Bharatanatyam dancer and lead artist Kirsten Newell will visit the Lemon Tree in Aberdeen on Tuesday, September 3 with the captivating storytelling, dance, and music show Hebridean Treasure: Lost and Found.
A joyful exploration of Scotland’s 19th century Highland and Island lost spiritual landscapes, Hebridean Treasure blends Scottish and South Asian music and theatre with skilled Bharatanatyam dance from internationally acclaimed dancer Kirsten Newell to tell a universal and poignant story of suffering, exile, and the loss of age-old wisdom, set against the historic spiritual background of nineteenth century Scottish Isles and Gaelic pasts told through prayer and poem.
Aberdeen Performing Arts director of programming and creative projects, Ben Torrie, said: “This is a powerful and rich piece of storytelling, taking us on a journey that ultimately sends a beautiful message of hope. We’re proud to have this special production coming to the Lemon Tree.”
Kirsten Newell
Originally inspired by The Wooster Group’s acclaimed 2014 piece Early Shaker Spirituals and Alexander Carmichael’s (1832-1912) work ‘Carmina Gadelica’, Celtic scholar and author John Philip Newell’s writing meshes with critically-acclaimed composer and Gaelic singer Mischa Macpherson’s ( Winner of BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Award, MG Alba Scots Trad Music Award) music and Bharatanatyam dancer Kirsten Newell’s (Kalakshetra Foundation, ATMA Dance Company, Cosmic Dance) soulful, sweeping dance performance to bring audiences a message of hope: a new way of life that cherishes and recaptures our Celtic and Gaelic cultural heritage.
Kirsten Newell said: “’Hebridean Treasure: Lost & Found’ has really touched my soul; I have felt deeply connected to the prayers and poems of the western isles, which have long reminded me of India’s sense of the sacred. It is a powerful story of suffering, but with an ending that holds seeds of hope for a new way of seeing in Celtic spirituality for today.”
Writer John Philip Newell said: “In dance, music, song, and story, this production offers a spiritual vision of Earth that can be part of our healing today.”
Weaving in and out of a complex tapestry of ancestral grief, Hebridean Treasure: Lost & Found draws comparisons between the ancient Vedic and Celtic cultures through songs in Gaelic, Tamil and Hindu, and the combination of Celtic and Carnatic music, to reflect on the relationships with and similarities between social and folk customs, mythology and traditional musical form.
Tickets are on sale now from www.aberdeenperformingarts.com, phone (01224) 641122 or visit the box office at His Majesty’s Theatre or the Music Hall.