulties you face.”

Rhona McAdam was one of the writers of Leithers One Family, the play based on a family of Leithers, which Citadel Arts Group created and staged online during lockdown.  

A version of the play Leithers Live, was performed at Custom House, Leith in June.

As well as losing her son this year Rhona also lost her husband Iain, who died during lockdown in December 2021.   Writing the play and working with Citadel has given her a welcome focus.

She says: “I have written short stories before but I have really enjoyed being part of the collaborative process and working with actors and directors.”

Caring, which will be directed by Mark Kydd, will be staged at the Storytelling Centre on November 3 and 4.

The part of Mum will be played by Laverne Edmonds, Joey will be played by Fraser Allan Hogg, while Dale McQueen will take the supporting roles.

Liz Hare, director of the Citadel Arts Group says: “It will be a very welcome return to the Storytelling Centre for us. Although we are usually associated with Leith, the group originally performed at the Storytelling Centre.  It’s a beautiful theatre space and we’re delighted to be going back.

“We’ve done a lot of work with Care for Carers and the Carers’ Group from the Eric Liddell Centre running creative writing workshops and Rhona’s play fits in really well with that.   We did an early run through of the play with Edinburgh carers and they gave feedback and suggestions to help with the development of the script.”

Erica Whitaker Wallis, of Care for Carers said: “Across Scotland, there were an estimated 700,000 to 800,000 unpaid carers before the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Survey work from Scottish Government in September 2020 suggests the number of adult carers had grown to around 839,000. As a result of the pandemic 90 per cent of carers are spending more time caring, with 82 per cent having had no access to respite or breaks from caring.

“It is therefore more important than ever that we continue to shine a light on the vital contribution that unpaid carers make to our society.

As an organisation we work alongside community partners to provide carers with access to short break opportunities which this year has involved providing drama workshops with Citadel Arts.

“For a carer, just a few hours break away from their caring role can make a big difference to their wellbeing which is why we view these partnerships as so important.”

The project received funding from the National Lottery Community Fund.

Director Mark Kydd said: “I think people will enjoy the play.  In spite of the seriousness of the subject matter it’s surprising, it’s funny and it’s playful.

“Because the character Joey loves gaming he wants to be a superhero of his own story and that adds a fantasy element to the narrative.”

Caring, by Rhona McAdam, will be performed at the Scottish Storytelling Centre, High Street, Edinburgh on November 3 and 4, with a matinee on November 4

Thursday 3 November, 7pm

Friday 4 November, 4pm and 7pm

There will be a Q and A after the matinee on November 4 with Erica Whittaker Wallis from Care for Carers.

Scottish Storytelling Centre celebrates Scotland’s Year of Stories in 2022 Fringe programme

Alan Bissett, Jo Clifford, and Niall Moorjani feature in this year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe programme at the Scottish Storytelling Centre, which will celebrate Scotland’s Year of Stories. 

The Scottish Storytelling Centre’s 2022 Fringe programme sees some of Scotland’s finest storytellers and performers creating new conversations around live issues, or reflecting on past events that resonate fully in the present. 

To mark Scotland’s Year of Stories, the venue will also be hosting daily storytelling sessions featuring the wonderful, and sometimes wild, traditional tales that have shaped the myths and legends of this country in Traditional Tales of Scotland.

Across the month, the Scottish Storytelling Centre will also be offering a range of accessible performances – including relaxed, signed, audio described and BSL-interpreted performances – as well as touch tours and at least one socially distanced performance per production.

Among a wide variety of music, theatre, family and storytelling shows, the Scottish Storytelling Centre will host three productions from this year’s Made in Scotland showcase.

Acclaimed playwright Jo Clifford and Maria MacDonell retell the classic Hans Christian Andersen tale and explore the joys and pains of a life well-lived in a brand new work The Not So Ugly Duckling: A Play for Grownups. Sagas and Seascapes is a concert of three original compositions inspired by Norse tales, performed by ensemble Nordic Viola with accompanying visuals from Craig Sinclair and Orla Stevens; and The Village and the Road is a storytelling performance from Tom Pow that investigates rural depopulation, refugee crises and the great thinning of the natural world, with musical accompaniment from folk group The Galloway Agreement.

Celebrated author Alan Bissett returns with the third in his Moira Monologues series – Moira in Lockdown sees Falkirk’s Hardest Woman facing her toughest challenge: surviving a pandemic with only vodka, fags and BFF Babs on Zoom. Take that, Bear Grylls! Elsewhere in the programme, non-binary, Scots-Indian storyteller Niall Moorjani marks the 75th anniversary of the Indian Partition with Mohan: A Partition Story which retells their grampa’s experience during the upheaval as a refugee.

Hugely acclaimed on its release in album form, Heal and Harrow pays a humanising tribute to the victims of the Scottish Witch Trials, and Shona Cowie’s With the Devil’s Assistance reflects on Scotland’s diminishing high street through the tale of Scottish witch Maggie Osborne, who was burnt at the stake for building a flourishing business overnight. And The Green Knight sees Debbie Cannon take the famous 14th century arthurian poem, and recast it with a woman at the heart of the action.

The Scottish Storytelling Centre will also host some returning favourite productions – including Maria MacDonell’s masterful storytelling performance Miss Lindsay’s Secret, Andy Cannon’s one-man, five-star retelling of The Scottish Play Is This A Dagger?, David Colvin’s highly acclaimed tale of legendary piper Gordon Duncan Thunderstruck, Puppet State Theatre’s multi award-winning adaptation of Jean Giono’s classic environmental tale The Man Who Planted Trees, and the Loud Poets returning with their late night staple Best of Fringe, which brings together the highlights of the Festival’s poetry acts in a raucous night of spoken word!

