TAM O'SHANTER: A New Scottish Musical

Tam O'Shanter (Working Title) is a new Scottish actor-musician musical inspired by Robert Burns' iconic poem.

Reimagining the story through a contemporary feminist lens, the production combines live music, shadow puppetry and visual theatre to explore power, folklore, gender and Scottish identity. Rooted in the culture, landscapes and stories of Dumfries & Galloway, the project seeks to create a bold new piece of Scottish musical theatre that feels both distinctly Scottish and deeply contemporary.

Created by me, Ellie Jay Stevens, the musical is currently being developed in collaboration with writer Finlay Avison and composer Jack Avison.

In May 2026, Arts D&G were awarded £128,000 through Creative Scotland's Expanded Festivals Fund to support the continued development of the project, including an international collaboration with German visual theatre artist Norbert Goetz.

https://www.creativescotland.com/news-stories/latest-news/archive/2026/05/expanded-festivals-fund

About the Project

Adapting Tam O'Shanter has been a long-held dream of mine, initially inspired by my Grandpa, who often recited the poem to me as a child.
I began seriously exploring the idea while studying Drama Directing at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School in 2021. The visceral language of the poem has always created such a vivid world for me, one I have long wanted to explore further on stage.
This personal connection to the text is paired with my passion for making Burns' work accessible to modern audiences. I wanted to showcase that Burns' writing, far from being outdated, can be vibrant, funny, provocative and full of complexity.
One of my key motivations was to amplify the voices of the women in the poem, particularly Nannie and Kate, ensuring they had their own stories and agency within the narrative.
The project also provides an opportunity to celebrate the rich cultural heritage of Dumfries & Galloway, where Burns lived and where I grew up. Ultimately, my goal is to create a compelling musical that not only entertains, but challenges societal perceptions around gender dynamics and toxic masculinity while encouraging audiences to rediscover a story they may think they already know.
In January 2025, I was awarded the Support for Ambition Fund from Arts D&G to undertake a three-day research and development process exploring whether the project was viable as a musical.
Fortunately, it very much was.
Those three days allowed us to begin exploring the visual language, music and dramaturgy of the piece for the first time, and I left feeling more excited than ever about bringing this story to the stage.
The next phase of development is supported through Creative Scotland's Expanded Festivals Fund and will include continued writing and composition, further R&D activity, and an international collaboration with Norbert Goetz to explore the shadow puppetry and visual theatre elements at the heart of the production.

Creative Collaborators

I first met brothers Finlay and Jack Avison at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2023 while they were presenting Godfather Death: A Grimm's Musical. I was immediately drawn to their dark comedy, tongue-in-cheek lyrics and distinctive theatrical style, and knew very quickly that I wanted to collaborate with them.

Finlay Avison – Writer

Fin is an autistic playwright and director whose practice centres around Neurodiverse and SEN representation in theatre. His work often explores dark and macabre themes, identity

politics, and how we perceive ourselves. Fin’s previous work has included a performance of his play Toilet Lifey at Dundee Rep’s Stripped in 2018, and Godfather Death: A Grimm's Musical 2023 -24.

He currently works with Make/Sense Theatre in Reading as a Drama Practitioner and Arts Award Lead, where his role includes providing drama provisions and workshops for neurodiversity young people and vulnerable adults as part of the wider company team.

Jack Avison – Composer

Jack is a Dundonian musician and award-winning screen composer. He plays and composes for his band Speak Easy Circus and has composed for both stage and screen. His stage credits include co-creating and composing the musical ‘Godfather Death: A Grimm’s Musical’, also serving as Musical Director. The production completed two Edinburgh Fringe runs, winning the OffFest Award for ‘Best Musical at the Edinburgh Fringe 2023’, and has also toured to many venues in the UK, including the Dundee Rep Theatre, Greenwich Theatre, and Byre Theatre. He also composed for Fox and Hound’s 2023 UK tour of A Trio of Tennessee Williams and the 2018/21 Spanish tour of La Probabilidad de Lo Imposible.

His screen credits include the TV series Wrongfully Convicted and short films such as Whale Heart with Lost Boy Productions, for which he was awarded ‘Best Original Score’ by the The Monthly Film Festival, The Mansfield Town Film Festival and Feel the Reel International Film Festival.

Looking Ahead

This is still only the beginning of the journey, but for the first time it feels like the scale of the ambition matches the scale of the story we want to tell.

I can't wait to share more.

Learn more about the R&D and Support for Ambition fund here