Elisabeth Flett
Scotland is a land of rivers, lochs and waterways. A place where the signs of Cailleach, Bodach and Salmon still shimmer amidst the stones and shrines. Inspired by Scottish rivers, the stories they carry and their fragile eco-system, Eileen Budd and David McAlmont present a narrative blend of storytelling, songs and visual arts, with sound design and traditional rhythms from Debbie Armour.
The Scottish Storytelling Centre’s Netherbow Theatre is the perfect space for all things story, and this show is no different. The audience file in to the sight of Eileen Budd sitting resplendent in tartan petticoats on a dark wooden chair worthy of any grand tale, a woven carpet of warm colours at her feet and a moodily shifting array of painted seascapes projected onto the backdrop behind her expectant pose. Sat at a desk in the corner of the stage are David McAlmont and Debbie Armour, ready to offer artistic support and soundscapes, their laptops open in anticipation. We’re handed a sheet of lyrics for two Gaelic songs – thankfully also spelt out phonetically for those of us whose Gaelic is decidedly rusty – blue-tinted lighting turns the stage into a world of inviting watery wonder, and Land of Many Waters begins.
As explained by David McAlmont in his in-person introduction to this piece at the start of the performance, Land of Many Waters is a new work from the trio which is still in a stage of ‘collaborative exploration’. It’s easy to see the promise of this performance right from this very first showing. McAlmont’s selection of images – close ups of sea-themed artistic details photographed from various paintings by Scottish artists – add an entertaining and intriguing backdrop to these tales. Budd’s gently lilting storytelling draws us into this space of watery wonder and ancient magics, stories of ‘salt and song’ which celebrate corners of Scottish folklore often left unheard. It is Debbie Armour’s sound design, however, which is the most intriguing part of this performance, and the part which also could be developed to much more effect. There are a few instances where the soundworld of Land of Many Waters becomes experimental, rushing water and backing tracks replaced by strange expanses of murky loops and glitching vocals, crackling echoes and bell-like tolls transporting us to somewhere enticingly other. As this piece is developed it would be exciting to hear more of this explorative element to Armour’s work, particularly in the darker moments of Budd’s water-themed storytelling performance when man-eating sea-beasts and Cailleach ‘storm stories’ paint these imagined Scottish skies with unpredictable weather and chaotic plot twists.
Towards the end of Land of Many Waters there is a mention of ‘bombs strapped around our river’s heart’, Budd referring to the nuclear presence of Trident within our country and how painfully wrong it is to sit so much lethal potential death next to a life-force which has sustained us all for millennia. This is a very strong theme, so much so that it feels like a missed opportunity not to make this concept a much more central narrative to the overall show. As it stands, however, Land of Many Waters is a solid, enjoyable piece of work from three talented creatives. Budd tells us that there are ‘two thousand rivers and three hundred lochs’ in Scotland, and that ‘the story of all that water can be told as one body’. There are many good stories in this performance, and with just a little more focus on where those stories are all headed this show overall will be very, very good indeed.
Recommended Drink: A wee dram is the perfect accompaniment to this celebration of Scotland’s watery folklore.
Performances of Land of Many Waters have now concluded at the Scottish International Storytelling Festival 2025.
Jasmine Silk
Phoebe Bakker
