Rekindling The Hearth
Stories Rooted in Land, Lineage & Living Culture
Rekindling Story as Living Practice
Hearth as Community Hub
Story as Ancestral craft
Story as social technology
Story as entertainment
Story as Inspiration
Story as Mythopoetic Reflection
Story as Community Asset
Rekindling Story as Living Practice Hearth as Community Hub Story as Ancestral craft Story as social technology Story as entertainment Story as Inspiration Story as Mythopoetic Reflection Story as Community Asset
Dougie Mackay Storyteller
I’m a Scottish storyteller, exploring the edges where myth, nature, and community meet.
Through performance, mentorship, and land-based immersions, I explore how ancient tales can guide us in modern times — igniting imagination, fostering a sense of belonging, and reconnecting us to land & culture.
As one of Scotland’s most prominent contemporary storytellers, I feature regularly at the Scottish International Storytelling Festival & Edinburgh Fringe Festival. I host the Hearth Fire Sessions at the Scottish Storytelling Centre, and tour internationally.
Online I host the ‘Tales for our Times’ podcast, write on substack at ‘Rekindling the Hearth’ and run several online courses and mentoring programmes.
Whether you’re a festival organiser, a story-seeker, a creative practitioner, or someone longing for deeper connection with myth, land and lineage, I offer experiences that weave together folklore, nature connection, ancestral life ways, and embodied storytelling.
What I offer
Story Performances & Workshops
Evocative storytelling for festivals, theatres, conferences and community gatherings.
Sessions draw from Scottish, Celtic, European, and world folk traditions, mythic cycles, and ecological lore — always creatively tailored to the audience and the magic in the moment.
Currently touring ‘A Wolf Shall Devour the Sun’ (see link)
Workshops on ‘Storytelling Craft’, ‘Storytelling & Nature Connection’ and ‘Myth as Medicine’ offered.
Story Mentorship & Online Learning
One-to-one mentorship and group classes for new and seasoned tellers.
Whether starting out on the story pathway or seeking to develop your craft, I’m passionate about supporting others to progress on their storytelling journey.
Twenty years in community learning and fifteen as a storyteller support my approach to mentoring, as do the mentoring I’ve received along the way (Jan Blake, David Campbell, Janis Mackay, Shonaleigh, George Macpherson).
Together we explore discovering stories, remembering stories, crafting stories and telling stories. Voice, repertoire, embodiment, goal setting, mythic and the inner ecology of story are key features.
Nature-Based Storytelling Immersions
Immersive experiences that reconnect story with landscape and ancestral ways of knowing.
Past offerings include Wolf Tracking & Storytelling, the Salmon of Wisdom Weekend, Seasonal story events, ancestral pilgrimages with Weaving Remembrance, and ongoing programmes with The Shieling Collective.
These gatherings weave land-based practice, folklore, ecological awareness, and cultural memory.
Highlights & Media
Edinburgh Fringe Festival: 4&5* reviews & Sold out Shows
(2017-19, 2023-25)Scottish International Storytelling Festival Commission
2022 & 2024Guinness World Record —
Marrakech Storytelling Festival 2025Festival Guest Storyteller
(FatE, Yarn Fest, Glens Fest, Story Oase Berlin)
Across Europe, Jordan, Morocco & CanadaStoryteller in Residence
at Lithica Gathering, Highland Hearth, Saskatoon.Commissioned by:
BBC Scotland, NHS, Scot Gov, Alzheimer ScotlandPodcast Host:
Tales for Our Times PodcastSubstack Writer:
Rekindling the HearthStorytelling ‘Derek’ Award
Edfringe 25
Gather by the hearth
The hearth is more than simply fire.
It’s a place of gathering, warmth and light.
It’s synonymous with shelter, community, wellbeing, inspiration, story and hospitality.
In Highland Scotland the hearth was the centre of the home, a place of welcome and nourishment.
The kettle would be simmering, elders wrapped in blankets and children scampering nearby.
From the Hearth, the ‘ceilidh’ would emerge; craic was had, songs were sung, crafts were made and legends of old were told anew.
These traditions live on in Scotland, and offer a tonic amidst the freneticism of the modern world.
That’s why we are rekindling hearth fires; in the imagination, in theatres, in forests and wherever people gather. We lean on traditions, whilst responding to an emergent world, telling tales, creating, remembering, and planting stories seeds for a better world that can emerge.
Featured Show:
A wolf Shall Devour The Sun
A powerful retelling of Norse myth exploring prophecy, kinship and belonging. Currently touring — available for festivals, theatres and community venues.