Exchange Talk: Performance Series (Hamish Henderson Film)

Discover how artist Charles Naysmith was inspired to paint a portrait of the famous Scottish folklorist and musician Hamish Henderson, tracing his life through the people he knew.

Join us for a screening of Michael Lloyd’s documentary which takes a fresh look at the iconic Scottish folklorist, songwriter and poet, Hamish Henderson through friends and colleagues including Hamish’s famed music such as ‘Freedom Come a ‘Ye’.

The screening will be followed by a short talk by Professor Fred Freeman and a Q&A with Charles Naysmith, Michael Lloyd and Fred Freeman.

Professor Fred Freeman is the author of numerous books and articles on Scottish literature, Scots language, folk music and history, and was recognised by the Association for Scottish Literary Studies with a lifetime Honorary Fellowship for his outstanding contribution to Scottish literary studies. Over the past decade, he has drawn upon his extensive musical background, producing nearly 50 internationally acclaimed CDs, amongst them: The Complete Songs of Robert Burns, Linn Records, and The Complete Songs of Robert Tannahill, Vols I-V. In 2025 he was conferred a Fellowship of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.

Michael Lloyd is a former BBC documentary producer, whose work has received awards and been commended at the New York Radio Festival, Prix Europa in Berlin and the UK’s Sony Radio Awards. He now runs flytingfilms, which makes documentaries about artistic and cultural figures, such as sculptor and poet Ian Hamilton Finlay, and Traverse Theatre co-founder, Jim Haynes. He is currently working on a film which asks why, and how, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe has spawned nearly 200 other Fringes, world-wide.

Charles Nasmyth is a Fife based artist and retired teacher. He is both a painter and illustrator, producing work for a variety of journals. The launch of his first graphic novel The Comic Legend of William McGonagall in 2007 (Waverley Books), was widely covered by the media. His work often explores the boundaries between ‘low’ and ‘high’ culture, and it was at the suggestion of Richard Demarco, that he produced a portrait of Hamish Henderson, poet and folklorist, and edited the recollections of Hamish’s former colleagues in Hamish Henderson: A Conversation Piece (Rhizome Press, 2022).