I love storytelling but this was my first 2022 visit to the Scottish Storytelling Centre. I was so glad that I caught up with this fine show, which runs until Monday. It’s about rural depopulation, a cold description of a phenomenon that profoundly affects many lives around the world. This collection of stories is no rose-tinted recollection of rustic idyll, it’s based on more nuanced accounts from real life. Tom Pow is an excellent storyteller, and The Galloway Agreement and their wonderfully eclectic music are central to a show that edges towards folk-gig theatre. Occasionally I felt the narrative arch could have been stronger but there’s no avoiding the passion of the concluding scenes. Catch it if you can.

Scottish Storytelling Centre, until 29 Aug.
tw rating 4/5 | [Alan Cranston]