ANCIENT Scandinavian forests are mysterious places full of voices and sounds from the past – the folklore of these vast dark woods provides the atmospheric background for Mara, a storytelling tour-de-force by Dominic Kelly, who comes to Dorset with Artreach, at Milborne St Andrew on Saturday 25th November and Sandford Orcas on Sunday 26th, both at 7.30pm.

It’s 1868. Discharged from the army with malaria, Morten scrapes a living on the edge of Sweden’s ancient forests. Suddenly he begins to suffer nightmares and mysterious visits as he sleeps. A friend tells him he’s plagued by a Mara – a possessed person who visits another in spirit form. To free himself from the Mara, he must discover their identity. But who is it?

He begins to closely watch the world around him. But as he becomes aware of his neighbours’ lives and the life of the ancient forest, his own begins to transform…

Entertaining, unsettling and moving, this solo performance is a mystery, diving into the dreamscape of Swedish folklore, a journey into Europe’s ancient forests, a love story, a playful look at our relationship with sleep and an exploration of what it really means to be awake.

Dominic Kelly has performed at venues including The Barbican, National Theatre, Soho Theatre, The British Museum and festivals around the world from India to the Arctic Circle.