Tales From the Undercroft - 5th October 2011

Last Wednesdays Tales from the Undercroft was so brilliant, we decided to review it twice!  courtesy of two regulars; Liam Carroll and Kelly Kanayama:

You had to be there to get the full force of the penetrating moral insights from the troubadors that dark Wednesday night in early October. Yes it was another night of stunning truths and unbelievable facts at the Undercroft; from Joy's 'we all know wealth makes you happy' to which we all eagerly consented (in hope more than anything) only to hear how our hero sunk his own boat due to the over abundance of valuable goods (we were all shocked) to the marvelous news that animals make better lovers than spouses (from two diferent tellers, with no conspiring - it must be true) - all good clean fun (I had no idea that's how the minotaur was conceived - gosh, I didn't know which way to look)!

The story about the cook who couldn't resist the simmering ducks and got away with the theft (and Kelly made the theft seem so reasonable) brought the troupe's morals into further disrepute (or was the master getting his just desserts from the canny servant? What's right and what's wrong? - I don't know) Well we were all on much safer ethical ground with Dave's story about the thief; clearly a wrongun' there, and he certainly got his come uppance when he met the gorgeous thiefess ..who robbed him good and proper .. before they both fell in love ... oh ...and then they produced a beautiful baby who ... well maybe not quite so clear cut as I thought.

Ah, now, then there was 'the voice', now he certainly laid it nice and plain on the table ..'people who live in grass houses shouldn't  store....', ah, now I wouldn't want to spoil the ending for the next audience, other than to say that the moral was nice and clear cut (wasn't it?) Now of course the good lady of Talespinning herself cut an unequivocal moral path with her exemplary tale of what to do when Death turns up to serve up his own brand of equality and justice to young and old, good and bad alike ...and there's no escaping that truth .. only, she did (now how did she do that) oh well.

Now that was only half the tales ... the others were even more mysterious (and why did those folk turn to dust again Jim?) well, quite frankly you had to be there.

Liam Carroll

Our second gathering at Tales from the Undercroft on 5 October was a fantastic follow-up to last month. Although we had fewer tellers, we got to hear many different stories from around the world and we also saw several new faces in the audience!

Mark Scott-Ison got us started (and laughing!) with a short ‘moral tale’ about what not to do when living in grass houses. Su Squire, aka Tilly the Talespinner, told us an inspiring Hungarian folktale about an old woman who was too busy living to have time for Death.

Dave Tonge the Yarnsmith gave us a preview of his upcoming Settle Stories performance with a story of love and thievery in 17th-century Norwich. Making her first appearance at Jurnet's, Joy Croft (a regular at Tales from the Horse’s Mouth) told an Algonquin Native American folktale that warned us against careless wishes.

Jim Kavanagh rounded out the first half with the Greek myth of Daedalus and Minos, reminding us that sometimes the only thing between success and death is a single thread, and that we should never 'default on a loan from the gods'.

The second half began with an Afro-Cuban myth from Kelly Kanayama about the Orishas (manifestations of God in Yoruba religion), desire and the creative impulse. Liam Carroll followed up with the story of a mysterious casket that led its owners to ask themselves the simple but important question of who they loved the most. It was then Dave’s turn to tell us about Tudor England’s fascination with freaks and devilry, and to weave these facts into a comic tale of a crossroads meeting with the Devil.

Jim returned with a Scottish tale about two pipers and the consequences of their one-night-only gig in the realm of Faerie. Kelly provided another story, this time about a clever (and hungry) servant and some delicious roast duck.

Finally, Liam brought the evening to a close with the story of a good Norfolk lad who - through an otherworldly encounter - became a master storyteller and learned that truth is often harder to believe than fiction.

Kelly Kanayama

The next Tales from the Undercroft gathering will be on 2nd November at 8:00 PM (7.30 for 8.00 start) and this time there are not one, but two themes! The first half of the night will be devoted to super-short stories, specifically stories that are no longer than 3 minutes. The theme for the second half will be Spooky Stories: tales of ghosts, monsters or anything else that makes you think twice about turning out the lights.

Hope to see you all there!

Tales from the Undercroft - Our first gathering

On Wednesday the 7th of September we held our first storytelling gathering and had a good audience, many of whom wanted to tell. Such is our fame that we even had Ana Lines, a story teller who came to us all the way from Brazil (Via Stafford where she nows lives)

Ana Lines

Ana told two stories. The first a very relavent tale about a King, a man with many jobs and a City facing great change. The second,  about the Botu (not sure on spelling)  and how he chooses  a wife - Both with a wonderful warmth,  a twinkle in the eye and with what one audience member called a very vivacious style!

