THE DEAD MAN’S WALTZ - Story’s End.

“Men fear death as children fear to go in the dark; and as that natural fear in children is increased by tales, so is the other.” Francis Bacon

In 2013 whilst writing and performing with Hebridean folk-noir quartet The Dead Man’s Waltz, Leighton was commissioned with the band to write a new theatre show celebrating the opening of the Glasgow Film Festival.

Collaborating with a team of Scottish writers and artists including sci-fi author Hal Duncan and film maker Johnny Barrington, Story’s End premiered at The Contemporary Centre of Arts and combined experimental music, spoken word and film to investigate the deceptive and troubling relationship between death and the stories we tell about it - stories that either allay our worries or as Bacon suggests, nourish and embellish them.

The show was part of the ‘Made in Scotland’ showcase, and went on to perform a string of performances in Summerhall’s Anatomy Theatre for the 2013 Edinburgh Fringe and The Southbank Theatre’s ‘Festival of Death’ in London, garnering 4 and 5 star reviews in Broadway Baby and The Mumble.