A Wolf Shall Devour The Sun @ Edfringe

Aim: Help bring 'A Wolf Shall Devour the Sun' to Edinburgh Fringe 2025 (and onward touring in rural Scotland).

Inspiration
What do we lose when the wolf is absent?

How do fairy tales affect the way we feel about wolves and wildness, fuelling fear & persecution? 

In the absence of the wolf, how can art foster wildness within us?

These questions are at the heart of  'A Wolf Shall Devour the Sun'. This show is steeped in myth, ecological research, shadows, animation and soul stirring song. It is an evocative, creative response to the absence of wolves in Scotland, and an exploration into the role of the storyteller in affecting belief and superstition. Does Little Red Riding Hood play a part in our fear and loathing of our oldest ally, the wolf?

This show features gigantic wolves at odds with the gods in Norse mythology, we lope across Siberia with shapeshifting wolf women, and return to the Celtic isles for tales that border peasant farmer and wild woods.

Described as "a stirring blend of story, song and stunning visuals", this show fuses folk arts such as traditional storytelling and balladry, with shadow puppetry and stop-motion animation, creating a dreamlike realm in which to journey with the wolf and wildness.

Dougie is one of Scotland's foremost storytellers, described by the Quintessential Review as 'a first rate storyteller and charming host'. 

Jemima is a multi-disciplinary artist, musician, puppeteer and illustrator, described by Songlines as "dark and arresting…almost numinous".

Commissioned as part of the Scottish International Storytelling Festival 2024 and performed to a sold out theatre, this show is ready to rouse an audience at the Edinburgh Fringe and beyond, but it needs some assistance to do so.

Support

As a small, self-driven creative team, we are proud of our show, yet need support with promotion, PR and videography to maximise the opportunity that the Edinburgh Fringe presents. 

We feel this show has social and ecological merit, and pushes at the boundaries of traditional storytelling and puppetry, whilst staying true to the heart and soul of folk arts. We believe this will be a stand-out show amidst the frenzy of the Fringe, and want the Fringe opportunity to support an ongoing tour of rural Scotland where we can reach further excluded audiences.

To do so, we are raising money to pay for videography, pr costs, rehearsals, show development and equipment costs. As independent artists, we will make each £ raised stretch and feed back into the creative process.

We are hopeful that a successful run at the fringe can lead the show to be self-sufficient in future touring and raise the initial capital to make the show easy to promote in future. Initial audience reviews have been rewarding and appetite for the show is strong.

More than just a show

We believe this show has strong artistic merit, as a multi-media show pushing at the boundaries of folk art and theatre. Feedback suggests this show has a profound impact on audience members, who are invited to muse our inner wildness, embodied by the wolf, and question the stories we perpetuate.

We highlight our relationship with the wild, and ecological decline, hoping to stir a response that places value on wild places and creatures, challenging values and prejudice in order to foster healthy ecosystems, and society. 

Wolves became archetypal villains in European fairy tales (alongside witches) and here were hunted to extinction. What can an hour of storytelling, song and shadow puppetry do to redress that balance? We feel this show is a small but significant response to storytellers in times past who vilified the wolf through story.

Funding method

Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made by 29th July 2025 at 12:32pm