....Performers in no particular order....
Hannah Brailsford is a professional actor and storyteller based in Essex who tells both traditional and modern tales to young and old alike. Driven by a passion to engage and inspire communities with storytelling, she draws on her acting background to take her audiences on playful and poignant journeys into folk, fairy, wonder tales and myths and legends from around the world. Described as, ' Captivating, compelling, high-energy and fun.', she provides storytelling for schools and families through her company Tiny Tales Storytellers and pop up spoken word and music nights for adult audiences with Spinning Yarns Theatre.
Friday, Saturday,
www.spinningyarnstheatre.com
www.hannahbrailsfordstoryteller.com
Friday, Saturday,
www.spinningyarnstheatre.com
www.hannahbrailsfordstoryteller.com
Baden Prince (Jnr) is a dynamic poet, performer and storyteller who has been a part of London's thriving Live Literature and Spoken Word scene for more than a decade. He was Writer-in-Residence with the London Borough of Havering's Library Service in 2003/4 and again in 2007/8.
Over the last few years Baden has developed something of a reputation as a storyteller, largely due to a series of appearances at the East Anglian Storytelling Festival where he has delighted and enthralled audiences young, old and young at heart. His repertoire incorporates traditional Caribbean tales, as well as original, self-penned material. In October 2018 he was a featured guest storyteller at the Three Golden Apples Festival at Halsway Manor in Taunton, by invitation of Taffy Thomas MBE. In 2019 Baden’s reputation was enhanced by appearances at the Cambridge Folk Festival and Glastonbury, among others.
Baden is currently Assistant Curator of the pioneering World Storytelling Café project, working alongside the legendary John Row.
worldstorytellingcafe.com/baden-prince/
Over the last few years Baden has developed something of a reputation as a storyteller, largely due to a series of appearances at the East Anglian Storytelling Festival where he has delighted and enthralled audiences young, old and young at heart. His repertoire incorporates traditional Caribbean tales, as well as original, self-penned material. In October 2018 he was a featured guest storyteller at the Three Golden Apples Festival at Halsway Manor in Taunton, by invitation of Taffy Thomas MBE. In 2019 Baden’s reputation was enhanced by appearances at the Cambridge Folk Festival and Glastonbury, among others.
Baden is currently Assistant Curator of the pioneering World Storytelling Café project, working alongside the legendary John Row.
worldstorytellingcafe.com/baden-prince/
Jan Williams teacher, storyteller and writer has spent most of her recent career on telling tales of old Essex and this year is very pleased to be leading a story walk around the historic town of Coggesshall for the festival. Her big news this year is she is publishing a childrens, historic novel called The Ghost of Pendlesham priory set in Tudor times for Christmas.
https://www.janwilltell.co.uk/
https://www.janwilltell.co.uk/
Janina Vigurs helped to pioneer pioneer the Forest School movement across the East of England, where she first discovered storytelling. She works in schools, nurseries, music and literature festivals around the country. ‘Stories land in my heart from tatty old books, jiggle around my head and tumble out of my mouth in a flurry of delight.’
janinavigurs.com/
Janina Vigurs helped to pioneer pioneer the Forest School movement across the East of England, where she first discovered storytelling. She works in schools, nurseries, music and literature festivals around the country. ‘Stories land in my heart from tatty old books, jiggle around my head and tumble out of my mouth in a flurry of delight.’
janinavigurs.com/
Serious Kitchen - SUNDAY MORNING/LUNCHTIME
Nick Hennessey, Vicki Swan and Jonny Dyer combine as Serious Kitchen.
We are delighted to have Vicki and Jonny with us on Sunday Morning!
To sample work with Nick Hennessey:
soundcloud.com/nick-hennessey/the-blacksmith-with-serious
Nick Hennessey, Vicki Swan and Jonny Dyer combine as Serious Kitchen.
We are delighted to have Vicki and Jonny with us on Sunday Morning!
To sample work with Nick Hennessey:
soundcloud.com/nick-hennessey/the-blacksmith-with-serious
Su Squire. Lusciously lyrical and sublimely subversive, Suki SilverTongue straddles the worlds of poetry and storytelling, serving up deliciously decadent versions of classic tales as you’ve never heard them before. Hilarious and thought-provoking stories that are as timeless as they are bang up to date and ever so slightly rude...
