My summer events in the physical have been either cancelled or postponed – but I am still hosting and performing in lots of events online!
Taking The Tradition On – Every Tuesday at 8pm I am hosting a storytelling talk show – most of my guests are eminent storytellers, but there is room for all sorts of interesting figures – folklorists, authors, balladeers, archivists… these conversations have grown out of my Arts Council England project celebrating Duncan Williamson and my first guests and conversations centre around him, but they are now beginning to branch out into the wider world of storytelling. These are all live events, but will be streamed to my YouTube channel, Taking The Tradition On
Get A Word In Online – Second Thursday of the month at 7pm The Get A Word In Edgeways Spoken Word Festival is postponed until 2021, but in the meantime they have asked me to host spoken word concerts once a month. So join us for a free evening of poetry, storytelling, author readings and a general celebration of the spoken word. These are live events – just like going out to a concert, you will need to get your drinks ready, log in and get comfortable for the start of the concert – we won’t wait for you – and you won’t be able to watch later! We will have a break half way through for everyone to go and clap for key workers and top up their refreshments. You will be able to join in on the chat – and please do applaud our guests and tell them what you think!
BLAST! Beautiful Lies and Startling Truths Performing Storytelling Club – Second Friday every month BLAST! usually takes a break from April – August, but this year we have decided to run an online summer season, with storytellers Sheila Arnold, Liz Weir and Shonaleigh for the next three months. We are running the online version the same way we would usually run in the Town Hall, but you need to bring your own cake! Doors open at 7.30pm for an 8.00pm start – announce your arrival in the chat bar and have a catch up with everyone. Tickets are £5.80 – buy via Eventbrite and I will email you the Zoom link and password.
Tuesday 30th June 8pm Taking The Tradition On with…Joseph Sobol American storyteller, musician and ballad-singer, now the Director of the George Ewart Evans Centre for Storytelling at Cardiff University. An expert on Jack tales – though Joseph’s main knowledge comes from the other side of the water – from the Appalachian Mountains. Joseph has spent time with tradition bearers on both sides of the water and is constantly debating the best ways to Take The Tradition On Join us on Zoom by clicking the link
Tuesday 7th July 8pm Taking The Tradition On with…Shonaleigh Shonaleigh is the only known surviving Druts’yla, a traditional female Jewish storyteller in an age old tradition, Shonaleigh knows thousands of stories taught to Ωher in cycles by her Bubbe, her Grandmother. We’ll talk about how the tradition works, how she learned her Grandmother and what it was like spending her childhood learning to be a tradition bearer. Join us on Zoom by clicking the link
Thursday 9th July, 8.30 – 10.30pm Get A Word in Edgeways Spoken Word Zoom Concert: We have a fantastic selection of storytellers and poets: Jean Atkin, Kathy Wallis, Kate Innes and Joseph Sobol. Here is the link and the password is: 806552 https://www.getawordinedgeways.co.uk
Friday 10th July 8pm BLAST! with Shonaleigh When one act changes the course of fate, even a dog must pay the price. This is the story of Dog’s quest for a master – a journey through worlds and time for a ruby collar. Dog puts the dog in dogged, the scar in scared and the love in loyalty.
Master storyteller, Shonaleigh, is the only known surviving Druts’yla, a traditional female Jewish storyteller in an age old tradition. Shonaleigh knows thousands of stories, taught to her in cycles by her Bubbe, her Grandmother. The stories interconnect, revealing more and more of a magical, glorious world. Joyous, beautiful. sometimes hilarious and deeply moving – you won’t want to miss this! Tickets are £5.80 from Eventbrite
Tuesday 14th July 8pm Taking The Tradition On with…Doc Rowe
Tuesday 21st July 8pm Taking the Tradition On with…
Friday 24th July 2020 ‘Travelling Together’ 7.30pm Strange Times Online Storytelling Club The unusual combination of a whimsical teenager and a down-to-earth Scots Traveller. Reminiscences of learning to drive, make pegs, drink special brew and cope with sleep deprivation alongside an ever-present flow of story, song and history. Amy Douglas remembers her apprenticeship with Duncan Williamson and shares a glimpse into an unusual friendship; the journey of a storyteller and the transmission of a tradition from one culture to another. Join the Strange Times Online Facebook Group for more details closer to the time, or I will ask if I can put the direct link up here. You may have to message/email me for the link, they are being careful with their zoom links and trying to only give them out to real people!
28th November 2020 – Travelling Toghether, Fonkelvogel, Belgium. This will hopefully be a real life performance! The unusual combination of a whimsical teenager and a down-to-earth Scots Traveller. Reminiscences of learning to drive, make pegs, drink special brew and cope with sleep deprivation alongside an ever-present flow of story, song and history. Amy Douglas remembers her apprenticeship with Duncan Williamson and shares a glimpse into an unusual friendship; the journey of a storyteller and the transmission of a tradition from one culture to another
2-4 July 2021, Beyond the Border International Storytelling Festival, Dinefwr Park, Carmarthenshire, http://www.beyondtheborder.com
9-11 July 2021, Get a Word in Edgeways Festival, Much Wenlock I’ll be discussing and performing work arising from my current Arts Council England bid, digitising reel-to-reels recordings of Duncan Williamson. I’ll be in conversation with David Campbell, talking about our friendships with and stories and ballads from the Scottish Traveller Tradition.
BLAST! Beautiful Lies and Startling Truths
I run a series of storytelling concerts over the winter months in Bishops Castle Town Hall. Dates for the storytelling series are included in the list below, usually the 2nd Friday of the month. http://www.bishopscastletownhall.co.uk, Shropshire, SY9 5BG 01588 630023
Friday 11thSeptember – Blue Moon Rising – Cat Wetherill. A sparkling collection of new stories from Cat to celebrate twenty years telling tales. Bold, intimate, playful, loving and cinematic
Friday 16thOctober – Of Sea and Shore – Helen East and Rick Wilson Story and rhythm, percussion and song weave shore and sea together, from Indonesia to Iceland and Wales to Scotland. Tales of selkies and mermaids – the danger and wonder of the sea.
Friday 6th November – Where Dragons Lead – Suzanne and Jake Tumnus Between the Corve and the Neen, home to the Clee Hills, three artists celebrate their landscape. Maps and memories, boundary stones and boulders, the land tells its tales
Friday 11th December– The Grateful and the Dead – Ben Haggarty. Hares and hags go hand in paw; the Bull Horned King of the Demons reigns supreme, and a good companion may be both a blessing and a curse…fierce, fast, and unashamedly magical
Friday 8th January – Stories from the Bristol Channel and Beyond – Steve Killick and David Ambrose Pitched sea battles and royal welcomes; pirates and mermaids; sailors and slaves. Strange cargoes, stranger stories and Sabrina, the river Goddess rides the Severn Bore
Friday 12th February – Journeywoman – Amy Douglas. A treasure trove of tapes, a year of listening later, Amy shares her frustration over missing ends of stories; the intimacy of eavesdropping on 50 year old conversations as well as stories, ballads and memories of one of the greatest traditional storytellers, Duncan Williamson
Friday 5th March – Scottish tales of the Supernatural – Heather Yule. A folklorist’s daughter, Heather grew up with Jack, the fairies, water kelpies and music…but these stories are for grownups…an otherworldly adventure of dark tales and bittersweet harp.
Doors open 7.30pm for 8.00pm start Tea, beer and homemade cake available
Tickets: individual £8.00, group £25 (4 people) season ticket £40
FB: BLAST! Beautiful Lies and Startling Truths www.b-l-a-s-t.co.uk
