Some of the country’s best known folk singers will take part in a production commemorating the end of the Great War in Dundee.
Fife’s Barbara Dickson and Outlander star Siobhan Miller will grace the stage of the Whitehall Theatre in October in the critically acclaimed Far, Far From Ypres.
For Dickson, the show will have personal meaning as she sings in memory of her uncle David Dickson, who died at the Battle of the Somme after enlisting, underage, at 16.
The show will incorporate real stories of local men and woman and their experiences of the conflict.
The touring production will come to a close on Armistice Day, November 11, with a performance at the Usher Hall in Edinburgh.
The show will feature songs which filled the trenches as soldiers of all ranks attempted to take their minds from the everyday sorrow life on the front lines.
Ian said: “During the war, soldiers sang together to bond and alleviate fear, sharing songs from contemporary music halls as well as creating their own.
“Looking back on the music of the war today, we can see how attitudes towards the conflict changed over its course.
“From the early, jingoistic songs that promoted recruitment and betrayed an innocence about the reality of war, through to the resignation, black humour and resentment present in the later songs, the progression reflects the bitterness which grew among troops as they became disenchanted.”
Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Tourism and External Affairs, Fiona Hyslop, said: “The First World War had a devastating impact on our nation, with no town or village unaffected.
“The Far, Far From Ypres tour, part of the broader programme of activity to commemorate Scotland’s Armistice centenary, will ensure that we continue to learn more about and reflect on what we have learned from the First World War.”
Far, Far From Ypres will take place at the Whitehall Theatre on Sunday October 7.
