For some people, the question of where they are from is simple, but for others, the answer is much more complicated.
Growing up across a range of geographical homes, laying claim to several cultures or having a different family experience can leave people questioning their identity and what it should look like.
It is a personal question Ullapool musician, Anne Wood, has wrestled with and is inviting others to explore through her production Where Mountains Meet.
Sharing her story of meeting her Pakistani father as an adult and exploring their heritage and identity, the show is a merging of culture and reflections.
Childhood in Scourie and Edinburgh
As a child, Anne remembers happy days in Scourie, Sutherland with her grandparents before settling in Edinburgh with her mum.
While she knew she had a Pakistani father, he was not part of their lives.
He had returned to Pakistan after his studies in Edinburgh to become a doctor and had an arranged marriage.
Anne said: “I grew up quite proud of this connection but not knowing much about it.
“I always said one day I would love to try and find him but it felt like an impossible needle in a haystack type task because all I knew about him was his name and the fact he was a doctor.”
Years later, Anne was driven to action and found her dad was a professor at a teaching hospital in Karachi.
She wrote a tentative letter and quickly received a warm and excited reply from her dad.
Culture clash in Pakistan
A few years later, after meeting him for the first time in Edinburgh, Anne’s dad invited her to fly over and explore Pakistan.
However, she was in for a rude awakening.
Her dad’s wife did not want anything to do with her and her half-siblings were not aware of her visit.
Anne said: “What I found was he hadn’t told me anything about the situation I was going into. So this is where the show is telling this story.
“I was brought up with absolutely no shame about being a single child or Pakistani…Then when I went to Pakistan, being illegitimate is actually completely shameful.”
Anne said the different cultures made navigating their relationship difficult at times.
However, in between fiery arguments, they would always come back and keep building their relationship.
When Mountains Meet: More of a party than a theatre show
Remembering the caves and mountains of her youth in Scourie, the idea of escaping to the north Pakistani mountains when things seemed overwhelming and Anne’s love of Ullapool‘s geology where she now lives, the show title reflects the meeting of cultures.
The violinist added: “Similarly, when you’re looking at the difference between people, like me and my dad…if you take a step back, and look at landscape and the way that things change so epically but slowly, the difference between cultures seems very little.”
One highlight in creating the show for Anne has been the assembling of her “dream band” playing a mix of Scottish form, classical Indian and Pakistani music.
This includes Mary MacMaster from The Poozies, Rick Wilson and Rakae Jamil, one of Pakistan’s top Sitar players.
Wanting to portray the “incredibly warm welcome” experienced in Pakistani and Scottish culture, audience members will be offered tea and a Pakistani sweet treat during the storytelling.
Anne added: “It’s set up more like a wedding or a party than a theatre show.”
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