Produced by The Young Edinburgh Storytellers

The realm of water is one of the least understood elements of our world: both in the logistical sense and in the spiritual. Yet it is our most ardent, connective, and life-giving aspect of the natural world. 

This Festival Fringe, audiences of the Scottish Storytelling Centre are invited into the fae court. The Young Edinburgh Storytellers (YES), consisting of Mark Borthwick, Ailsa Dixon, and David Hughes dip their toes into the pools of the annals of Scotland’s relationship with the land, in particular for this show, the waters.

From reflective kelpies to the disheartening devastation of our environment in the name of commerce, Land Under Wave charters a course through multiple genres and techniques of storytelling through the natural world. We’re encouraged to make our thoughts of the tales known, as every member of the court is gifted a hunk of coral, a token with which to pay their favourite story – or the one which spoke most to them.

A trio of tantalising tales are spun to entice the audience into favour and draw out the fae and spirits latent within the room, encouraging audiences to cast away their heavier, day-to-day forms and embrace something more primal.

Remarkably earnest in approach, Land Under Wave delves into the world below the surface with a selection of varied forms and techniques of storytelling – the only thing they share is a high level of quality and a mirthful approach. Seamlessly integrating musical elements of folk, the Young Edinburgh Storytellers introduce percussion and strings (with Dixon’s wonderful cello playing) throughout the performance to stoke musical elements, without overtaking the storytelling and spoken word.

Timeless, the heart of masterful storytelling is channelled through the trio as their tales weave and evoke elements of identity, queerness, desires, lusts, post-industrial society and the need for basic respects. Nothing feels forced, yet everything is gentile and reflective: unless a touch of darkness is called upon.

There are shadows in the fae court however, as flickers of contemporary strife pollute the waters and awaken the audiences to the group’s merits as they compliment one another, some tales taking a gloomier outlook – a thirst for some crimson in the water. It’s a necessary and welcome inclusion, and despite the ‘voting’ mechanic of the show, the equilibrium is present throughout: this is a group performance where all sit at the same height in this court.

Our endless pursuits of stories and recognition, Tír na nÓg (Land Under Wave) is as fluid a storytelling experience as the waters they in-trench themselves. Alluring, tempting out the audience’s inner forms, ripples of change cast into the pools of history and folklore may take aeons to form waves, but once the momentum builds it’s only inevitable that freedom is to follow; a calming, enriching experience for any audience.