There are plenty of family-friendly shows for the school holidays. Janis Mackay transports us to the northern seascapes in Wee Seals and Selkies, weaving maritime tales with live fiddle music, Shona Cowie uses excellent traditional tales and songs, clowning and masterful improvisation to protect us from wee critters in Beware the Beasts, and the Suitcase Storytelling Company follow our hero Toral on the adventure of a lifetime as she braves many adventures, all to fight a great and terrible dragon in The Girl and the Dragon.

For two dates only, Edinburgh’s prestigious Poosie Nansie Burns Club celebrate Scotland’s Bard in Robert Burns: A Life in Songs and Poetry, while Edinburgh-based Morna Burdon reads a selection of her own poetry packed with observations on life, womanhood, war, class and seagulls in Fire is Not the Only Element. 

Scottish Storytelling Centre’s Programme Manager, Daniel Abercrombie says:  “If you’ve never experienced the wonder of live storytelling, Scotland’s Year of Stories 2022 is the perfect opportunity!

“We have curated a high-quality programme for all ages which reflects the energy and variety in our year-round offer, as some of Scotland’s best storytellers and performers create new conversations around live issues, or reflect on past events which may still resonate fully in the present.

“We value the warmth of our welcome and aim to make your visit as safe and enjoyable as possible!”

Fringe 2022: Morna Burdon’s ‘Fire is not The Only Element’

Fire is Not the Only Element

by

Morna Burdon

Poetry, Spoken Word, Song

SCOTTISH STORYTELLING CENTRE: FRINGE VENUE 30

GEORGE MACKAY BROWN LIBRARY

17 – 21 AUGUST 2022    5PM

From womanhood to war, from class and punk to falling in and out of love to the beautiful game, ‘Fire is Not the Only Element’ is about our lives, our humanity, our foibles, foul-ups and frailties. Creating from real life experiences, Morna Burdon uses poetry to express the joy, sadness, humour, beauty and absurdity of life. 

As a performer, writer, singer, director, Morna has toured Scotland and abroad telling stories through theatre and performance. With ‘Fire is Not the Only Element’, she turns her talents to poetry as she weaves a tapestry of poems, spoken word and song to shed light on people and situations that often remain hidden and unsung.

“During lockdown, I wrote a poem about having COVID (didn’t we all ??!!) and people really liked it, so I wrote on a different topic, then another and poems just kept coming until it became a show!”

Whether directing, performing or writing, Morna mines for stories and then finds ways of telling them that honour the integrity of the people on whose lives a light is being shone.

In her singing, her writing, her theatre, she is interested in the extraordinary in the so-called ‘ordinary’. 

“I am delighted that this show- with its emphasis on poetry – is returning to the Scottish Storytelling Centre as part of the Fringe after its sell-out premiere in April 2022. This is the place where I started my one woman shows. It is the storytelling aspect of poems that I enjoy in performance.

“I love that people can respond together in the same room to these glimpses of life, as you do with a film, or a photograph, or a good piece of theatre. A good poem should grab you in the same way these other art forms do.”

Tickets: 

https://scottishstorytellingcentre.online.red61.co.uk/event/913:4344/

01315569579  

About Morna Burdon                                                                           

www.mornaburdon.com

Morna is an Edinburgh-based theatre director, performer, singer and writer whose work has appeared throughout Scotland and abroad. She has toured extensively in Scotland and has directed and performed with a range of international artists from throughout Europe and Africa, also working professionally in Milan, Dublin, Hamburg and Denmark. 

Previous work has included Fringe successes ‘Bonnie Fechters: Songs and Stories of Women of Courage’ and ‘Gie’s Peace’, about women peace activists. She has performed Shakespeare at Glastonbury and recently acted with English Theatre Milan on a Zoom production of the French farce “Box and Cox”.

She has also led many theatre workshops, including writing for stage with mentees having their work developed and shown in venues ranging from community centres to the Royal Court Upstairs.

Poetry and spoken word performances have included COP26, Hillhead Bookshop, Glasgow, Hunter S Thomson, Dundee. In June 2020 Morna won the Scottish Book Trust Fast Fiction Award. 

COMMENTS ON RECENT WORK

BONNIE FECHTERS

★★★★ Broadway Baby “Deeply moving … mellow singing… charismatic”  

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED “Intimate, heartfelt & inspiring” (Fringe Review) 

“One minute I was laughing, next I was in tears”

 Producer, Writers and Activists Programme, Edinburgh International Book Fringe

GIE’S PEACE

★★★★ Scots Gay Arts “Brilliantly dark humour” 

RECOMMENDED “a clever, wistful look at the effects wars had on the world” Fringe Review  

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LOCKDOWN ONLINE EVENTS

Fire is Not the Only Element

Edinburgh Performing Arts Development Zoom Platform Event

​Audience Comments

Gorgeous use of language … wonderfully performative… Connects with the audience at various stages of life… It has biographical power… stunning… loved the voice and delivery … full of compassion and humanity – as well as womanhood ” and ” I don’t like poetry, but I liked that – let me know when you do it again ”  

EnglishMilan Theatre International Zoom Production (Fringe at the Space) 

 Box and Cox by John Maddison Morton 

“All three performers succeeded in representing the eccentricity of the protagonists with an astonishing sense of humour and irony”.  

Gioia Angeletti, Specialist in Scottish Theatre and Literature, Parma University

“Delightful tongue-in-cheek Victorian farce in Zoom form offers a laugh a minute and a chance to enjoy the actors’ ability in adjusting to a new medium”. 

Patricia Anne Kennan, Adjunct Professor at Bicocca University, Milan
“A special mention to Morna Burdon as Mrs Bouncer, who conveyed so much with the merest twitch of an eyebrow and/or lip.” Wilma G Stark, Translator,Writer, Storyteller