We’ve Teamed Up With Restless Natives

To mark shared 40th anniversaries, Mercat Tours has joined forces with Restless Natives: The Musical in a celebration of Edinburgh’s storytelling spirit. 

To celebrate its 40th birthday on July 1st, Edinburgh-based Mercat Tours, the award-winning family-run walking tour company has teamed up with the creators of the cult classic Scottish film Restless Natives to celebrate the power of the city’s stories. Restless Natives: The Musical, based on the beloved 1985 film, which also turns 40 this year, is showing at Leith Theatre until 21st June in the penultimate stop on its Scotland-wide tour.  

  
The iconic Restless Natives Clown and Wolfman and Mercat Tours Master Storyteller Nicola, unite to mark 40 years of legendary Edinburgh storytelling | photo: Andy Buchanan

The partnership between Mercat Tours and Restless Natives: The Musical is a natural fit, as both celebrate the significance that storytelling plays in Edinburgh’s identity and its tourism. While the 1985 film portrayed tourism as something to be taken advantage of by enterprising locals, today’s approach by Mercat Tours is thoughtful and sustainable focusing on quality, authentic experiences, that build connections and delivers benefits for all. This collaboration highlights how stories can entertain while deepening respect of Edinburgh’s heritage and supporting local jobs. 

To mark its 40th anniversary, Mercat Tours is offering a special £19.85 ticket for two original tours that first launched in 1985 - Secrets of Edinburgh’s Royal Mile and Evening of Ghosts & Ghouls. The exclusive tickets will be available from 1-7th July, as a nod to the year the company was founded and the 40-year longevity of these stories. Former history schoolteacher Des Brogan, founded Mercat Tours in 1985 to breathe new light into the fascinating stories of Edinburgh, and to help visitors and residents enjoy and better connect with the city’s rich past.  In 2014, daughter Kat took the helm as Managing Director, leading the family business to become an integral part of Edinburgh’s tourism industry and earning multiple awards along the way.

Today, Mercat Tours works with schools and communities across the city and prides itself on demonstrating how tourism can be a force for good.

Kat Brogan, Managing Director of Mercat Tours, said: "Celebrating 40 years alongside Restless Natives feels like a meeting of kindred spirits: two stories rooted in Edinburgh’s heart told with warmth, wit, and a passion for community. Just like Will and Ronnie’s rebellious quest to give back to locals, Mercat Tours’ 'Our Stories, Your City' initiative, funded entirely by visitor donations, aims to reconnect isolated communities with their heritage and city. To mark this milestone and share the joy, we’re proud to offer tours from just £19.85 during our birthday week," 

Andy Paterson, producer of Restless Natives: The Musical, said: “We’re delighted Edinburgh can experience Restless Natives: The Musical—a live cultural event in an iconic venue that also supports Leith Theatre’s preservation. Mercat Tours is as much a part of the city’s fabric as the Clown and the Wolfman,” 
 
Lynn Morrison, Chief Executive, Leith Theatre, added: “It’s an honour to bring Restless Natives: The Musical to the Leith Theatre and see fans of all ages connect with these iconic characters. This theatre adaptation blends theatre, film and music which is everything we love, and we couldn’t be prouder to welcome this exciting crossover and summer opportunity to our venue. This collaboration highlights the rich storytelling this city inspires - whether from a century ago or just 40 years,” 

Produced and directed by the same team who made the film alongside co-producers Perth Theatre, Restless Natives: The Musical sees the iconic outlaw duo, the Clown and the Wolfman, ride again in a new stage musical. It continues the enduring legacy of one of the films that paved the way for a boom of Scottish cinema.

The collaboration not only celebrates Scottish storytelling it also showcases the strength of Scottish voices, local culture and the city’s well-loved landmarks. 

The  Clown and Wolfman and Mercat Tours Master Storyteller Nicola | photo: Andy Buchanan 

Ideal for both seasoned fans of Mercat Tours and the film, the partnership will also appeal to new, younger generations who are just discovering Edinburgh and who want a more authentic experience of the city.

Click here to find out more about Mercat Tours’ 40th anniversary celebrations and to book tickets to see Restless Natives: The Musical at Leith Theatre visit www.leiththeatre.co.uk.