“Suki's deliciously wicked take on traditional fairy tales are spit-out-your-drink funny and perfectly performed. A night out with Suki SilverTongue is a night to remember!” - Alex Toms
www.sukisilvertongue.co.uk/gigs
www.tillythetalespinner.moonfruit.com/
“Suki's deliciously wicked take on traditional fairy tales are spit-out-your-drink funny and perfectly performed. A night out with Suki SilverTongue is a night to remember!” - Alex Toms
www.sukisilvertongue.co.uk/gigs
www.tillythetalespinner.moonfruit.com/
Justine de Mierre is a passionate, energetic and inventive performer who delights in connecting playfully with audiences, whether through her storytelling, her improvisation or her music.
A professional performer for over 25 years, Justine came from a background in community and street theatre and began storytelling in 2008. Her multi-faceted storytelling practice So… what’s the story?, ranges from story play sessions for under 5s, to adults only pub nights to story projects with prisoners. She tells regularly at pubs, festivals, schools, libraries and community events locally and nationally (including Cambridge Folk Festival, Leigh Folk Festival, Bath Literary Festival, Edinburgh Literary Festival, Folk East and The National Centre for the Folk Arts at Halsway Manor) and was Artistic Director of the East Anglian Storytelling Festival from 2015 to 2018.
Her love of live, spontaneous, responsive performance runs through her other performance practices, from co-founding improv company The Unqualified Yes, to hosting open mic events to support new performers
www.sowhatsthestory.co.uk
www.theunqualifiedyes.com
www.ladyjandthetroublemakers.co.uk
A professional performer for over 25 years, Justine came from a background in community and street theatre and began storytelling in 2008. Her multi-faceted storytelling practice So… what’s the story?, ranges from story play sessions for under 5s, to adults only pub nights to story projects with prisoners. She tells regularly at pubs, festivals, schools, libraries and community events locally and nationally (including Cambridge Folk Festival, Leigh Folk Festival, Bath Literary Festival, Edinburgh Literary Festival, Folk East and The National Centre for the Folk Arts at Halsway Manor) and was Artistic Director of the East Anglian Storytelling Festival from 2015 to 2018.
Her love of live, spontaneous, responsive performance runs through her other performance practices, from co-founding improv company The Unqualified Yes, to hosting open mic events to support new performers
www.sowhatsthestory.co.uk
www.theunqualifiedyes.com
www.ladyjandthetroublemakers.co.uk
John Row has worked in schools, colleges, prisons, museums, festivals and arts centres in the UK, USA, and mainland Europe. For longer than he cares to remember John Row has told stories on four continents at schools and festivals. He became the first Storyteller in Residence in the U.K. at Wayland Prison in 1999 and gained publicity for the 'Storybook Dads' scheme which has since grown into a national charity and been adopted by countries all over the globe. He developed storytelling as a regular feature of Cambridge Folk Festival and runs the Storytelling Lounge in the Kidz Field at Glastonbury Festival as well as being featured regularly at festivals across East Anglia, Cropredy and Chippenham Folk Festival.
Throughout Covid he has curated the worldstorytellingcafe.com and is the director of the 2022 Marrakech International Storytelling Festival.
worldstorytellingcafe.com/john-row/
Throughout Covid he has curated the worldstorytellingcafe.com and is the director of the 2022 Marrakech International Storytelling Festival.
worldstorytellingcafe.com/john-row/
Carl Merry "...an inspiring storyteller who is able to enthral and excite junior and adult audiences alike....” (Essex Headteacher)
Born in South Wales Carl spent most of his formative years either playing cricket or reading. Early encounters with the Greek myths sparked a lifelong love of these tales. As a teacher, Carl spent twenty six years attempting to instil a love of literature into teenagers.
Since 2000 Carl has worked as a storyteller, telling in theatres, country parks, schools, Medieval re-enactment events, festivals, The Royal Academy, Hull Freedom Festival, storytelling clubs and community groups.
As well as giving workshops on storytelling he has told stories at such varied events as: The Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, The Essex Book Festival, the Rochester Dickens Festival, Pensthorpe Medieval Spectacular, the Colchester Festival, the Mersea Island Seafood Festival and the English Wine Weekend.
In 2014 he was commissioned by Bishops Stortford Museum to prepare a series of stories about policing in the town during WW1.
He has been a mentor on Walking the Wild Woods, a which attracts an international set of students, for the past seven years.
www.carltalespinner.co.uk/
Born in South Wales Carl spent most of his formative years either playing cricket or reading. Early encounters with the Greek myths sparked a lifelong love of these tales. As a teacher, Carl spent twenty six years attempting to instil a love of literature into teenagers.
