Festival Finale weekend brings stories of culture and a few spooks!
The Storytelling Festival finale weekend offers music, art, culture and of course, a treasure trove of tales from a diverse group of talented tellers.
Fri 29 October, 2pm (1hr 30mins), Free but ticketed
Tell-a-Story Day: Eastern Routes
Celebrate Tell-a-Story Day at the Scottish Storytelling Centre with an afternoon of fun, interactive storytelling and storymaking inspired by the Festival's 'Eastern Routes' theme. Led by Michael Williams.
A cornerstone of the Festival tradition, Tell-a-Story Day ensures the whole community can get involved in the joy of live oral storytelling by putting on their own event, attend a local session or visit the Storytelling Centre’s session. This year there are over 20 community events arranged around Scotland, with some events even being arranged globally in Copenhagen, Duisburg-Duissern and Geneva.
Fri 29 October, 7pm (1hr 45mins), £10/£8
Source: Ancient Tales from India & Scotland
Behind Europe's oldest stories are the great tales of India. See them reunited, and drink deep from the refreshing well of tradition.
Having explored China and Japan with dedicated days during the Festival, it’s time to explore Indian tales, which provide the backbone to Europe’s oldest stories. Visiting tellers Jeeva Raghunath and Geeta Ramunajam team up with Scotland’s raconteurs Linda Williamson and David Campbell to explore the sources of ancient tales and how they developed through the generations. The evening promises to be an intoxicating exploration of music, song and story.
Sat 30 October, 1pm (1hr), £6/£4
Bengali Arts & Crafts
Ruby Palchoudhuri, Director of the Crafts Council of West Bengal speaks about her learning experiences over the 25 years she has spent with the Council. Chaired by Elizabeth Guest, with Q&A.
Sat 30 October, 2.30pm (1hr 30mins), £8/£6
Bengali Stories and Scrolls
Bengali scroll artist Gurupada Chitrakar tells the enchanting story of the Goddess Durga with handpainted scroll and Bengali lyrics.
Sat 30 October, 5pm (40mins), Free but ticketed
Meet the Storyteller: Geeta Ramanujam
A relaxed and informal opportunity to meet Geeta in person. Learn more about the people, traditions and philosophy that have played an integral role in her career as a storyteller, teacher and academic, and the stories that inspire her.
Sat 30 October, 7pm (1hr 45mins), £10/£8
India: A Universe of Stories
Let time dissolve to the voices of Geeta Ramanujam, Jeeva Raghunath, Kamini Ramachandran, Gurupada Chitrakar and host Ruth Kirkpatrick
The Festival continues its exploration of India with a day of events at the Storytelling Centre full of colour and spice. Director of the Crafts Council of West Bengal, Ruby Palchoudhuri, discusses the revival of languishing crafts such as Bengali scroll painting and kantha (quilt embroidery) and the impact of modern technological intervention in traditional crafts. She then joins scroll artist Gurupada Chitrakar for a performance to satisfy all the senses. Delve into the age-old Patua tradition of storytelling and be mesmerised by the tales and visuals.
The Festival’s popular Meet the Storyteller events introduces Geeta Ramanujam who shares her favourite tales interspersed with how she became a storyteller and her mission to inculcate storytelling as part of the school syllabus. This is followed by an evening performance featuring our visiting storytellers from India present a rich selection of Indian tales which fully embrace the flavour of language, tones, expressions, gestures and folk tunes which merge with local legends, animals and the earth.
Sunday 31 Oct, 7pm (1hr 45mins), £10/£8
Night of the Circle: All Hallows Eve
On this night the veil between seen and unseen, past and present is at its thinest. Experience the coming together of Scottish, Swedish, Indian, Malaysian, Thai and Japanese traditions on All Hallows Eve and step over the threshold into the Celtic New Year. Hosted by Jess Smith with Jeeva Raghunath, Kamini Ramachandran, Wajuppa Tossa, Mio Shapley, Karin Ferry and George MacPherson.
Scotland’s Traveller voices find resonance across the globe, in the Festival’s popular annual event for Hallowe’en. Ancient Celtic traditions in Scotland are woven with ideas around commemorating the dead and stories of a spirit world permeate cultures across the globe. Night of the Circle: All Hallows Eve fuses the strong storytelling tradition of the Scottish Traveller community with tales of the underworld from the Indian, Japanese, Malaysian and Thai cultures represented at the Festival. Jess Smith, who hails from a Scottish traveller family and was privileged to sit round camp fires being enthralled by all manner of sagas hosts the spine-tingling night. Expect Halloween tales that thrill and chill through their glimpses of living global voices, as well as tales of a darker underworld.
www.scottishstorytellingcentre.co.uk for full listings
0131 556 9579
tickets can be booked online at www.hubtickets.co.uk
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