Rantin kicks off National Theatre of Scotland’s Dear Scotland 2014

A team of performers are touring Scotland to reflect on what makes us Scottish at a time when national identity has never been more important.

And they’re doing it with a series of ceilidhs.

But far from the modern day dancing most often reserved for weddings, town halls and Hogmanay, Rantin will reintroduce the story-telling, singing, and communal side of the ceilidh.

In venues across Scotland, large and small, Kieran Hurley, Gav Prentice, Julia Taudevin and Drew Wright (aka Wounded Knee), will look to create a community feeling and encourage the audience to sing along.

Performing in intimate venues, Rantin is part cosy living room gathering, part play, part gig session. And they’re taking their show far and wide.

Rantin – in rehearsal from National Theatre of Scotland on Vimeo.

A character from the show is specifically set in the town of each performance and the production will draw on storytelling, live music and the Scottish folk tradition.

Opening night has been reserved for The Arches Theatre in Glasgow, before heading to Arygle and Bute, East Dumbartonshire, Greenock and Ayrshire.

They will then head east to Edinburgh and Fife before performing in Aberdeen and further north still in Wick, Orkney and Thurso, in a truly nation-wide tour that promises to have the crowd Rantin in praise.

The series kicks off the National Theatre of Scotland’s year-long Dear Scotland 2014 programme, which asks audiences and artists alike to share their hopes, fears, rants and ideas about Scotland – past, present and future.

Dear Scotland – 2014 Season Trailer from National Theatre of Scotland on Vimeo.

It should all make for what is already set to be a very memorably year for Scotland.Here is a full list of Rantin’s dates and venues aroundthe country.