Aderyn/Bird
★★★★★ Magical
The Scottish Storytelling Centre (Venue 30): Tue 18 – Sat 22 Aug 2026
Review by Jenny Collins
The Harebell Teller’s traditional storytelling piece, Aderyn/Bird, is a lovingly made balm for the soul, retold this year for a limited run at the Scottish Storytelling Centre.
The Edinburgh Fringe is often overloaded with projects powered by forward momentum. Original works reflecting the current moment or parodies of pop culture staples from the past year. While there are definitely gems to be mined from the selection, The Harebell Tellers offer a welcome alternative to the chaos.
Aderyn/Bird is a wondrous escape backwards into the ancient and mythological roots of the British Isles. Scottish instrumentalist Ailsa Dixon and Welsh guitarist/storyteller Ffion Phillips share an anthology of eerily familiar folk tales like long buried artifacts, freshly uncovered.
The Harebell Tellers
The show’s bilingual title is named after the central figure piece of each tale. Here, starlings gossip and wrens hitch a lift on the backs of eagles, redstarts are so called because they carry fire in their wings, and owls are revered among their kind as so-called “great thinkers”. The stories are as nostalgic and bittersweet as a warm cup of herbal tea on a rainy day. It’s altogether lovely.
It is difficult to do justice to Dixon and Phillips’ storytelling: their spoken word swoops and soars with each emotive swell in their stories, as a softly sung musical motif binds each tale together. Like a dance, when one leads, the other supports with instrumentation. The music tenderly grants each tale a heartbeat and pulse. The characters speak through Phillips in Cymraeg but even to audience members unfamiliar with the language, the emotional resonance translates beautifully. Their storytelling thrums with life.
Even the lighting is still
Dixon and Phillips evoke the senses in their storytelling with an appreciation for the natural celtic landscape. Waves crash on rocky shores, fresh deer milk foams and froths, wings beat against the harsh wind. The duo smartly avoid drowning their storytelling in digital soundscaping, instead trusting the listener to engage with their words on their own terms. Even the lighting is still: a black curtain blankets the small room while the duo are cast in a warm glow from start to finish. The commitment to traditional storytelling is totally immersive.
While the performance is listed as an hour, the duo can spill over their assigned time. But it is hard to begrudge getting swept away in this work. The Harebell Teller’s storytelling is so seamless as to feel conjured. There is magic to be discovered here.
Running time: One hour (no interval).
Scottish Storytelling Centre (George Mackay Brown Library), 43-45 High Street EH1 1SR (Venue 30).
Tuesday 18 – Saturday 22 August 2026.
Daily: 4.30pm.
Tickets and details: Book here at EdFringe.com.
Tickets direct from venue: Book here.
Ailsa Dixon website (Harebell Tellers page): www.ailsadixonstoryteller.com
Instagram: @harebell_tellers
TikTok: @ailsadixonstoryteller
ENDS
