Open Hearth

As part of the Scottish International Storytelling Festival, the Open Hearth sessions offer a warm and relaxed evening of storytelling and music in the atmospheric Netherbow Theatre.

As darkness falls and imaginations flicker like flames around a symbolic fire, this gathering brings together voices from near and far to share tales and tunes that resonate with the season.

This special event features storytellers Suse Weisse, Dougie Mackay and Hjörleifur Stefánsson, alongside musician Luisa Brown, creating a rich tapestry of sound and story to close the festival in true communal spirit.

Suse Weisse is one of Germany’s leading storytellers and she has a special interest in telling and adapting the Grimms’ stories for contemporary audiences. Suse was brought up in Frisia and leads the storytelling programme at Berlin’s University of the Arts.

The 2025 Scottish International Storytelling Festival celebrates traditional storytelling across Scotland under the theme "Lights of the North". From Shetland to Dumfries and Galloway, and through events in Edinburgh and Glasgow, the festival traces a northern arc linking Finland, Iceland, Germany and Norway, with Scotland at its heart. As winter approaches, audiences are invited to gather around stories that connect nature, memory and imagination.