Artists Mamoru Iriguchi (concept and animation), Greg Sinclair (musical direction, music and dramaturgy) and Ellie Thompson (video designer) have created a special online version of Robert Burn’s most famous song, sung by a virtual choir of international children, as a crisis responsive artwork, for Play Dates, the National Theatre of Scotland’s lockdown season of creativity and online entertainment for children and families.

Play Dates is produced in association with Starcatchers and Imaginate and World Jam is also presented in association with The A.S.K. (Art Space for Kids) and Al-Harah Theater.

World Jam is a is a conceptual zoom jam session by children from different time zones who were brought together online to sing Auld Lang Syne at 2pm on 1 August (their local time), accompanied by a young Scottish piper. The session features 18 children from 11 countries, singing in 11 different languages including Maori, Bengali, Hindi, Palestinian Arabic, Japanese, French, Japanese, Scots, Amharic and Mandarin

Lead artist Mamoru Iriguchi said:

“World Jam is about experiencing something together with other people in a shared space and time – something that we took for granted until lockdown, in theatre and everywhere else. I would like World Jam to be a reminder of the joy of physically being with others, as well as the desire of feeling connected to people all around the planet”

The full World Jam choir are: Anika Dalwani (India); Bowen Gao (China); Farah Ibnat (Bangladesh); Fikir and Hiwote Abraham (Ethiopia); Isaac and Leo Convey (Scotland); Mahika Mittal (India); Mhairi Isobel Bremner (Scotland); Miar Kawwas (Palestine); Miguel Ángel Rodríguez Luna (Mexico); Mitsuki Yokoya , Yuto Yamaoka and Momo Kodama (Japan); Renata Campolongo Sureda (Argentina); Tia Ormsby (New Zealand); Tiago Deweznd and Vincent Villaume (France).

You can watch World Jam here nationaltheatrescotland.com/world-jam from 2pm on 10 August.