New fringe adds to fear factor at Faclan 2018
A new fringe programme will add to the excitement of this year’s Faclan: the Hebridean Book Festival.
Supported by Outer Hebrides LEADER funding, the first Faclan Fringe, which will take place at An Lanntair on the Isle of Lewis, will consist of four events from November 1-3, complementing the festival’s author events and film screenings, following this year’s theme – ‘fear’.
Crime writer Peter May will personally host a tour of locations from The Blackhouse, the first book in his internationally successful Lewis Trilogy.
Composer Jessica Danz will perform Under the World, an evening of original music and song at St Peter’s Church in Stornoway, inspired by the archetypal story of the descent into the Underworld.
Maricruz Vasquez will create a Day of the Dead Mexican lunch in An Lanntair’s café bar on Friday November 2.
The festival’s closing party at An Lanntair, Monsters’ Ball, will feature live music by Hebridean band the Howling Lords.
The Faclan Fringe is part of a new programme of festivals that will continue at An Lanntair until July 2020.
Faclan is one of the flagship cultural events at An Lanntair in Stornoway, and its uniquely dramatic location draws audiences and top-level authors from across the UK.
Faclan 2018’s line-up includes Peter May and Malcolm Mackay, discussing Hebridean Noir; Sir Christopher Frayling on the 200th anniversary of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (following a screening of the classic 1931 film); Finlay Macleod on the true history of a semi-mythical 19th-century bogeyman who stalked the moors of Lewis and Harris; and Louise Welsh, who will reflect on the role of fear in her work.
In a very different approach to fear, Kathryn Mannix will explore the various taboos around death.
Other highlights include a Saturday night appearance by leading spoken word performer Hollie McNish, a screening of vampire classic Nosferatu, with a live piano score by Peter Urpeth, and a tribute to the late Gaelic writer, playwright and storyteller Chrisella Ross.
In addition to the packed programme of author and musical events, there will be daytime film screenings throughout the festival, also focusing on the theme of Fear – Psycho, Village of the Damned, The Cabinet of Dr Caligari, Rosemary’s Baby, Schalcken the Painter, The Babadook, and classic ghost story Whistle and I’ll Come to You, which this year marks its 50th anniversary.
Faclan runs from October 31 to November 3. For full details, visit www.lanntair.com/faclan