Over in Glasgow we are gearing up for not only The Village Storytelling Festival (VSF24) but also the Federation of European Storytelling (FEST) conference! It is only a matter of time before both these two things collide at the CCA on Sauchiehall Street. We are hugely excited to welcome everyone who’ll attend these events from Scotland, the UK, Europe and even further afield because it promises to be a wonderful week of story. If you haven’t seen the programme yet then please click here but let us give you a few highlights to whet your appetite!
Both FEST and the Festival kick off on Tuesday night with performances by The Village Storytellers with a piece called Against the Current, which celebrates all things Glasgow, followed by Land Under Wave by the Young Edinburgh Storytellers. Wednesday and Thursday will be filled with keynote speeches, workshops and presentations from across Europe as the FEST conference gets into full swing, the programme for these days is jam packed and it’ll be such a fantastic networking opportunity as well as a chance to be inspired by the rich tapestry of ideas, stories and practices from across the continent. During the evenings we’ll have the fabulous Niall Moorjani with their contemporary telling of Thomas the Rhymer, A Faerie Tale followed by Stephe Harrop’s piece Queens of Albion. Thursday sees Daiva Ivanauskaitė-Brown take us into the undergrowth with her piece first commissioned by SISF2023, Her Father Had Nothing to Say (Fire in the Woods) 
Followed by writer and performer Martin O Connor’s exploration of Glasgow languages in Togail Naisean/Re-Building a nation. Our two commissions this year will take place on Friday and Saturday night, firstly Inheritance by Lorna Callery-Sithole explores the seismic events of her childhood in Pollok. Secondly, we’ll have Smoke and Sickle by Emery Hunter, bringing ancient Selkie myths into the realms of BSL and Visual Vernacular.
We’ll also be bringing back some pieces first hosted at the Scottish Storytelling Centre, Myth and Motherhood by Sarah Wedderburn-Ogilvy tells us tales of the high and lows of parenting, Orpheus/Orfeo by Daniel Serridge
swirls an old Shetland ballad into the famous Greek myth and Twa Corbies by Linda Williamson tells Jack tales alongside animated film. Saturday see our family day get into full swing with immersive storytelling experiences in The Story Dome. Welsh, Irish and English collide in Mali and the Sea told by the majestic voice of Tamar Eluned Williams. For those with really wee ones then come and get silly in Scots with Ishbel McFarlane’s interactive session, Scots an Weans: a fun session of story and song and Scots. Saturday night concludes with a piece all the way from Amsterdam. Saffron performed by Hala Salem explores Palestinian identity through the lens of the body in this ground breaking blend of Arabic folk music and electronica.
The Festival will be littered with more relaxed storytelling performances from a variety of tellers. Talkin’ Bout my Generation tells tales of generational difference and similarity. The Village Storytellers Emerging Storytellers programme comes to the end with a selection of new voices to the scene and every evening in the bar we’ll be hosting open storytelling nights for those with a story to share, a song to sing or anything else that they can throw into the mix!
Our community programme sees performances exploring the language of the LGBTQIA+ community through, By Any Other Name. Our Young Storytellers with a performance that weaves story with a graphic novel in Break a Leg. Intimate performances delving into friendship by participants with profound learning needs in Not Words But Meanings. There’ll also be a lively and ghoulish session from the Barrhead Folk Collective who will tell tales to chill your bones. As well as all that, The festival concludes on Sunday with our big community day in Pollok, Minifest.
Phew! If you’re as out of breath reading that as we are writing it then hopefully it has given you at least a picture of many things we have to offer but there’s so much more too! Please check out the programme of the Festival and FEST, sign up, buy tickets and get in touch if you need to find out more. We are so excited, and we hope you are too. Come one, come all to VSF24!
Thanks and see you soon
The Village Storytelling Centre
VSF runs June 25th – 30th 2024
