Meanbh-chuileag

‘Meanbh-chuileag’, the Gaelic for midgie, is the name of Fèisean nan Gàidheal’s theatre-in-education project through which we produce and tour an annual theatre-in-education performance aimed at Second Level pupils in Gaelic Medium Education. The play and national tour is produced through Fèisean nan Gàidheal’s education service Fèisgoil which is funded by Bòrd na Gàidhlig.

We cannot take every production to every GM school but we try our best to fit in as many schools as we can within each tour and to visit different local authorities each year.

Occasionally productions are also suited to pupils in secondary school Gaelic departments.  Following a performance of the play, pupils are usually given an opportunity to ask questions about the play and to participate in a drama workshop related to the topic.

In an effort to produce plays suited to the needs of the majority of schools, Fèisean nan Gàidheal welcomes input from schools on themes to cover that would be beneficial to pupils. If you wish to get in touch about Meanbh-chuileag, please contact Angus MacLeod on angus@feisean.scot

Meanbh-chuileag 2025/26: Dìleab Iain agus Maireid

Fèisean nan Gàidheal’s latest production tells the story of the John Lorne Campbell and Margaret Fay Shaw archive of Canna House.

Pittsburgh pianist turned ethnomusicologist and photographer, Margaret Fay Shaw took a notion to come to Scotland, and after hearing Gaelic song at an event in Helensburgh, eventually ended up in the village of North Glendale in South Uist. Boarding with sisters Màiri and Peigi Macrae (Màiri agus Peigi Anndra) she became proficient in Gaelic and lived for several years cataloguing the lives of these Hebridean women and their neighbours.

John Lorne Campbell, an environmental pioneer and Gaelic scholar is often credited with laying the foundations for Gaelic medium education and so a snapshot of his life story seemed a fitting subject to pass onto children receiving their education through the medium of Gaelic.

John and Margaret met in South Uist in 1934 and four years later bought and settled on the isle of Canna. During their 60-year marriage, their creative partnership flourished into an intricate treasure-horde of a traditional Gaelic lifestyle about to undergo significant change. Following Margaret’s death in 2004 at the age of 101 (John had died 8 years earlier), the house and its invaluable contents were left to The National Trust for Scotland (NTS).

The play will be brought to life by Grace Morton, an experienced Fèisgoil tutor but new to our drama performances and Fergus Munro (Passion, Salt and Light), well-versed in Fèisean nan Gàidheal’s drama tours and other Fèisgoil projects.

School Resources

Educational resources relating to the performance can be found below:

News about the Tour
News about the first tour with the play, in September 2025, can be found here.

Meanbh-chuileag 2024/25: Cà’ Deach a’ Chlach?

Cà’ Deach a’ Chlach?, which takes its title from a well-known Gaelic song composed by Dòmhnall Ruadh Phàislig (Donald MacIntyre, the Paisley Bard), will focus on two characters who were instrumental in the plot to return the Stone of Destiny to Scotland, Ian Hamilton (Fergus Munro) and Kay Matheson (Claire Frances MacNeil), a Gaelic speaking primary school teacher originally from Inverasdale by Loch Ewe. They felt very strongly about independence for Scotland and felt this act would send a strong message to the UK Government.

None of the four involved in the removal of the stone were ever punished for it. Although the Stone of Destiny was almost immediately returned to London upon its discovery, it was finally returned to Scotland in 1996 and, since March 2024, it has been on display at the brand-new Perth Museum.

School Resources

Educational resources relating to the performance can be found below:

Meanbh-chuileag 2023/24: Rùn-dìomhair nan Eilean Flannach

This autumn, two performers – Artair Donald (OMC!, Outlander, Màiri Mhòr) and Rachel Kennedy (Eilbheas, An Clò Mòr) – will deliver 37 performances with follow-on workshops throughout the country as detectives mulling over a century old mystery.

The four-week national tour, which began on 3rd of October, sees Fèisean nan Gàidheal’s new Meanbh-chuileag production telling upper primary classes the story of the disappearance of lighthouse keepers in the Flannan Isles at the start of the twentieth century.

All schools offering Gaelic medium education had the chance to register their interest in a range of Fèisean nan Gàidheal drama performances and workshops and 2023-24 tours are being built around demand from the schools.

School Resources

Educational resources relating to the performance can be found below:

Meanbh-chuileag 2022/23: Sgeulachdan an Tilley

In August and September 2022, in collaboration with the Blas Festival, young Gaelic speakers from primary schools throughout the Highland Council area enjoyed performances of Sgeulachdan an Tilley (Tilley Tales).  This is the first play the organisation has been able to tour in over two-and-a-half years due to pandemic restrictions. The ten-day tour of Gaelic-medium schools took place between 29th August and 9th September with performances at 16 schools throughout the region. 

The play, which sheds light on the storytelling tradition of the Highlands and Islands, was written and directed by Angus MacLeod, Fèisean nan Gàidheal’s Drama Officer and funded by Creative Scotland and Bòrd na Gàidhlig.  

Angus also acted in the play alongside Fergus Munro and Evie Waddell. Traditional music and Gaelic song also feature with Fergus on the whistle and Evie on the fiddle.

Further tours of the play in the central belt, Argyllshire and the Western Isles took place in February and March 2023 in a two-hand version of the play performed by Fergus Munro and Rachel Kennedy.

Shona MacLennan, Chief Executive Officer, Bòrd na Gàidhlig said: “Bòrd na Gàidhlig are delighted to support this project which builds on the aims of the National Gaelic Language Plan to normalise Gaelic. This drama will lift many spirits after lockdown. We wish them well and are sure it will be enjoyed by all.” 

School Resources

Educational resources relating to the performance can be found below:

Meanbh-chuileag 2021/22: Mo Bheannachd Ort!

Mo Bheannachd Ort! is a Gaelic language film about the life of Saint Columba and is suitable for upper primary and secondary school pupils.

The film has a celebrity chat show format with a time travelling twist and features the actors Iain MacRae, Rachel Kennedy, Tormod MacLeòid and Fergus Munro. The film was written and directed by Fèisean nan Gàidheal’s Drama Officer, Angus Macleod.

A version of the film with English subtitles is also available and will be offered to primary school groups learning Gaelic as an additional language.

Participating schools also receive the opportunity to participate in a follow on workshop based on the film.

Mo Bheannachd Ort! Educational Resources (English versions)

Twinkl Resources for Schools related to Saint Columba

Meanbh-chuileag 2020: Eliza

Due to restrictions imposed by Covid-19 it was not possible to tour with a play in 2020. Instead of a play a short film, Eliza, was produced to be shown in primary schools across the country in November 2020.

The remarkable story of Eliza Junor from Guyana uprooted by her plantation-owning father and brought to the Black Isle near Inverness in the year 1816, told through a new Gaelic drama written by Angus MacLeod, produced by Fèisean nan Gàidheal with songs from Eilidh Mackenzie performed by Ellen MacDonald and Innes White.

Resources

Character sheets

Other downloads

Meanbh-chuileag Plays

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