The roots of European theatre are deeply entangled with the culture of the ale-house and the Scottish National theatre makes an exuberant return to the source with a riotously funny and at times tenderly lyrical tribute to Scottish narrative ballads.
As befits a tale from the unruly borderlands the shows flits back and forth across genres and scrambles together an eclectic mash-up that has Kylie Minogue rubbing shoulders with lyric poetry and haunting Scottish laments.
These carnivalesque jolts create a topsy-turvy world where the upper classes are held up to ridicule and the down-to-earth wisdom of the peasant reigns supreme.
It also reinforces the show's insistence that traditional ballads have much in common with contemporary pop culture and should be not be revered as museum items.
The narrative is wildly unpredictable and it would be churlish to give too much away except to say it is unwise it accept the promise of a warm fire if you have misgivings about the shape of your host feet.