Also taking part were Liam Carroll with a bold telling of one of Aesop's fables about a fox, a magpie and a Leg of Lamb. Su Squire told, The Pottle of Brains with some great energy and humour. Jim Kavanagh told a charming if typically odd tale about a goat, some ale and a shotgun. Kelly Kanayama told a very visual version of Hawaiian myth about the Demi God Maui and how he brought fire to the people. Dave Tong made a noise with a tale about the devil and a blacksmith,  whilst Paul Jackson in a gentle but athoratative style told of a blue fish. Fiona told a her first very short 'tale' - about a huge barn with nothing in it!

 

Mark Scott-Ison

Also telling for the first time was John with what he described as a true tale about many things including Coyotes, Trevallon dogs and Bert Loyde. Whilst Mark Scott-Ison was another highlight of the night with a great story about the  'Bonk-waaa',  that explained once and for all why biscuits go missing from the jar! A silly tale, rumbustiously told.

It turned out to be a long night as many of us told twice and so thanks to Lorraine. She was very patient with us and we promise not to go on so long next time!

The next Tales from the Undercroft at Jurnets is at 7.30 for an 8.00 start on October 5th and there is no theme - all stories welcome. The next Tales from the Horses Mouth at the Black Horse Earlham Road is on October 17th.

Meet the Regulars - Liam Carroll

   Liam telling as part of  'The Dragonseeker's Quest' 
Organised by The Greenword Tree at Catton Park, Norwich

Click on the image to enlarge

Liam is of mixed English and Irish descent and has spent many years travelling by horse and cart in Ireland, Britain and Eastern Europe, most notably with the renowned mask and puppet theatre company, Horse and Bamboo

He came to storytelling after several years performing street theatre with the campaigning group Theatre of War, having been influenced by one of his musical heroes Robin Williamson, who was part of the 1980’s ‘storytelling revival’.

When it comes to storytelling Liam says, I have tried to read far and wide in searching out good stories, but all the material I adopt for an adult audience always seems to come from Scotland and Ireland – I think it’s the humour and colourful language that attracts me to that tradition. Having said that, I find it quite challenging to translate that humour into the spoken word especially as the language seems to demand the use of ham Irish and Scottish accents. I’m struggling to work out the best way of dealing with that as too much fake accent is a bit off putting for the audience, I suspect, although people are always very polite about it when I ask them.
  

Check out Liam's website: http://www.fairyfolkandfable.co.uk/

And you can contact him via email at fairyfolkandfable@yahoo.co.uk  

 or on 7960696625

Meet the Regulars - Kelly Kanayama

 Kelly Kanayama

Taking part in the Young Storyteller of the Year, 2011

Kelly is from Hawaii and is of half-Japanese and half-Filipino descent.  She has been performing in various disciplines, mainly voice and dance since the age of 7, but only began storytelling after she came to the UK.

When it comes to the stories she tells Kelly says, I've been collecting stories since I was very young, although I didn't realise it at the time - a lot of my material comes from stories I heard in school or books I read at home during childhood.  Although I'm interested in fairy tales and myths from all over the world, I specialise in stories from the Pacific Rim, particularly Hawaii, Japan and the Philippines due to my heritage.  In addition, I have a soft spot for stories with passionate, interesting female characters, as I think many female storytellers do!  My grandmothers - the ultimate strong independent female role models in my family - and their lives are also a source of inspiration, although some of the resulting stories are definitely not suitable for children.

For Kelly storytelling is at least partially about giving a voice to characters, individuals, communities and/or people groups that might not otherwise be heard.  And due to both her dance training and culture(s)'s she tends to communicate in a very physical way as well as vocally. Kelly says, Storytelling is an holistic act in the sense that it's a collaboration between the brain, the voice and the body.

Kelly is also running a 10 week course on Folktales and their Meanings at Wensum Lodge from  September - November 2011.

For more information on Kelly and her course contact her on: kelly.kanayama@gmail.com

Welcome to the Norwich Storytelling Gathering at Jurnets Bar

Hello

This is the first post of many promoting storytelling  at the Black Horse Pub in Norwich and now also at Jurnets Bar, beneath Wensum Lodge on Norwich. Just follow the links to find out more about both these venues.

The Black Horse gathering is held on the 3rd Monday of every month (From October 17th 2011) and the New Jurnets gathering is on the first Wednesday of the month. Both events run from 8.00 til late and tea and coffee are available at each as well as alcohol!

Jurnets Medieval Undercroft

Ideal for atmospheric tales!

We will also be having guest tellers at Jurnets starting with Sophie Snell on March 7th 2012 and Roisin Murray on May 2nd and donations are welcome to fund them! More details to follow nearer the time.

On this blog we aim to promote storytelling, local tellers and storytelling events. We will also hopefully be linking up with other clubs as well as reviewing what else is going on in the storytelling world.

For those new to storytelling, why not come and join us. You can come and have a go at telling if you like, or otherwise just listen to some great tales!