The spark of storytelling ignites into a bonfire of fables and tales this week, as the Scottish International Storytelling Festival (SISF) prepares to Keep It Lit with its largest programme to date. In Edinburgh, across Scotland, and online, the festival will present over 240 events dedicated to the tradition of oral storytelling between Friday 14 and Monday 31 October.
At the Scottish Storytelling Centre, the festival’s main hearth, storytellers will gather to tell tales of the characters of Scotland including:
A Shetland story dating back to the 800s – The Story of Auslag: A Saga from Unst (Sun 23 Oct), steeped in both historic truth and elements of myth. Based on Andrew T. Cluness’ Trouble With Trolls, Shetland storyteller and Scots Speaker of the Year Marjolein Robertson will be bringing Auslag’s story to life with the rugged richness of Shetlandic language and landscape.
A mini-break at Hotel Caledonia (Sat 29 Oct) where audiences can mingle with millions of guests from all over the world; drawn here by stories of heroes, romance, magic and history. Some guests become part of the story, some always were. This mouth-watering medley of untold travellers’ tales of love and exile, laughter, longing, lost luggage and laundry will be presented by storyteller Áine King and musician/composer Eric Linklater.
And, hearthside highlight – SUM / body (Mon 24 Oct) which asks if you can imagine the “voice” of Scotland? And whether it is possible to blend the diverse words, accents, opinions and emotions expressed by people living in Scotland, and unify them into one character? Presented with multidisciplinary writer and producer Aisha Josiah whose work combines storytelling, theatre, data science and gaming into a unique storytelling experience. Directed by Olivia Songer.
This year the festival spreads across Scotland with a Go Local programme of regional events, including the Map of Stories Film Ceilidhs (Sat 15 Oct – Sun 6 Nov). Part of a wider ambitious project led by Edinburgh-based arts collective Transgressive North, Map of Stories is a series of multimedia performances that celebrates not only Scotland’s living oral storytelling traditions and those that carry them, but also some of Scotland’s iconic, now-departed storytellers including the celebrated Perthshire traveller Sheila Stewart OBE, the polymath Gaelic bard Norman Maclean, and seminal Aberdeenshire traveller Stanley Robertson. After premiering at SISF, each performance will go on tour to its region of focus – Dumfries & Galloway, the North East, Perth & Kinross, the Outer Hebrides, and Orkney – and explore the distinctive stories, memories and folklore arising from that particular community and landscape.
The festival’s online Global Platform programme, and international in-person events celebrate the artform of oral storytelling, its interaction with cultural tradition, and contemporary renaissance worldwide. A highlight at the Scottish Storytelling Centre includes A’ lorg Sruthan Falaichte | Finding Hidden Streams (Sat 22 Oct) which explores the vital nature of language to cultural identity. Storytellers Julie Pellissier-Lush and John Shaw share stories and traditions from North America’s First Nations Mi’kmaq, who handed on their culture through oral tradition, and the Gaelic speaking cultures who emigrated to the maritime territories of what was to later become Canada.
These events are just some of the embers to be enjoyed at this year’s festival.
The Scottish International Storytelling Festival will run Friday 14 – Monday 31 October. This year, when people’s lives are under pressure on all sides, and a story shared is a trouble eased more than ever, SISF wants to make sure its events remain affordable and as many people as possible can sit by the festival’s symbolic fireside. Some events are free and ticketed events cost a maximum of £10, with family events costing £5 per ticket. For those planning on attending multiple events, the Festival Pass 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.
Scottish International Storytelling Festival
14 – 31 October 2022
In person in Edinburgh and across Scotland, and online