Since 2000 Carl has worked as a storyteller, telling in theatres, country parks, schools, Medieval re-enactment events, festivals, The Royal Academy, Hull Freedom Festival, storytelling clubs and community groups.
As well as giving workshops on storytelling he has told stories at such varied events as: The Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, The Essex Book Festival, the Rochester Dickens Festival, Pensthorpe Medieval Spectacular, the Colchester Festival, the Mersea Island Seafood Festival and the English Wine Weekend.
In 2014 he was commissioned by Bishops Stortford Museum to prepare a series of stories about policing in the town during WW1.
He has been a mentor on Walking the Wild Woods, a which attracts an international set of students, for the past seven years.
www.carltalespinner.co.uk/
Amy Wragg - Festival Artist. Amy is an independent producer of spoken word, poetry and music events, presenting work under the banner of 'SoapBox'. Based in Suffolk, SoapBox has been making decor from recycled materials for festival stages across the region since 2012. They create huge, site-specific installations like tunnels from broken tents, giant jellyfish chandeliers, miles of recycled bunting and bold signage, all handmade from recycled materials collecting tons of colourful materials for decorating marquees and stages which would have otherwise gone to landfill.
http://www.getonthesoapbox.co.uk/About
http://www.getonthesoapbox.co.uk/About
Paul Jackson. With an extensive collection of stories that include Wonder Tales, World Folk Tales, and Creation stories Paul appears at many and varied venues throughout the year, from Book- and Story- festivals, to museums and Art trails, from a pop~up cafe in London to Glastonbury festival. He has visited over 2000 schools, run storytelling workshops for twenty years and is currently working in collaboration with Tobias Kaye on Healing Your Story and Tom Fortes Mayer from The Freemind Project on Stories that Change our Lives. Paul uses a number of world instruments, is also an established book illustrator, sculptor and a trustee of The Society For Storytelling.
www.pauljacksonstory.com/
www.pauljacksonstory.com/
Tony Finn - Tony is a storyteller from the North West of England and a regular visitor to our festival.
An accomplished teller of tales with a wide and varied repertoire of often humorous stories to entertain both adults and children.
He brings his warm personality and relaxed and engaging style to traditional and not so traditional tales, local legends, monologues and personal anecdotes.
Tony is a regular teller at the South Lakeland Story Club. He is host of the monthly Bag O’Tales story nights and tells stories in local schools, folk club and has lead story walks around his local community nature reserve.
www.sfs.org.uk/storyteller/943/profile
https://www.facebook.com/LancasterStoryTellers/
An accomplished teller of tales with a wide and varied repertoire of often humorous stories to entertain both adults and children.
He brings his warm personality and relaxed and engaging style to traditional and not so traditional tales, local legends, monologues and personal anecdotes.
Tony is a regular teller at the South Lakeland Story Club. He is host of the monthly Bag O’Tales story nights and tells stories in local schools, folk club and has lead story walks around his local community nature reserve.
www.sfs.org.uk/storyteller/943/profile
https://www.facebook.com/LancasterStoryTellers/
Boudicca Border Morris
Eclectic dancers dancing both traditional dances and original ones. We aim to have fun and link some of our repertoire to local history and legends.
www.facebook.com/BoudiccaBorderMorris/
Eclectic dancers dancing both traditional dances and original ones. We aim to have fun and link some of our repertoire to local history and legends.
www.facebook.com/BoudiccaBorderMorris/
Hell’s Bells Alternative Morris bring a sassy twist to Border Morris dancing. Formed in 2016 and based in Castle Hedingham, it’s a mixed band of dancers and musicians hell bent on having fun! Our dress style is Steampunk and our dancing is a combination of traditional and contemporary. We love what we do and hope you will too.
www.facebook.com/hellsbellsmorris
Hailing all the way from the wilds of Wicklow in Ireland, Ipswich based storyteller Veronica Chambers has an array of stories told with her animated style from traditional Irish to Anatolian and some she has even written herself. She is co-host of Storytelling with Bards Aloud, Ipswich’s storytelling group and is a former chair of the East Anglian Fabulation.
https://www.facebook.com/bards.aloud
Chris Richardson. Chris is a relative newcomer to the art of performance storytelling, but stories have been a constant companion through his life. It all began with his father's tales of the days of a boyhood in the Blitz and then a young man making a life lumberjacking in the Canadian wilderness. Chris has collected and mixed snippets of myth and story from wherever he has found himself, be they the classical tales of ancient mythologies, the eerie moors and spirits of Devon, the rich rural traditions of East Anglia, or the sneaky shapeshifters of Japan.
