The Art O' The Blether

A monthly event in Dundee gives the Scots language a thriving platform

- by KIRSTY SOUTER

WITH its hand-painted shop signs and polished concrete floor, a visit to Dundee's Keiller Centre during the day can feel like stepping back in time.

However, for one night every month, this building comes alive with poetry, music and stories, all thanks to BLETHER - a Scots language celebration run by Elfie Picket Theatre - and it's an evening of entertainment that is anything but stuck in the past.

"BLETHER managed to create a safe space for people to try out different things. We've had an audience from all over. It's not just Dundonians," host Taylor Dyson, who is also the Dundee and Angus Scots Scriever, said. "There's been people from England, and those who have moved here and are trying to understand the culture and the language. It's a complete mix of people and ages.

"We regularly have a group of 16-year-olds that come along and perform at the open mic. It's shown that people do care and can engage with the language."

After hearing how inclusive and lively the event had become, I went along to find out for myself, and I found a Scots poetry and language scene that, while it nods to Robert Burns, is far more diverse - shaped by many contemporary voices keeping the language alive.

Even on a dreich winter night, a buzz of voices and laughter led the way through the maze of shopfronts to Sweet@Keiller Centre, where Taylor and her co-host Calum Kelly kicked off the event with poetry and guitar. As November's BLETHER ran in conjunction with the Scottish International Storytelling Festival, storytelling was at the forefront.

Storyteller Lindsey Gibb took us on a fairy-tale journey alongside a turnskin (werewolf) lord, with the spellbound audience hanging onto every word.