A Wolf Shall Devour The Sun

Commissioned back in 2024 for the Scottish International Storytelling Festival Dougie Mackay and Jemima Thewes work together to bring us stories of the wolf – once respected and revered in ancient cultures only to be feared and demonised in medieval times, and a commentary on our more modern understanding of the role they play in balancing ecology and the debate surrounding their re-introduction into the lands they were diving to extinction in.

Dougie Mackay is a skilled storyteller weaving together the tale of Fenrir, punished out of fear for his size and strength from Norse mythology, with Irish shapeshifters who remember and repay kindness ten-fold, and a Siberian child’s coming of age journey of self-discovery. Utilising a range of traditional acoustic and percussion instruments Jemima Thewes accompanies the stories with haunting melodies when she isn’t busy with the live shadow puppetry, adding a new dimension to the piece, elevating it from an engaging storytelling session to a sensory performance.

Enjoyable, engaging and child friendly this is a sincere meditation on the nature and role of wolves both in human and ecological history that those interested in folklore and fairytales will likely enjoy. With the help of a dramaturge to smooth out the flow of transitions and staging I am certain this could truly become a piece of theatre.

Attended 11th August 2025
Edinburgh FRINGE: Venue 30
Scottish Storytelling Centre

"They are my wife and my daughter and sometimes they are wolves and that is how it should be."

Dougie Mackay:
Dougie Mackay Storyteller – Story-Nature-Connection-Culture
Instagram

Jemima Thewes:
Instagram