NYPB sports Tam for Burns-inspired Halloween shows

The National Youth Pipe Band of Scotland is collaborating with YDance and the Scottish Youth Theatre to stage an ambitious joint production of Robert Burns’s epic “Tam O’Shanter” poem, with three stops across Scotland, culminating in a Halloween show in Aberdeen.

 

Described as “a spectacular re-working” of the poem that features witches, warlocks and the devil himself playing the pipes, the production debuts October 16th at the Great Hall of Stirling Castle in Stirling, Scotland. The show then travels to Inverness on October 26th at Eden Court Theatre, and culminates at Haddo House in Aberdeen on October 30th and 31st.

 

The Tam O’Shanter project has been in the works for almost a year, staring with a series of workshops between the three organizations, and gradually evolved into an original piece of musical theatre.

 

“The National Youth Pipe Band of Scotland is a cutting edge performance pipe band and we relish this opportunity to collaborate with Scottish Youth Dance and Scottish Youth Theatre to present a contemporary interpretation of Burns’ great poem,” said Alisdair McLaren, Director of the National Youth Pipe Band of Scotland.

 

McLaren said that the shows will provide a warm-up for the NYPB’s full concert at Edinburgh’s Usher Hall on November 28th. Titled “The Dragon’s Lair,” the pipe band’s show is said to introduce all-new repertoire at the band’s first performance in Scotland’s capital.

 

Tickets for the “Tam O’Shanter” performances are priced at £10 for adults and £6 for kids and seniors.