EDINBURGH 2025: Review: DEISEIL: DANCING IN TIME, Venue 45 At TheSpace @ Venue 45

Deiseil in older Gaelic means “sunwise” or “clockwise”. Traditionally, moving in a deiseil motion was an act of good fortune, invoking protection; to move in widdershins (counter-clockwise) was considered unlucky. Contemporary Gaelic meaning of the word refers t being ready, prepared.  “Tha mi deiseil… I am ready”.

It is a fitting title for this intimate and earnest play about dance, a symbol of a journey that honours heritage but moves forward with natural cycles and shining promise. In this lively and thoughtful piece, Deiseil: Dancing in Time brings the tradition of Scottish stepdance to the foreground, acknowledging what was lost in the Highland clearances and recapturing what was kept to heart now reignited. Alison Carlyle and Amy Geddes, using music, dance and storytelling, weave a tale about living heritage and the steps it takes to keep it rippling in time. 

Watching the audience transform from passive viewers to active clappers sends the piece into a ceilidh of sorts, with percussive dance bringing the hour into a rousing and welcome celebration. Steady rhythm from Carlyle’s footwork and solemn tales of how the more relaxed and soulful steps lost favour in traditional highland dancing and fell into obsolescence in Scottish culture take the piece to a meaningful place. Geddes supports through song and on fiddle, creating a driving yet grounded performance. 

A particularly touching moment happens when the two hang up laundry on a washing line, the linens all awash with images of Scottish landscape. This once forgotten dance and element of daily life and of Scottish history has not been hung out to dry, however; it has been reclaimed and interwoven into Scottish history of now and to come. 

The recognition Deiseil gives to the diaspora, particularly in Canada, and its role in shaping cultural practice is rare and beautiful. Rather than treating Scottish heritage as a closed circle, the show embraces how communities abroad have influenced and strengthened traditions in the motherland. This generosity of perspective makes the work feel both rooted and outward-looking—a celebration that honours the past while affirming its place in today’s world.

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