RSNO’s Yoyo & The Little Auk goes global Posted Tue 29 November 2022
Celebrate St Andrew’s Day with Yoyo and friends at the Inverkithkin Ceilidh! Having entertained audiences across Scotland as part of Scotland’s Year of Stories 2022, the RSNO’s flagship early years project Yoyo & The Little Auk can now be enjoyed at home and abroad until the end of the year. The film will be free to watch from 10am on Wednesday 30 November on the RSNO’s website www.rsno.org.uk/yoyo-auk/.
The original film, narrated by actor James Cosmo (The Chronicles of Narnia, Game of Thrones, Braveheart), was brought to life by a world-class creative team including Scottish BAFTA-winning animator Gavin C Robinson, author Stewart Ennis, composer Euan Stevenson, director Dougie Irvine and producer Laura Penny.
A “wonderfully diverse celebration of our differences and similarities” (★★★★ Kelly Apter, The List), the film follows a little auk who lands in Inverkithkin – a charming town smack bang in the middle of Scotland – after a terrible storm. The lost bird is found by Yoyo, a little girl who is getting ready for her favourite night of the year – the night of the Inverkithkin Ceilidh…
Since the project launched in March, nursery school children and families across Scotland have been able to watch the film and enjoy learning resources specially created by the Scottish Wildlife Trust, Refuweegee, Starcatchers and arts educator Lucy Drever. In June, the live concert premiered at Wee Write Festival with a performance delivered in association with the Scottish Refugee Council, and later went on the road with performances at some of Scotland’s most loved festivals, all the way from Forres to Edinburgh. Audiences could interact with RSNO musicians in online workshops and learn all about the Orchestra during the performances led by RSNO Sub-principal Viola Lisa Rourke.
Culture Minister Neil Gray said: “It is fitting that as we celebrate St Andrew’s Day this year, the RSNO’s Yoyo & The Little Auk is being made available to a global audience.
“The project has been a successful part of Scotland’s Year of Stories and I’m delighted that this favourite with nursery-aged children will showcase more widely the creative talent of the RSNO and the makers of this engaging film.”
RSNO Director of Engagement Andy Stevenson said: “We’re really proud of this project and have loved hosting film screenings and live concert performances this year. We hope that by sharing the film with an international audience this St Andrew’s Day we will be showing the world the best of Scotland: a welcoming country with a wealth of creative talent.”
Yoyo & The Little Auk is supported by EventScotland as part of the Year of Stories 2022. The project is also kindly supported by the Barrack Charitable Trust, Bòrd na Gàidhlig, Cookie Matheson Charitable Trust, Glasgow City Council, Leach Family Charitable Trust, Leisure & Culture Dundee, Nancie Massey Charitable Trust, Northwood Charitable Trust, Russell Trust, Verden Sykes Trust and Walter Craig Charitable Trust.
Audiences are encouraged to join the conversation and share their own stories of Scotland using #YS2022, #TalesOfScotland and #ScotlandIsNow.