Chris’s experience in working with children with special needs has led him to develop a quirky style, mixing story with verse, song, audience participation or sometimes a few little surprises! This will be his second East Anglian Storytelling Festival, and he has previously performed at Holywells Apple Day and the Chelmsford Wintertales events.
Glenys Newton: Glenys is based in North Essex but often tip toes over the border into Cambridge to dally with the Cambridge storytellers. Glenys loves a good rant and has often used storytelling as a form of activism to tell stories of migration, refugees and homelessness. There is so much to rant about! Glenys works by the notion that an enemy is simply someone whose story you have not yet heard and it seems to work. More recently, Glenys has gone into the world of storylistening by putting together podcasts of people's stories because, as they say, fact is way stranger than fiction.
glenysnewt.wordpress.com/
Erin's Grove is a band from Colchester, Essex, U.K. They play Irish and Scottish traditional music on fiddle, uilleann pipes, banjo, guitar, mandola, mandolin, concertina, whistles, voice.
https://erinsgrove.wordpress.com/
Joe Lees
Alternative folk singer from the North East of Scotland who writes songs about life’s experiences. Joe fell in love with a Suffolk girl, and moved here from the north of Scotland, and the Suffolk girl in now is wife.
He regularly busks around Suffolk and gets inspiration from the beautiful Suffolk landscape, which Joe now calls home.
https://joelees.bandcamp.com/
https://www.instagram.com/joelees_music/
Alternative folk singer from the North East of Scotland who writes songs about life’s experiences. Joe fell in love with a Suffolk girl, and moved here from the north of Scotland, and the Suffolk girl in now is wife.
He regularly busks around Suffolk and gets inspiration from the beautiful Suffolk landscape, which Joe now calls home.
https://joelees.bandcamp.com/
https://www.instagram.com/joelees_music/
Jacqson Diego Story Emporium belongs to every child who has imagined a story. Set up in 2011, in response to a discussion with some young people, it is an independent bookshop that is completely child centric, a place where children can discover and explore books just for fun.
Workshops Saturday Morning and afternoon - Make your own stunning story creation to take home from the festival!
https://www.jacqsondiego.com/
Workshops Saturday Morning and afternoon - Make your own stunning story creation to take home from the festival!
https://www.jacqsondiego.com/
Maria Credali. Having discovered and immersed herself in the world of storytelling several years ago, Maria takes traditional tales and makes them her own, breathing life into characters and taking the listener on journeys of magic and myth. She has told at clubs across the UK and abroad and is a featured teller at the Marrakech International Storytelling Festival in February 2022.
'The glorious Maria Credali took us back to Arthurian England and the mournful tale of the cursed Sir Marrock: sorcery, swineherding, wolves and the restorative power of paternal love - an irresistible combination that drew the packed house into a vivid world of story conjured by Maria.
'https://worldstorytellingcafe.com/maria-credali/
'The glorious Maria Credali took us back to Arthurian England and the mournful tale of the cursed Sir Marrock: sorcery, swineherding, wolves and the restorative power of paternal love - an irresistible combination that drew the packed house into a vivid world of story conjured by Maria.
'https://worldstorytellingcafe.com/maria-credali/
Sarah Rundle got locked in a laboratory but tunnelled her way to freedom. She ran away to drama school, and for the last fifteen years has been a full-time storyteller, and sporadic actor.
She has devised works for the British Council, Wellcome Foundation, Geffrye Museum, Kew Gardens, and the National Trust, and performed at Stockholm’s Fabula Story Café, the Nivesh Festival in Delhi, Kolkata Literature Festival, Nottingham’s Theatre Royal, and Festival at the Edge.
Her work has been described by the Crick Crack Club’s Ben Haggarty as “truly magical…. It sparkles with a particularly glorious English humour.”
http://www.sarahrundle.co.uk/
Nick Hennessey is an internationally acclaimed storyteller, playwright, folk singer, song writer and musician. He has told stories for more than 20 years, performing at venues such as the Southbank Centre and the Royal Albert Hall. He is particularly drawn to North European cultural traditions.
