Toronto theatre company Ars Longa makes its Edinburgh Fringe debut with Luscinia, a Gothic folk-musical adaptation of Ovid’s Philomela myth set inside a Depression-era cult. Blending folk music, shadow puppetry and mythic storytelling, the world premiere arrives at Venue 13 this August.
By Grace Hatchell, writing from Edinburgh after discovering something rather peculiar in my satchel and refusing to let it flutter away.
By heck…
Every Fringe season brings me odd little treasures.
Some sparkle immediately.
Some arrive with glitter, confidence and enough exclamation marks to power Blackpool Illuminations.
And then there are the ones that stop me mid-pedal.
Luscinia did exactly that.
I’ll be honest with you, village folk — the moment I read “Gothic folk-musical,” “Depression-era cult” and “myth that refuses to stay quiet,” I nearly steered my bicycle straight into a lamp post. This one had me at hello… and then quietly wrapped its fingers round my imagination.
Making its Edinburgh Fringe debut this August, Toronto company Ars Longa brings the world premiere of Luscinia to Venue 13 — a bold reimagining of Ovid’s Philomela and Procne myth, relocated to the American South during the Great Depression. Written and directed by Cam Wright, the production follows two sisters attempting to escape the grip of charismatic preacher Bo and the fundamentalist cult built around him.
Now I do enjoy a show that knows exactly what sort of storm it wishes to summon.
And this sounds less like drizzle and more like thunder rolling over prairie fields.
At the centre sit two sisters whose shared love and hatred of preacher Bo coils around one unsettling question:
Who sings when your voice has been stolen?
And who saves you when salvation never comes?
Oof.
That’s not a casual little plot line for nibbling alongside interval ice cream.
The source myth of Philomela has long been associated with weaving — a feminine art and a form of testimony when speech itself becomes impossible. What particularly fascinated me here is how Luscinia replaces tapestry with something equally intricate: lyric, song and storytelling woven together like thread through cloth. Folk music meets Gothic Americana, comedy rubs shoulders with tragedy, and brightness sits uneasily beside darkness. Frankly, that contradiction sounds delicious.
And can we talk about the title for a moment?
Luscinia is the genus of the nightingale — the bird Philomela becomes after her voice is stolen.
Honestly, if you’re going to name a show, name it with drama.
Better still, the production brings those nightingales to life through an extraordinary eight-foot shadow puppet theatre accompanying the women on their journey toward freedom. Eight foot! That’s not puppetry, that’s practically negotiating with mythology itself.
Now this is where my little theatrical heart began fluttering properly.
Because the press release doesn’t merely sell a story — it paints a world.
And by heck, what a world it sounds.
Writer and director Cam Wright, making her playwriting debut after years performing and stage managing in Toronto’s indie scene, drew inspiration from her Alberta roots and her fascination with metafiction and literary analysis. The result sounds deeply personal as well as fiercely imaginative.
Cam explains that Philomela’s story has always concerned believing victims even when they are silenced — but Luscinia dares to ask a harder question:
What if rescue never comes?
What if catharsis itself is denied?
Now that, village folk, takes courage.
And goodness me, the creative details.
This is where I started slowing down and reading twice.
Set and Costume Designer Aurora Andrews grounds the myth in prairie reality through a handmade quilt inspired by Korean Pojagi patchwork, designed to resemble aerial farmland. That alone had me intrigued. But then came the costume details — and oh, somebody’s been lovingly sewing symbolism into every hem.
Regional prairie flowers are hand-embroidered onto the sisters’ costumes to reflect their untethered spirits, including Saskatchewan Western Red Lilies stitched onto Mela’s garments.
And preacher Bo?
His pocket handkerchief carries stitched biblical verses about the treatment of women.
Now if that isn’t costume storytelling with its sleeves rolled up, I don’t know what is.
Supporting this sensory landscape is a creative team sounding every bit as carefully woven as the myth itself.
Cam Wright handles book, lyrics and direction, with Irah Salo-Allen responsible for orchestration, guitar and sound design — which, given this Gothic folk atmosphere, feels enormously important. Aurora Andrews designs both costume and set, while Spencer Simpson creates puppet design and puppetry alongside Jesse Lewis on lighting and puppetry. Stage management comes from Keara Hicks with Catalina Vo assisting backstage.
And the cast?
Allow me to pin their names proudly to t’village noticeboard.
Grey Baker plays Mela, AJ White takes on charismatic preacher Bo, Lauren Patten appears as Daisy-May and Ella Kennedy as Louanne. Four names I suspect Fringe folk may soon be discussing over coffee queues and damp Edinburgh pavements.
Ars Longa — named after the Latin phrase ars longa, vita brevis, “art is long, life is short” — arrives in Edinburgh with its first international presentation and reportedly its most ambitious staging to date. There’s summat rather exciting about catching a company at that exact moment when ambition and opportunity collide.
And perhaps that’s why Luscinia has lodged itself in my satchel.
Not because it sounds comfortable.
Not because it promises easy answers.
But because it sounds brave.
The kind of Fringe show that braids beauty and discomfort together and asks audiences to sit with both.
Luscinia plays Venue 13 at 19:45 on selected dates between 7–28 August, with two-for-one offers available and community ticketing support pledged. The production runs for one hour and is suitable for audiences aged 14+, containing distressing themes and scenes of sexual violence.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to make a little extra room in my satchel.
Quietly whispering nightingales have a habit of turning into unforgettable Fringe memories
Tickets and run
Luscinia plays at Venue 13 on the 7,9,12,14,16,19,21,23,26 and 28 of August 2026.
Time and Ticket prices: 19:45 (1h) £12.00 (£10.00) (£32.00F)
Two-for-one on Tuesday 11 August 2026.
Fringe Friends 2-for-1 available.
Community Ticketing Initiative donations pledged.
Booking link: https://www.venue13.com/luscinia/
About the Author
