Created and Performed by Dougie Mackay and Jemima Thewes
Review by Dominic Corr
In A Wolf Shall Devour the Sun, ancient myth collides with ecological urgency in a richly textured hour of storytelling, shadow puppetry, and live music. Performed by Dougie Mackay and Jemima Thewes, this Fringe offering is a visually arresting and thematically resonant piece that draws on folklore from across the globe to explore our fractured relationship with the wild—particularly the wolf, once Scotland’s oldest ally and now a spectral absence, and to some, adversary.
The show’s visual language is its greatest strength. Shadow puppetry, and projected imagery conjure dreamlike landscapes where Norse gods battle cosmic beasts, Siberian wolf-children roam frostbitten forests, and Celtic shapeshifters slip between skin and fur. The puppetry is both playful and haunting, with wolves rendered as looming silhouettes or delicate cut-outs, depending on the tale. The transitions between stories are fluid, often bleeding into one another with clever use of light and layering, creating a liminal space where myth and memory feel interchangeable.
Mackay’s storytelling is warm and evocative, rooted in the oral tradition but unafraid to experiment. He shifts between narrator, character, and commentator with ease, drawing the audience into tales that span continents and centuries. Thewes’s live music is a vital counterpart—her voice lilts and soars through ballads and ambient soundscapes, underscoring the emotional beats with precision. Her compositions are ethereal, often echoing the natural world: wind through reeds, the hush of snowfall, the distant howl of something lost.
The show’s thematic ambition is impressive. It doesn’t just retell folklore—it interrogates it. By weaving together stories from Norse, Irish, Siberian, and Transylvanian traditions, A Wolf Shall Devour the Sun asks what we lose when we vilify the wild. The wolf, once a symbol of kinship and transformation, has been reduced to a ‘Big Bad Wolf’ in European fairy tales. This production seeks to redress that balance, inviting us to reconsider our fear and embrace the wildness within.
That said, the show isn’t without its flaws. There are occasional slip-ups in diction—moments where Mackay’s delivery falters or a line lands awkwardly—and the narrative order can feel slightly muddled. And while many of the stories bleed into one another with clear framing, occasionally they may leave less folklore-savvy audiences momentarily adrift. However, these are minor stumbles in an otherwise compelling journey, and they never detract significantly from the overall experience.
Stirring, A Wolf Shall Devour the Sun is a sensory-rich meditation on myth, memory, and ecological loss. It’s a show that doesn’t just entertain—it invites reflection. In a city so teeming with noise and novelty, this quiet, thoughtful piece stands out as a howl in the dark—one that lingers with the new moons’ rising.
A Sensory-Rich Meditation on Myth
A Wolf Shall Devour the Sun runs at the Scottish Storytelling Centre
Running time – Sixty minutes without interval
Image credit: Olivia Mater
Review by Dominic Corr – contact@corrblimey.uk
Editor for Corr Blimey, and a freelance critic for Scottish publications, Dominic has been writing freelance for several established and respected publications such as BBC Radio Scotland, The Scotsman, The List, Edinburgh Festival Magazine, The Reviews Hub, In Their Own League, The Wee Review and Edinburgh Guide. As of 2023, he is a member of the Critic’s Award for Theatre Scotland (CATS) and a member of the UK Film Critics.
