The many merry gests of Robin Hood at the Undercroft

We are doing different this December at the Undercroft. Not only have we moved from the first wednesday to the second tuesday, but we have two professional tellers coming to share their stories with us...

Wendy and Michael Dacre

This month husband and wife, Wendy and Michael Dacre will be sharing their stories of Robin Hood adapted from the early gestes devoted to the outlaw and his merry band. As the Dacre's say...

These tales give the most vital and authentic account of the English outlaw - violent, earthy, humorous and tragic. This is the original ‘Robyn Hode’,mostly from the early ballads, and still the most exciting - not suitable for young children. Songs of the Greenwood wind in and out of the stories to create a vision in sound of Merrie England.

The set includes:

Robin Hood & the Monk
Robin Hood & the Potter
Robin Hood & the Pedlar
Robin Hood & Guy of Gisborne

Robin Hood & Alan a Dale
Robin Hood’s Death

For more info on Wendy and Michael visit their website here... http://www.raventales.co.uk/

As usual we start at 8.00 and donations are always welcome. Be there on time lest Jim have your guts for garters!

Dave Tong

Folktales from Greece and Wales on November 6th

This month we travel the globe from Wales all the way to Greece!

 First up we have Carl Merry telling:

 The Draenog, The Devil and The Tylwyth Teg

Its a variety of folk tales and myths from Wales together with one or two personal anecdotes about growing up in the Rhondda Valley. 

Although a word of warning, it may contain shape changing fairy folk, clever women, Old Nick and catching sticklebacks.
 

Carl Merry

Carl is of Welsh and Irish decent, something that has flavoured his performances and given him an interest in the fairy folk! He is now based in Essex and is a founder member of the Essex Storytellers.  He has told all over the county and the rest of East Anglia both as a solo performer and as part of the Essex group.

For more info on Carl visit his website here.. http://www.carltales.com/ 

Although we regularly have guests like Carl from other clubs and far flung places it's always good to showcase our very own storytelling talent - And in November we are pleased to have our very own laurie Steele telling:

Its all Greek to Me

Its a set of Greek tales. Laurie and his wife Maureen spend a lot of time in Greece and have got to know the country well, hence his interest in their folklore....

Laurie telling at the Undercroft

As Laurie says...

I am busy putting together a mixture of Greek folk tales, blended with some personal observations of Greek people. The basis of the set is a tribute to the people of Cephalonia and their recovery from the destruction of their island home in 1953 when 90% of their homes were destroyed in a massive earthquake. This was only a few years after the people had suffered massively under German and Italian occupation.  

Earth Quake damage on Cephalonia

As per usual we gather from about 7.30pm for a 8.00 pm start lest Jim have your guts for garters. 

Dave Tonge

Barbequed Husbands versus Heros and Lovers at the Undercroft

This September we have two for the price of one at the Undercroft, or rather two for the price of a donation! For this month we will be hosting two guest tellers, both from the midlands...

First we have Ana Lines, a Brazilian teller who be performing 'Barbequed Husbands -Rainforest Tales'. Stories of healing, life, and love as well as cooking husbands!

Ana is a well known teller in the midlands and hosts her own club in Stafford as well as telling at the Birmingham storytelling Cafe. You can find out more about her on her website..

http://annazonia.com

Then we have Tom Philips telling 'Heros and Lovers'. As Tom says, It's a mix of story and music that come together  take the audience around the world on a light hearted journey

Tom Philips telling at the Yard of Tales in Market Harborough

Tom is an up and coming teller who has performed all over the midlands and also at the Sociery for Storytelling Gathering. Just go to his website for more info... 

http://www.tomthetaleteller.co.uk/home

Please note that although we have two guests this month there will still be time for tales from the floor between their sets

As usual we ask ask that people arrive early for an 8.00pm start lest Jim has yours guts for garters!

Dave Tong the Yarnsmith

Dominic Kelly Tells 'Crow'

Thanks to all those who joined us for Jim Kavanagh and Liam Carroll's Tales from the Tain in June. as one member of the audience said:

Fantastic! The contrast in telling style between Liam and Jim worked brilliantly well. Hope you go places with it.

