Animate Lands: Dougie MacKay with Siarimis.

Traditional Scottish Storytelling from Dougie MacKay on his West Coast tour, with music by Siarimis. 

Dougie MacKay is a contemporary Scottish storyteller, steeped in the cultural traditions of Scotland and the Celtic isles. Trained by elders and tradition bearers, yet with a finger on the pulse of contemporary storytelling, modern complexity and mythopoetics, Dougie is at the forefront of a movement in Scotland tracking codes of the old culture through story that can sustain us and guide us through the turbulence of modern life.

ANIMATE LANDS is a journey into the storied soul of Scotland wherein epic tales of the Celtic warrior stewards, the ‘Fianna’, are brought to life in contemporary storytelling style, with a musical soundscape and accompaniment by Cumberland-based Celtic music duo, Siarimis.

This show has been a sell-out hit at the Scottish International Storytelling Festival 2022 and Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2023, described as a ‘fresh and joyful take on Celtic lore and Scotland’s landscape’, ‘graced by light touch and honest humour’, and ‘a masterful hour of tale and tune.’

It explores ancient story as a way of understanding the intimate and inspiring relationship that people once had with their natural environments.

The show muses: ‘how has our relationship with the natural world deteriorated over time? What did our own traditional cultures know about living in harmony with the environment?

What can we glean from the old stories that act as useful reminders in these times?’

Through the stories we feast upon the ‘Salmon of Wisdom’, meet wily druids who speak poetry by the oak groves, we are enchanted by shapeshifting deer women, ponder the ‘sweetest music’ and return from ‘Tir Na Nog’, the land of eternal youth, to find much of the world has changed.

This show of Celtic myth and music is family friendly, and prompts a poetic appreciation of the natural world in a light hearted and entertaining fashion.

Reviews of the Animate Lands show:

'MacKay is a first rate teller and charming host. His telling is trum and ripe with characteristic wry humour. The show is a well-constructed, fascinating primer on the animistic side of the Celtic story-scape. As introductions to the storytelling art go, you'd be hard pushed to find anything better. Quintessential Review Edfringe 23

'Dougie MacKay is a skilled and accomplished storyteller who quickly establishes a welcoming and relaxed atmosphere that encourages the audience to engage with the stories.' Edinburgh Theatre Edfringe 23

'A fresh and joyful take on Celtic lore and Scotland's landscape...an audience pleaser with authenticity graced by light touch and honest humour'. Donald Smith, Director of the Scottish International Storytelling Festival 

More about Dougie and his tour:

www.storyconnection.org

IG: @dougie.mackay.story

Podcast: Tales For Our Times

Youtube: @dougie,mackay.storyteller

More about Siarimis:

FB: Siarimis Music

IG: @siarimis_music