This week, three actors have taken to the road for Fèisean nan Gàidheal’s annual Gaelic pantomime tour with Luchlann agus am Bonn Òir (Luchlann and the Gold Medal), a sparkling new adventure loosely based on the story of Dick Whittington.
The panto will visit Gaelic Medium children across the Highlands, Western Isles and Aberdeenshire bringing laughter, music and plenty of festive fun to over 1,000 pupils this November and December.
This year’s panto stars Beth Frieden, Grace Morton and Rachel Kate Macleod who will whisk audiences away to Bàgh a’ Chàise (Cheesebay) where young mouse Luchlann, from the neighbouring Eilean Feta, must wise up to retrieve his granny’s precious shiny Mòd Gold Medal in order to save his island home!
The panto, written and directed by Fèisean nan Gàidheal’s Drama Officer Angus MacLeod with assistance from Fergus Munro, promises all the classic ingredients – comedy, catchy songs, colourful costumes, ratty rap battles and plenty of audience participation – all delivered in Gaelic.
Angus said: “This year’s panto tale features lots of tails of the mouse, rat and cat variety. It tells the story of Luchlann the mouse, played by Grace Morton, and his Christmas quest to stop his island home being sold off and turned into a golf course. All the actors are fine singers and it was great to have them show off their musical talents as part of the performance. Grace sings a mousey reworking of ‘Eilean Beag Donn a’ Chuain’, which has been cheesily retitled ‘Eilean Beag Donn a’ Chàis’.
A Christmassy duet also features and is a reworking of Carol of the Bells and sung with lots of high-pitched gusto by Luchlann and his granny played by Beth Frieden. In contrast, there is lots of grimy Gaelic rapping provided by the conniving and mischievous rapper Rodachan Z, played by Rachel Kate Macleod, whose bars would give Stormzy and Griogair Labhruidh a run for their money. Beth Frieden has two roles, initially as Luchlann’s grandmother and then as the magical fiddle-playing cat Maighstir Cullachan (Mr. Tomcat) who shows Luchlann the ways of ‘am fonn’ (the tune) before facing Rodachan Z in a Christmas rap battle”.
The three actors had their first performance at Sgoil Bhàgh a’ Chaisteil (Castlebay School) in Barra on Monday morning and in total there are seventeen performances scheduled. Among them, there will be a public performance of the pantomime at Cultarlann Inbhir Nis, 68 Academy Street, Inverness on Thursday 4th December 2025. Doors will open at 6.15pm with some Gaelic carol singing from 6.30pm, and the pantomime will begin at 7pm. Families and the wider community are very welcome, and donations to Fèisean nan Gàidheal on the door are appreciated to support the production.
Behind the scenes, talented local seamstress Maria Cuthbert has been hard at work bringing the characters to life with costumes capturing the fun of this year’s mouse-filled theme.
Eilidh MacKenzie, Fèisgoil Manager said: “Each year the FnG Gaelic panto brings festive fun to schools throughout the country and we love engaging with classes in this way. The experience of live theatre is so important for young audiences, as is the opportunity of touring work for Gaelic actors. We are delighted that we will be able to record our public performance which will then be available for schools and the wider public through FèisTV”.
The annual Gaelic pantomime is produced by Fèisgoil, Fèisean nan Gàidheal’s formal education service, which provides creative learning opportunities through Gaelic for schools across Scotland. Fèisean nan Gàidheal gratefully acknowledges the ongoing support of Bòrd na Gàidhlig and Creative Scotland, whose funding helps make this annual Gaelic pantomime tour possible.
For more information about Fèisean nan Gàidheal’s Panto and our drama work in schools, contact Drama Officer Angus MacLeod at angus@feisean.scot
