Acclaimed Welsh storyteller comes to Frome

Mr Rook’s Speak Easy, the new storytelling performance club based at Rook Lane Chapel, will be welcoming nationally-acclaimed storyteller Cath Little to their event on Thursday 20th November. 

Cath will be performing her show Castle Arianrhod; a retelling of one of the stories from the Mabinogion, a collection of tales written in the fourteenth century but believed to be much older.  A well-known storyteller in her native Wales, Cath has performed at festivals all over the country, and regularly tells stories at The National Museum for Wales.

This will be the second event from Mr Rooks Speak Easy   a new performance night to showcase storytellers and bring this art form to a wider audience. The organiser, local storyteller Lisa Kenwright explained, “Although there are several informal storytelling groups in Somerset there aren’t many places that you can see a full-length show, so I thought it was time to create one.

“Rook Lane Chapel is the ideal venue for spoken-word events and Mr Rook’s will be appearing there regularly from February next year with more events already in the pipeline.”

Although still popular in other parts of the British Isles, oral storytelling had nearly died out in England until a hard core of enthusiasts revived the form 1980s. It is very different to theatre, as storytellers do not learn a script by heart and change their material according to the audience.

Lisa said, “That is part of the joy of storytelling; each performance is unique as it is a collaboration between the audience and teller. You are speaking directly to the audience and you never tell the same story the exact same way twice.

“Many still see storytelling as being purely for children, but more and more adults are realising the power of the art form and more performers are producing shows that are aimed at adults. In fact many performances are extremely unsuitable for children as they explore the dark roots of some of humanity’s oldest and darkest myths.”

Cath Little will be appearing Thursday 20th November at Rook Lane Chapel, Bath Street. Doors open at 7.00pm and the show starts at 7.30pm.  Tickets are £6, £3 for concessions and are available on the Rook Lane Website www.rooklane.org.uk. You can also find Mr Rook’s on Facebook and Twitter to get the latest news about future events.