As seasons change and the leaves turn golden and amber across the country, the love of storytelling remains the same.
This autumn, Scotland welcomes back Scottish International Storytelling Festival.
Gather around, join in the ceilidh and experience a living flow of song, music, dance, story and wordplay.
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Return of Scottish International Storytelling Festival 2023
Running from October 13-29 2023, storytellers and lovers of tales are invited to attend the world-famous Scottish International Storytelling Festival (SISF).
Following the great success of last year’s event, SISF encourages audiences across Scotland to come together and celebrate the 2023 festival theme of the ‘Right To Be Human’.
#RightToBeHuman
Falling on the year of the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the theme of this year’s festival encourages audiences to consider the many challenges we face, from human health and wellbeing to the health and future of our planet.
This festival brings to light a worldwide movement to meet these challenges and to exist imaginatively, fairly and in community with the whole diversity of life.
Throughout history, storytelling has embraced these values. Today the need to come together and be more connected has never been more apparent.
Scottish International Storytelling Festival encourages us to celebrate our community, our connection to each other and the world around us, as well as exploring what it means to be human.
Celebrating our rights, SISF 2023 invites everyone to the ceilidh; locally, nationally and globally.
Here are just a few of the events due to take place during SISF 2023.
Open Hearth Sessions
Taking place throughout the festival, the Open Hearth sessions gather together storytellers and musicians for a relaxed evening of stories and music in the Netherbow Theatre.
As the darkness closes in and minds glow with pictures in the symbolic fire, this is a perfect way to end your day when attending SISF.
Open Hearth Events take place at 8PM on Friday October 13, Wednesday October 25 and Sunday 29 October.
Letters to Jackie
60 years ago in Dundee, DC Thomson’s Jackie magazine was a bestseller for the teenage market, and young readers flocked to Jackie’s ‘agony aunts’ Cathy and Clare with their problems.
Sgàthach Storytellers Bea Ferguson, Heather Yule and Maria Whatton bring the power of the old tales to answer problems of today.
Come and join these sublime storytellers in an interactive session of stories and music.
Letters to Jackie featuring Bea Ferguson, Heather Yule and Maria Whatton takes place on Sunday October 15 at 8PM.
Daniel Serridge presents Orpheus | Orfeo
The story of Orpheus and Eurydice is given a Scottish twist in this dark and dangerous telling of the famous Greek myth.
For this first time ever, the Shetland ballad of King Orfeo is swirled into the murky depths of Hades’ underworld. Storyteller Daniel Serridge, singer Heather Cartwright and harpist Neil Wood explore grief and loss, inspired by the words of people who live and work most closely with it.
Using metaphors contained within Greek Myth and Scottish Folklore, Daniel asks audiences to interrogate their own attitude to grief.
He said: “I hope this performance allows people to feel deeply about their own lives but in a safe and removed fashion, to empathise with characters and experiences fundamental to humanity. I hope to make the heart swell and the eyes well.”
Orpheus | Orfeo featuring Daniel Serridge takes place on Sunday October 22 at 8PM.
Family-friendly and children’s events
Grab the wee ones and take the whole family to this year’s SISF with many family-friendly and children’s events taking place. Here are just a few:
The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse, a multisensory adventure, takes place at 11am on Saturday October 14 at the Scottish Storytelling Centre. Fun for everyone but particularly suitable for children with additional needs and their families and friends.
Isis and Osiris, a dance-filled interactive session, tells the story of ancient Egypt. It takes place at 2pm on Saturday October 14 at the Scottish Storytelling Centre.
Visual Fun With Sports, presented by Deaf Action, is a spectacular adventure into the world of sports. Originally performed at the Edinburgh Deaf Festival, this piece is performed in Visual Vernacular and British Sign Language, with a BSL interpreter providing a voiceover in English. It takes place at 1.30pm on Saturday October 21 at the Scottish Storytelling Centre.
Other ways to hear the tales of our right to be human
In addition to the dozens of performances and workshops throughout the festival, SISF has now launched a new podcast series, Another Story, exploring some of the themes featured in this year’s festival.
Tune in to hear some wonderful storytellers share their favourite tales and chat about all things storytelling, in Scotland and beyond. The six-episode series, available wherever you get your podcasts, will release a new episode every Tuesday leading up to Friday October 13 with a live festival event.
There’s also TALK – the Exhibition, in collaboration with the Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival. This features the photography of men and highlights issues around masculinity and mental health, shining a light on the silent struggle of so many men. Starting Saturday October 7, the exhibition will be on until the end of the festival.
Still craving more stories? Anchored at the Scottish Storytelling Centre in Edinburgh but also taking place in regional venues, with affordable tickets, a podcast and a global lab workshop series available online, SISF is more accessible than ever.
See the full programme of performances and venues and learn more about this must-see festival.
