Greeting friends and story lovers,

August is upon us again. Lughnasadh, harvest time, blaeberry time, and in the wider orbit of Edinburgh, Fringe Festival time!

I'm enjoying the buzz of people and entertainment in the city and I've managed to catch a few shows before my own run starts...tomorrow!

After the success of last year, I am doing another run of Animate Lands, starting Monday 12th Aug and running through until the 26th. We're on every second day at 1.15pm in the Scottish Storytelling Centre theatre.

If you haven't caught it yet, this could be your last opportunity for a while as I have a new show ready to launch in the Autumn.

Animate Lands follows the arc of the Fianna cycle, witnessing each tale through a gently animistic lens. It questions what has been lost, from the old cultures of these islands, that could serve us well in these times, and how can we access such knowledge through story.

It has a cracking soundtrack of fiddle, flute and whistle, a mix of trad tunes and compositions, and an array of modestly amusing jokes.

We've had a great response so far with reviewers describing it as, 'a masterful hour of tale and tune' and 'As introductions to the storytelling art for audiences of any age go, you’d be hard to pushed to find anything better.'

If you feel like joining us through August, you can find tickets and info via:

https://scottishstorytellingcentre.online.red61.co.uk/event/913:5608/

If you can't make it but would like to support, you might share the above ticket link, or poster image, with friends or on social media.

And if you've already been and loved it, you might feel to leave an audience review below:

https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/animate-lands-a-celtic-myth-cycle

If you have tips of great shows at the fringe I'd also be interested to hear?

I've been to see:

Chris Cook's comedic magic show 'The Art of Taking Part', which I really recommend, it's impressive, funny and uplifting. I took friends and they loved it.

RJ Hunter's Stupid Sexy Poem show, which was wild, skilful and irreverent. Oral Tradition by Lara McClure which offered an unorthodox trail through the stories of three Ulster Goddesses.

Each are worth a punt.

The Storytelling Cente always has a solid programme, and there are a few more I'm excited to see there this year.

https://scottishstorytellingcentre.online.red61.co.uk/

I hope to see some of you through the Month, and wishing you an entertaining month regardless.

May the harvest be bountiful

Dougie