Nordic Storytelling Marathon

Last night was the grand finale of this year's Scottish International Storytelling Festival: 10 days of stories, workshops and networking. I enjoyed every minute of it, but it's been a bit of a marathon. I'm taking this morning off to catch up on the rest of my life.

The theme of this year's festival was Northlands and Sagalands, and the featured tellers came from Scotland (of course), Noway, Sweden, Iceland, Finland and Alaska. All the tellers were well known professionals who could hold an audience's attention with a mere whisper. However, some performances have stuck in my head more than others; this says more about my own taste than the skills of those who told. I highly recommend seeing the following tellers if you get a chance:

Jerker Fahstrom and Mats Rehman from Sweden brought the old Norse Myths to life for a contemporary audience without sacrificing their authenticity. They had me laughing and shuddering in turns. Jerker's telling of the Ragnarok chilled me to the bones.

Nina Nasheim from Norway is a gifted teller whose characters seem to occupy her very body. A funny and profound teller for both adults and children. I've never heard a better seagull cry or seen someone imitate a camel quite so well. A very funny lady.

Tom Muir from Orkney has a gift for telling difficult stories--those stories that society needs to hear--in a truly compassionate and sometimes funny way. A less theatrical teller than some others, this is a man who can make a theatre feel like a snug warm kitchen.

Last night's performance was a combination of storytelling and traditional music, put on by the Traditional Music and Song Association of Scotland. Jerker and Tom told stories along with a couple of other tellers and then in the second half three young musicians played a perfect mixture of contemporary and traditional songs. Jeana and Siobhan (with their friend on guitar) even played Saints and Sinners by Ottawa musician Dave Francey. Jeana herself is an "Orkanadian" (an Orkney lass of Canadian descent). Incidentally, you can vote for Jeana and Siobhan as "up and coming artist of the year" in the MG ALBA Scots Music Awards at this link: www.handsupfortrad.co.uk.

All in all it's been a fabulous ten days, but I am looking forward to sitting at home this evening.