The story of the greatest literary hoax of all time.

1760 – Scottish poet James Macpherson sets the world ablaze with stories of the third-century Scottish bard, Ossian. This tartan-trimmed tale of Highland history spreads far and wide, capturing the imagination of thousands– but is it built on deceit?

2025 – Scottish poet Martin O’Connor reads Macpherson’s epic and questions his own relationship with Scottish culture. The sporrans, the stags, the shortbread – do these ‘gift-shop’ images of Scotland hold us back or bring us forward? What does it mean to be authentic, and is the truth sometimes better told in a lie?

Through The Shortbread Tin is a brand-new show, performed in Scots with Gaelic songs, which explores Scottish culture, myths, history and identity.

Join Martin and Macpherson on an oral odyssey spanning centuries of Scottish history, exploring the myths we tell each other and the stories we tell ourselves. Because it takes a lot ae imagination tae tell a true story.

Written and performed by Martin O’Connor. Directed by Lu Kemp.

A National Theatre of Scotland Production.