Dumfries & Galloway Arts Festival unveils a brand new community event in Stranraer & Dumfries for their 2022 ten day Festival.
Scotland’s largest rural performing arts festival returns in 2022 with a world class programme combining theatre, music, dance, comedy and spoken word. The Festival will bring artists and audiences alike together again, in and around venues across the region and online from the 20th – 29th May 2022.
The Festival team have introduced The Gallovidian and Doonhamers Gatherings, which will take place in Stranraer at the Millennium Centre on Saturday 21st May and The Usual Place Dumfries on Saturday 28th May featuring an exciting line-up of local artists for an evening of music, storytelling, theatre and dance, with local food and drink on offer to celebrate the hospitality of the local community.
The events are an opportunity to hear from local artists who have created and collected stories from people across the region based on folk legends, history and traditions, home and the future we face.
Hosting the evenings will be local actor Chelsie Nash. Chelsie has been creating colourful and absurd characters since 2019 and has developed a keen interest in spoken word and poetry. She has been involved in various local projects and currently works as a practitioner at Moat Brae House. Chelsie has been involved with Stage iT the youth strand of the Dumfries & Galloway Arts Festival for over a year now and performed her first full length show at the 2021 Festival after being awarded a commission for her show.
On both evenings, Mostly Ghostly will perform local stories about Stranraer and Dumfries showcasing their award-winning storytelling practice. They are the creators of an eclectic range of ghost and local history tours and the team thrive on their collective passion for folklore, the supernatural and exploring the darker side of the regions history and revealing that to locals and visitors alike.
Bunbury Banter will also perform at both events, this award winning theatre company based in the region create extraordinary, immersive, and up-close multi-sensory productions which inspire curiosity. They make work that responds to the local community and the wider theatrical and societal landscape, feeding into playful, shared experiences, which provoke responses and resonate beyond the productions and will showcase local stories as part of their performance at The Gatherings.
In Stranraer at the Gallovidian Gathering, Littlest Chicken and Jodie Rae will also perform. Audiences will get the chance to see TikTok legend, Littlest Chicken live where he will share his story and crack some jokes after recently venturing into the realm of a larger music career with his recent releases in 2021.
Jodie Rae is a singer-songwriter, musician and actor from the West Coast of Scotland, Jodie uses an upbeat, intricate and often percussive finger-picking style which contrasts with her insightful and personal lyrics. She has performed across Scotland at venues and events such as Theatre Royal Dumfries, DMC Plaza, Celtic Connections and was awarded a commission as part of the 2021 Dumfries & Galloway Arts Festival through Stage iT.
In Dumfries at the Doonhamers Gathering, Bogle Mufty will perform with their Scottish and Irish Folk and trad sounds, they came together by chance and serendipity and have been doing sessions and gigs for about 8 years and were resident performers at the Globe in Dumfries.
Finishing off the evening for both Gatherings will be The Whirligig Ceilidh Band, a well-established and popular local band that has been playing dances worldwide for the last 25 years. They will perform a mix of lively traditional music, ancient, modern and self-penned work. The band showcases some of the best and well-kent musicians in our region with Ruth Morris on fiddle, nyckelharpa and dance calling, Gavin Marwick on fiddle, Phil Alexander on accordion and Donald Hay on percussion. Audience will get to dance into the evening after a night of stunning performances.
Melanie Purdie, Strategic & Creative Director of the Dumfries & Galloway Arts Festival stated “This new programme strand aims to continue the instilled pride in our region from the 2020 Festival, inviting artists to make new performances based on the region, and audiences of friends and families to come back together again to celebrate and promote their local area. We are proud to present this celebratory event.”
For only £12 for an individual ticket, £6 for Under 26 tickets and a Family ticket for £30, communities can enjoy a new kind of night out with friends and family with a line up of incredible artists, enjoy a light bite of local produce and dance with the very best musicians our region has to offer.