With a deep appreciation for the key role that stories play in how we learn about and express ourselves and the world, whether in communities, businesses or schools, he works extensively in helping draw out our natural storytelling skills.
http://nickhennessey.co.uk/
Vickie Holden-Swinton - Vickie of The Listen Inn!
Vickie has worked as a writer, performer and storyteller for twenty-something years, and can regularly be found working hard at the Discover Children’s Story Centre as well as on Zoom, YouTube, at festival, events, in schools, and at other performing gigs both for adult audiences and families. A born daydreamer(!), Vickie loves funny, characterful, interactive storytelling and more info about Vickie and her work can be found at www.thelisteninn.co.uk
Vicki Swan & Jonny Dyer recently changed jobs and moved into Cyber. They have worked tirelessly since the start of the pandemic performing all over the world giving concerts and dances. The car might only have had a couple of hundred miles put on the clock – but their internet mileage is massive. The only part of the house not being used for their virtual existence is the cupboard under the stairs where they huddle of an evening after the long walk back home from either Studio 1 or Studio 2.
Whilst they are firmly rooted in the tradition the duo are also recognised internationally as creators of both songs and cracking tunes. A performance from Vicki & Jonny will include the obligatory folk songs about death and friendship all mixed in with their trade mark dancing songs. Once heard you will never forget the sound of Vicki's nyckelharpa (Swedish keyed-fiddle) and Jonny's cowhorn will have you pining for the fjords.
http://www.swan-dyer.co.uk
Whilst they are firmly rooted in the tradition the duo are also recognised internationally as creators of both songs and cracking tunes. A performance from Vicki & Jonny will include the obligatory folk songs about death and friendship all mixed in with their trade mark dancing songs. Once heard you will never forget the sound of Vicki's nyckelharpa (Swedish keyed-fiddle) and Jonny's cowhorn will have you pining for the fjords.
http://www.swan-dyer.co.uk
Marion Leeper has been telling stories (true and less true) for longer than she can remember. She is currently touring an ACE-funded show for young children, Love Stories for the Earth and has written extensively on storytelling in the early years. Her show for grownups about 16th century feminism has recently become a concept album, Lovers and Fighters, with singer-songwriter Jessica Law. She is proud to be heading the team organising the East Anglian Storytelling Festival and can’t wait to see storytellers with legs after so many months of zoom meetings.
www.marionleeperstoryteller.co.uk/
Gerry Donlon aka Bards Aloud is a Woodbridge based Irish storyteller and poet.
He is founder and co-host of Storytelling with Bards Aloud, co-founder of The East Anglian Storytelling Festival and is also founder of Poetree Walks with Bards in the Woods, Suffolk. He has performed at many festivals, including: The East Anglian Storytelling Festival, Cambridge Folk Festival, Folk East, The Glens Storytelling Festival, Scéalta Beo Storytelling and Mythology festival where he performed with Kate Corkery a joint telling of The Three Etains, The Spirit of Beowulf community Festival, for which he wrote a new story entitled “The bravery and battles of Beowulf” He also performs tales from a hammock at Holywells Park!
He has an array of original and “hybrid” tales, suitable for all ages, described as “stories comic and stories quirky”
https://www.facebook.com/bards.aloud
He is founder and co-host of Storytelling with Bards Aloud, co-founder of The East Anglian Storytelling Festival and is also founder of Poetree Walks with Bards in the Woods, Suffolk. He has performed at many festivals, including: The East Anglian Storytelling Festival, Cambridge Folk Festival, Folk East, The Glens Storytelling Festival, Scéalta Beo Storytelling and Mythology festival where he performed with Kate Corkery a joint telling of The Three Etains, The Spirit of Beowulf community Festival, for which he wrote a new story entitled “The bravery and battles of Beowulf” He also performs tales from a hammock at Holywells Park!
He has an array of original and “hybrid” tales, suitable for all ages, described as “stories comic and stories quirky”
https://www.facebook.com/bards.aloud
Sarah Beavins saw a storyteller 5 years ago and was fascinated. She tells stories from time to time. She knows a little bit about a lot of things, gained an MA in creative writing a year ago, and loves words. Her interests include cats, jetplanes, Jung, badgers, paper folding, magick, execl spreadsheets, geese, role playng games, singing in the bath, gazing at the moon, swimming, Hawkwind, derelic buildings, decay, space flight, holed stones and food. It's all part of the tapestry.