Previews Wow Audiences

In May and June 2025, Deiseil was performed in Galloway and Edinburgh and we prepared for our first run, at the Edinburgh Fringe festival. 

In the weeks and months preceding these sharings, Amy, Alison and Gerry had been rehearsing the show and developing the script, with support from their sound, lighting, costume/set and movement designers, and many others who made Deiseil possible. 

In May, Amy and Alison made the journey to Dumfries and Galloway, together with Production Manager Ruby Zajac and Lighting Designer Benny Goodman, to try the show out with a live audience for the first time. 

The host venue was the Catstrand in New Galloway. Dumfries and Galloway, where co-founder Amy comes from, is an area whose Gaelic heritage is lesser known, but the warm audience who joined us for this work-in-progress performance was familiar with the ceilidh-house tradition it sits in.

“I’ve never heard feet speaking so – like a conversation, an intimate one, a joyful one, a sad one” Audience member, Catstrand

“The energy, the musicianship and the atmosphere you created were absolutely unforgettable. You had the crowd completely captivated from start to finish – what a night!” Promoter, Catstrand

In June, a week of technical and dress rehearsals at the Traverse Theatre, in Edinburgh, culminated in another sharing. 

Transforming Traverse 1 to perform the show in the round, we were joined by Technician Rufus Elliot to bring the show to another, larger audience who showed the same enthusiasm for the music, dancing and heritage explored on stage. 

We were hugely encouraged as took some time out before the Fringe run later that summer!