Cassandra
Storyteller Ailsa Dixon explores intimate themes of climate activism, sexual assault, feminism and mental health at the Scottish Storytelling Centre on 20th June.
About Cassandra
Cassandra sits in Apollo’s temple, tears drying on her cheeks, blood caked beneath her fingernails. The ritual fires are burning, incense thick in the air. Her body no longer feels like hers, the ghosts of Apollo's hands heavy on her hips. Her mind is shattering under the weight of a thousand prophecies, always true and never believed.
By a Scottish mountainside, a spaewife is thrust under the waves of a loch, her prophecies ringing in the ears of her murderers. Orcadian witch Marian Ibster, put to the pyre, screams out to the sky as her lover watches her burn. A girl scrubs her skin red raw in an Edinburgh flat. She blasts pop music as she daubs climate slogans on cardboard protest placards, ignoring the prophecies whistling on the winds of Auld Reekie.
Storyteller Ailsa Dixon invites the audience into the realms of a divinatory prophetic ritual, creating a liminal and transient space. Legends of prophetess and priestess, witch and survivor build bridges across time and space; prophecies, pyres, smoke and tears meld and blend together as Ailsa's personal story melts into the old myths. She explores intimate themes of climate activism, sexual assault, feminism and mental health which bleed together in this deeply personal exploration of what it means to be believed.
Where possible we will update our listings to notify of cancelled, postponed and rescheduled events, however we STRONGLY ADVISE that you check with the venue/organiser in the first instance for updates.
All information (whether in text or photographs) is supplied in good faith but should not be relied upon as being a statement of representation or fact.GOT AN EVENT TO SHARE? It's free to post your events on What's On Edinburgh, click here to find out more!
Want to be the first to hear about what's happening in Edinburgh? Follow us on Facebook and join the What's On Scotland Group!Sponsored Links
Other Events at Scottish Storytelling Centre
Loud Poets Open Mic
Loud Poets invite poets to share their work at their regular open mic, taking place monthly at the Scottish Storytelling Centre.
READ MORE
Mortality & Making: Crafting Conversations About Death
Join us for a taboo-breaking, liberating workshop that explores death through storytelling, coffin crafting, and open conversation.
READ MORE
Mind of Man
Inspired by the experiences of Scottish prisoners and the author's own journey with undiagnosed ADHD and autism, this is a powerful play about the struggle to claim your place in the world.
READ MORE
The Oor Vyce Gaitherin
Jyne us on 7th November for a powerful day where the Scots-speaking community comes thegither at Edinburgh’s Scottish Storytelling Centre.
READ MORE
Bothan Dhùn Èideann
Join us at the Scottish Storytelling Centre for our November Bothan, a monthly session of Gaelic culture and community in Edinburgh!
READ MORE
Silver, Salt and Songs: Exhibition Launch
Join Jill de Fresnes, Christine Kydd and Patsy Seddon to celebrate the launch of the Silver, Salt and Stories exhibition, running at the Scottish Storytelling Centre during November.
READ MOREExhibition: Silver, Salt and Stories - Images and Memories of the Scots Herring Women
The exhibition by Jill de Fresnes is centred around filmed interviews with 12 Scottish women who worked as herring gutters from the 1920s through to the 1960s.
READ MORE
Easy Sundays: The TAM Sessions
The TAM Sessions is an open and informal trad session, but with the lovely additional invitation to bring your sewing, knitting, crochet, or any other crafting project that you enjoy.
READ MORE
A Wheen o’ Wimmin: Singing Our Stories
A Wheen o’ Wimmin present Singing Our Stories, featuring five celebrated Scots singers who’ve shared many a stage both great and small.
READ MORE
Scottish Traditional Music Hall of Fame 20th Anniversary Celebration
Join Hands Up for Trad on 18th November for an intimate celebration marking two decades of the Scottish Traditional Music Hall of Fame, with David Francis and Louis DeCarlo!
READ MORE
Return of the Swallows: Susanna Orr Holland Album Launch
Catch Susanna Orr Holland, an experimental world folk singer-songwriter, at the Scottish Storytelling Centre on 21st November for the launch of her second album!
READ MORE
The Work that Reconnects: Workshop with Chris Booth
To accompany the launch of Susanna Orr Holland’s new album Return of the Swallows, Chris Booth will offer a Work That Reconnects workshop.
READ MORE
Richard Wiseman
Have you got what it takes to sit through the most tedious show ever and receive a certificate verifying your extraordinary willpower?
READ MORE
Four Magicians
Four of Scotland’s leading magicians come together for an evening like no other — minds will be read, laws of nature will be defied, and dad jokes will be told.
READ MORE
Tricky Ricky: Jingles All The Way
Back by popular demand! Scotland’s favourite trickster is jingling all the way into the festive season with a brand-new magic and comedy spectacular.
READ MORE
Making Magic workshop with Tim Licata
In this exciting hands-on workshop, young people aged 12+ will explore the world of card magic — not just the techniques, but the theatre behind it.
READ MORE
Insane Christmas Magic
Insane Magic finally make their MagicFest debut, ending the year with a bang in a Christmas special packed with festive wonder, jaw-dropping illusions, and a sprinkle of fan-favourite classics!
READ MORE
Jamie Leonard
After a hugely successful 2025 Edinburgh Fringe run with five-star reviews, Jamie Leonard returns with his most exciting hour yet: Wonder Boy!
READ MORE
Balancing in Freedom
Join us at the Scottish Storytelling Centre for this world premiere performance of an enthralling new work, written and performed by Iddo Oberski!
READ MORESponsored Links
Similar events you might like...
99 Red Hot Kitties and a Cockatoo
Come and enjoy an afternoon filled with Burlesque, Drag, and Cabaret at at The Lab in CC Blooms!
READ MORE
99 Red Hot Kitties and a Cockatoo
Come and enjoy an afternoon filled with Burlesque, Drag, and Cabaret with Red Hot Kitty Burlesque and Cabaret in the fabulous atmosphere at The Lab in CC Blooms!
READ MORE
Loud Poets Open Mic
Loud Poets invite poets to share their work at their regular open mic, taking place monthly at the Scottish Storytelling Centre.
READ MORE
Doctor Bonk’s Macarbaret
Dr Bonk, Scotland's silliest surgeon, presents the Macarbaret: a madcap hour of drag, burlesque, music, comedy, and medical mayhem!
READ MORE
Trick Or Treat - An Unpredictable Halloween Magic Show For Adults!
Join the mischievous minds of Cameron Gibson & Luke Osey as the pair serve up tricks, treats, and a whole lot of unpredictable magic this Halloween!
READ MORE
Empty Rooms and Haunted Minds
Empty Rooms and Haunted Minds is a multimedia performance telling the tale of a mysterious haunted room.
READ MORE
Keep Out of Direct Light
A show set to darkness and the blood rushing in your ears, take comfort in what you can't see. And remember, keep out of direct light.
READ MORE
Red Rabbit
A village divided between past and future. A language dying out. And a girl dreaming of a rabbit in the woods. Red Rabbit tackles the loss of Scottish tradition and community.
READ MORE
Tricks of the Fae
Enter a world where the boundaries between reality and nightmare blur in an unsettling magic show where forgotten folklore comes to life.
READ MOREFind other events in Edinburgh
Sponsored Links