Would you mind giving us insight into your art/event/performance?
At its core, the performance is an immersive journey through two connected landscapes: the Nothern Black Forest and the Scottish Highlands. Even though they are separate in distance, I felt they spoke the same ancient language of mist, mountain stones and creatures.
In the show I am sharing a few stories from mythical creatures that stood out to me, when I first moved to Scotland. So we are going to explore the roots of the White Stag, The Auherhahn (Capercaille), Raven and Nixe and trace their steps across the map of Europe.
During the show we are using evocative music and repeating songs, storytelling, and subtle audience interaction to treat them as living, breathing entities. It’s an interesting theme as, animals in folklore have always served as mirrors for human fears, desires, and connection to the untamed world. So our performance builds toward a central question: When will we finally quiet our own voices to hear the call of the wild/ nature again.
Tell us about the creative team and the process involved in producing your performance?
We operate as a collaborative duo – Franziska, playwright & storyteller and Mollie Davis musician and songwriter.
Our creative process began seperatly, where Mollie dived into various music themes and myself (Franziska) started to look closer into the world of the different creatures I wanted to display.
From there, we developed a show together that started to flow, adding on music, bringing in conversational structure and tiying in the wolrds. We tried to build soundscapes that felt right and build moments where the audience feels less like passive spectators and more like co-listeners around a communal fire.
With the launch of this year’s programme, Birds and Beasts, how does it feel to be involved in the Festival?
So exciting! I always wanted to be part of the festival, but so far my timing never quiet aligned as I was either pregnant (twice) or in the deep dive of motherhood with a baby. With my oldes being 5 years old and my youngest just turned two, it felt like the right time. It’s especially nice to do this amazing show together with my friend Mollie, who has been with me on stage numerous times, but even she agreed that this feels different now, like we both unlocked another level in our creative practice. More serious, yet joyful.
With shows from all over the world, is there anything in the production/team’s backgrounds and identity that influences the show?
Absolutely. I grew up in the Northern Black Forest and moved to Scotland as a young adult. I feel like I grew up between both forests, so to speak. The stories are a selection of the first stories I heard or related to my new home in Scotland.
Storytelling in Scotland is a treasured, if often unsung, craft within the media. For those who may be unfamiliar with a live performance, what can audiences expect?
If you haven’t experienced live storytelling before, don’t expect a formal lecture or a standard theatrical play. Expect intimacy, atmosphere, and imagination.
You will enter a space in which you are a friend – invited to leave everything else at the door step and just fully live with us in the moment. There will be time to listen, time to laugh an smile, time to join in with our songs and time to make up your own mind too.
We will take you on a journey “Eye to Eye, Mind to Mind and Heart to Heart”.
With one foot in tradition and another in the present, what do you hope for Storytelling’s future, either as a performance or as a community?
I really hope storytelling continues to be recognised not as a cozy nostalgia or something “just for kids”, but as a contemporary art form for all (especially for adults!). In an era dominated by hyper-fast digital media, live oral performance offers something increasingly rare: genuine presence and collective listening.
I would love to see it thrive.
The Antler and the Wing runs at The scottish Storytelling Centre as a part of The Scottish International Storytelling Festival on 27th October
Interested in being featured on our Have a Gander page? With many previews and Q&As lined up, we’re always happy to chat about including your show in future articles. Please do get in touch through the contact page to feature in an upcoming ‘Have A Gander’