They even got some kisses! Certainly the feeling was that they should develop the Tain into a show and take it on the road.

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From Irish tales though to Dominic Kelly telling CROW....

Intelligent, ruthless, stark, graceful... crows haunt both our outer and inner landscapes. Dominic Kelly accompanies these black-feathered tricksters through a northern borderland: here, in the shadows of the saltmarsh channels, neither crows nor people are quite what they seem. Welcome to Crow. In this powerful performance Dominic deftly interweaves myth, fairytale and biography to map the life and death of his grandfather - a man who was moulded by the time and place of his birth - until the boundary between metaphor and reality becomes subtly undefined.

“Magnificent” “If I had to leave tonight, Dominic Kelly’s Crow would have been worth the 3-hour drive”. Cambridge Storytelling Festival

"Absolutely brilliant night. An inspired and intense telling” “Remarkable”

Dreamfired Storynight, Cumbria

Dominic Kelly

Dominic Kelly is a contemporary performance storyteller based in Lancaster, England and Stockholm, Sweden. His dynamic and compelling style has captivated audiences in schools, theatres and festivals around the world. He has established a reputation for powerful, entertaining work that brings together intricate composition with the energy of improvised performance. He has curated the storytelling programme at Litfest, and directed the storytelling programmes at festivals across the UK, including Larmer Tree and Solfest. In 2009 Dominic was awarded the New Directions Commission by Cambridge Storytelling Festival, with funding from the Arts Council, to create a new performance for adults. Crow is the result. It was premiered at the festival in 2009, and has since been performed at venues including The Barbican, the Soho Theatre in London's West End, the Westcountry Storytelling Festival, on tour with the British Council in India and at The Times Cheltenham Literature Festival.

As usual we meet at 7.30 for an 8.00pm start. lest Jim have your guts for garters. Also we do ask for donations on the night. Whatever you can spare to ensure we can bring more wonderful storytellers like Dominic to Norwich!

Dave Tonge - The Yarnsmith

Irish Tales at the Undercroft - A prelude to the Tain Bo Cuilagne

Thanks to all those who shared some Summer Lovin and a three minute tale at our May gathering and next month we will be joined by these two celtic lovelies....

Jim Kavanagh

Liam Carroll

On June 5th these two lusty Undercroft regulars, Liam Carroll and Jim Kavanagh, will be telling some of their favourite Irish tales:

Whose Bull Is It Anyway?

A prelude to The Tain Bo Cuilagne: the oldest tale in Europe, of mighty deeds & daring cattle raids in ancient Ireland, with talking eels, a thirsty corpse and a warrior Queen so shameless & dangerous you'll be needing a drink yourself before the tales even begun...

 Jim and Liam  have a common interest in the mythology of Ireland, and have put their heads together to present a selection from this vast body of fascinating archaic lore.  Written down by Irish monks as far back as the 700's, these tales are believed to originate from much older oral traditions, providing a glimpse into the society of Celtic warrior aristocracy which never came under the direct influence of Rome.  They crackle with a rich imagery & energetic magic from a world where the written word never took hold, and is almost totally beyond our modern sensibilities.  You'll definitely be needing a pint...

Jim and Liam will be telling an hour long set so there will still be time for tales from the floor. Be sure to come early and put your name down if you wish to tell, lest Jim have your guts for garters..

For more info about Liam visit his blog page here..

*Alas we have no details about Jim, so he will just have to remain an enigma...

Dave Tong - The Yarnsmith

Three minute tales & Summer Lovin in May

On May 1st we have tales from the floor - An open mic event where anyone and everyone can come and tell a tale.

The theme is 'Summer Lovin', but you can be as creative as you like when it comes to fitting a story to the theme. The more tenuous the better!

We'll start the night though with some three minute tales. Its something we tried a while back and it was good fun. A real skill in breaking a story down and getting to the nub of it in less than three minutes...

As per usual we meet at 7.30 for an 8.00pm start, so don't be late lest Jim has your guts for garters!

