Puppetry explores mental wellbeing

A THEATRE company is to use its award-winning puppetry to explore the issues surrounding mental health in a new show that will tour the country.

Fisk, which means fish and also “to fish” in Danish, is the new show from Scottish puppetry company Tortoise In A Nutshell.

The show for adults and young adults, in Danish and English due to a co-production with Teater Katapult of Denmark, is to receive its UK premiere at the Macrobert Arts Centre in Stirling on January 26.

The issues addressed in the show are partly drawn from the company members’ own experiences of mental health issues, and follows the tale of Man, who, in a boat on a tumultuous sea, meets Fisk, a fish who comes to meet him from the depths of the ocean.

The script was devised in conjunction with the Danish playwright Anne Sophie Oxenvad, and the firm, based in Edinburgh, said it “draws on the company’s own experiences living with depression and anxiety to create a portrait of how it’s possible to pull through, and how those around us become vital in balancing our brains.”

Ross MacKay, co-artistic director of Tortoise In A Nutshell, said the show, around two years in the making, could be seen by young adults as well as adult audiences.

“We started, about two years ago, this one image at the start, of a man in a boat, just about to jump into the sea, when a giant fish jumps up the other way, to meet him,” he said.

“We are really interested in asking questions, and even leaving the audience to ask questions rather than any kind of right answer.”

After the UK premiere it will be performed in Edinburgh, Inverness, Aberdeen, Peebles Perth, and Glasgow. LEO Palathius is having a splashing time at a party to mark the success of a groundbreaking project that has taught deaf children how to swim.

More than 130 deaf youngsters have received lessons during the scheme, which was launched in April 2015 by the National Deaf Children’s Society.

The project has also provided training for almost 200 swim instructors and coaches on how to communicate with hearing impaired youngsters in the pool.

Leo, from Cumbernauld, was among those who enjoyed a celebratory party at the town’s Tryst Sports Centre. Picture: Michael Boyd