Queen Macha's Fated Voyage: Through Kyle Akin into Loch Alsh
Queen Macha returns from the Isle of Skye aboard her majestic vessel, passing through the narrow waters of Kyle Akin before entering Loch Alsh. The journey carries the queen of Dál Riata towards the Great Headland where visions of treachery await her.
Named after the Celtic goddess Macha, the queen occupies a liminal place between the remembered histories of Dál Riata and the mythic traditions that surround her and her folk. Her return voyage therefore becomes more than a passage across the sea: it is a passage between worlds, memories and visions.
Twenty-eight warriors crew the vessel, seated upon fourteen wooden benches and working pairs of oars. Rather than rowing in perfect unison, each pair follows the previous with a slight delay. The resulting rhythm travels through the vessel like a succession of waves, giving the voyage its own living cadence.
As the ship enters the dark waters of Loch Alsh, Macha's foresight begins to trouble the passage. The Evil Eye and bloodied footprints resembling the talons of a vicious raptor emerge within her visions, foreshadowing the treachery surrounding the death of her slain king.
This two-hour liminal ambience expands upon the world of