Carl Merry - Into the Shadowlands

At the next gathering on April 3rd we have another guest teller - Carl Merry telling:

'Into the Shadowlands'

Carl will be taking us on a journey to the margins that lie between the world we know and the “Otherworld” of the Fair Folk. Were it not for the wisdom of a woman, a lover who teaches an elf the meaning of love and a willing pupil, there could be no survival. Even then, in the last days when traditions are either forgotten or ignored the fairy host must ride once more or face extinction.


An excellent programme..... I liked the beautiful, gently sad mood, leavened with humour.
Cambridge Storytelling Club 

Carl is of Welsh and Irish decent, something that has flavoured his performances and given him an interest in the fairy folk! He is now based in Essex and is a founder member of the Essex Storytellers.  He has told all over the county and the rest of East Anglia both as a solo performer and as part of the Essex group.

Carl Merry

For more info on Carl visit his website here.. http://www.carltales.com/

As per usual we meet at 7.30 for an 8.00pm start, so don't be late lest Jim has your guts for garters! 

Su Squire tells - The Fool, the Weaver and the Heart of The Labyrinth

Thanks to all who joined us for our last session where we all enjoyed Marion Leeper's performance of 'The Kitchen Cat'. A subtle blend of humour, designer fairies, real life and true emotion. At our next gathering in March one of our regulars, Su Squire will be premiering her new performance:

The Fool, The Weaver & The Heart of the Labyrinth

A tale of love, loss and the extraordinary power of stories. In a far off land, a courageous fool embarks on a perilous journey to meet with a mysterious weaver of tales and find that which has been lost.

Su's performance is just one small part of a bigger project 'Chrysalis Tales' which aims to use storytelling and other related art forms for the exploration and expression of people's thoughts and feelings relating to death and bereavement in a way that is ultimately positive and life affirming. As Su says:

Possibly the simplest and most portable of art forms, storytelling seems a good starting point for the project. I believe that stories speak a language that touches a part of our selves that our everyday language cannot always reach - a language of symbols and archetypes that goes straight to the heart of the matter. In their own remarkable way stories connect us through time and space with every human being who has ever known or will one day know the pain and grief of loss, bringing comfort and reassurance whilst offering hope that there is, to coin a phrase, light at the end of the tunnel. At their most powerful, they remind us of how truly mysterious and wonderful life is.

There will also be some time set by for stories from the floor, so come prepared  and  Su was hoping that some of the regulars might share stories that deal with death and bereavement in some form or fashion.

To find out more about the project visit the Chrysalis tales Facebook Site here

And for more on Su Squire check out her biog here

As per useual we meet at 7.30 for an 8.00pm start, so don't be late lest Jim has your guts for garters! 

Coming up in 2013 - Marion Leeper 'The Kitchen Cat'

It's a new year at the Undercroft with any amount of guest tellers coming to share their tales with us…

On March 6th we have Su Squire, one of our regulars putting together a performance for us (More detail to come) On April 3rd we'll be joined by Carl Merry performing 'Into The Shadowlands' - A series of Irish Tales. Whilst on July 3rd it will be Dominic Kelly telling 'Crow' which "melts together folkltale & folklore, biography & myth".  In September after our summer break we will be joined by Ana Lines, also resident at Birmingham Storytelling Cafe and also possibly Tom Phillips who runs Good Impressions Storytelling Club in Hinkley. Also look out for performances from our regulars including Liam Carroll and Jim Kavanagh.

But prior to all of that we are joined by Marion Leeper of the Cambridge Storytellers telling:

The Kitchen Cat

'She couldn't remember who she was, but she knew that once she had been someone important...' Scraps of memory, legend, and black lace woven together to tell one woman's rags to riches story, La Gata Borralheira - the Kitchen Cat - will take you on a romp through the folktales and cocktail dresses of 1950s Europe.  Marion’s mix of traditional tales and family history is funny, moving, grotesque and tragic by turns.

Marion's is an hour long session, so there will still be time for stories from the floor. Anyone wishing to tell should let me know as spaces will be limited.

We hope to see many of you there (Weather permitting) at 7.30 for an 8.00 start, lest Jim have your guts for garters!

Dave Tong - The Yarnsmith
Artwork by Jim Kavanagh