Past Events

The following identify a few of the storytelling events that have taken place in Surrey over the last couple of years.  This is not a comprehensive list and is intended only to provide the "flavour" and scope of the events that have taken place.

Waxing Lyrical - Adult Storytelling Practice & Coaching Group.
The Ewell based group continues to meet regularly once a month. An addition group has also been meeting in Farnham.

Many of the beginner’s are now telling in the open mike slot at "Three Heads in a Well" - Adult Storytelling Circle and those with some previous storytelling experience have said they have "more confidence and feel they are telling in a more professional manner."

Saturday 26th. November. Hugh Lupton lead a one day Workshop – "The Dreaming of Place" - for Experienced Storytellers.

Friday 25th November. What a night! at Three Heads in a Well storytelling circle. The house was full and heard Hugh Lupton tell stories that took us all beyoud the safety of those four walls - and brought us all safely back again.

The highlight was Hugh telling “The Homing Stone”. The story of how Arthur Ransome left the Lake District and travelled to Russia to collect folk-tales, carrying in his pocket a stone from Peel Island on Coniston Water. He played chess with Lenin, and lost his heart to Evgenia, Trotsky’s secretary. In 1919 they travelled incognito across Estonia, through the heartland of the White Russian counter-revolutionaries, towards the Baltic Sea. Ransome (with stone in pocket) was drawn homewards as powerfully as the salmon are drawn to their spawning ground. The Homing Stone is the story of that extraordinary, perilous journey, and features some of the folk-tales Ransome collected in Russia.

This evening was sponsored in memory of Bob Weatheral, who was first across the threshold when we opened, and who died in 2009.

Friday 16th. September.  We held the first of our Story Slams - the "Red Herring Story Slam", as part of the Spoken Word season at Farnham Maltings. This was followed on Thursday 13th. October with the "Red Queen Story Slam" as part of the Guildford Book Festival. Both these events resulted in some stiff competition for the £20 prize and was enjoyed by all that attented.

Friday 23rd. September.  What a night we had at Three Heads in a Well Adult Storytelling Circle with Mike O’ Connor telling “Imravoe - the Greatest Selkie Legend”. We were one seat short of a full house - excellent! Plus we had Charlie Goodair - young Surrey storyteller - giving us two stories that had everyone buzzing.

Friday 29th. July. Janet Dowling told “The Legend of Stephan Langton” at Three Heads in a Well Adult Storytelling Circle in Ewell.

Friday 24th June. Roisin Murray told “Passing Times” at Three Heads in a Well Adult Storytelling Circle in Ewell. Roisin told stories about what happens after  Happy Ever After, when the bright young things have become a little tarnished.

Friday 27th May. Kevin Walker told “It Started with a Dream” at Three Heads in a Well Adult Storytelling Circle in Ewell.  Kevin told a collection of tales taken from the Buddhist tradition, intricately woven around the life of the Buddha.

Friday 25th March.   Helen Stewart and Honor Giles told “Life, Death and Divine Intervention” at Three Heads in a Well Adult Storytelling Circle. Helen Stewart and Honor Giles of Manchester’s Word of Mouth wove tales of deadly dreams, gods with cleaning fetishes, love and cryogenics. There was mystery, magic and mirth from around the world.

Saturday 12th March 2011  - Success for 2 Young Storytellers from Surrey! At the National Young Storyteller of the Year competition which took place on Saturday 12th March 2011 in Birmingham,  Banstead-based student, Charlie Goodair, walked away with The Director’s Prize in the under 18’s section, and  Ewell based student, Sebastian Bechinger-English, took The Highly Commended Young Storyteller prize In the 18 to 25 section.

The contest, which has been running since 2004, gives young storytellers aged 15-25 the chance to tell tales of monsters, myths and mysteries in front of some of the most respected storytellers in the country.

Charlie, 15, said: “I’m so excited to have won this prize, I only got into storytelling last year when a local storytelling group, Surrey Storytellers Guild, came to school and suggested I should go on a ten week course. That was how I heard about Young Storyteller of the Year and decided to give it a go and enter. It was great fun to participate in the event and I love getting a reaction from the audience. It’s been well worth it and it’s a great way to improve your confidence and get involved in a supportive community.”

Charlie at 2011 Young Storyteller of the Year Competition.

Sebastian, 21, (who is currently at college in Falmouth) said: “I’m so excited to have won this prize; I’ve been involved in storytelling circles from a very young age and have always been fascinated by this traditional art form. I started out by going to festivals such as Beyond the Border International Storytelling Festival in Wales and entered a storytelling event there when I was 15. Since then, I’ve studied the arts and dance in particular, but was drawn back to storytelling as my first language in terms of performance. It’s such a good way to challenge and express yourself, I’d recommend it to anyone.”

Sebastian at 2011 Young Storyteller of the Year Competition.

Graham Langley, ex drama teacher and champion of storytelling for adults, is the founder and Director of Young Storyteller of the Year which is organised by the Traditional Arts Team and was supported this year by Awards for All. He said: “Charlie won the judges over with his story about taking chances when they come and ultimately won The Director’s Prize with his engaging and dynamic performance. “Sebastian won the judges over with his Scandinavian tale and ultimately won the Highly Commended Young Storyteller Prize with his engaging performance. Even if you know little about storytelling, many people try it out as a way to push themselves and try something new and it’s a great way to get together, have fun and meet new people.”

Janet Dowling, Chair of the Surrey Storytellers Guild, said “We are so pleased that not one but two storytellers from Surrey have had  success at the Young Storyteller of the Year. We are particularly proud of Charlie who took part in our Serendipity Storytelling in Schools project, and has continued to grow and develop as a storyteller, and excited to welcome Sebastian to the growing group of local storytellers. We hope to encourage local schools to develop storytelling, and maybe have a Young Surrey Storyteller of the Year competition next year as part of National Storytelling week in February 2012.”

A report of Young Storyteller of the Year 2011, pictures of the winners and the first of the videos taken during the day can be seen at:

www.tradartsteam.co.uk/ysoy11-report.html

Saturday 5th March.“Down the Rabbit Hole” - Storytelling Workshop with Pete Castle and Janet Dowling in Guildford. This workshop had something for everyone interested in storytelling whatever their experience or interests. Qustions were posed covering such subjects as working in the English Tradition: Does it exist? What is it? Why should we?

Saturday 5th March. Pete Castle and Janet Dowling told “Curiouser and Curiouser” at  the Fifth Annual Facts & Fiction in Guildford. They told traditional and contemporary stories with a few folk songs.

Friday 25th February. Belinda McKenna  & Terrie Howey told “Hold Onto Your Knickers” at Three Heads in a Well Adult Storytelling Circle.  Mischief and Mayhem reigned, as Belinda & Terrie spun us through an evening of myth and moral, laughter and legend.

Friday 26th November 2010.  Graham Langley with Pam Bishop told “He’s all talk” at Three Heads in a Well adult Storytelling Circle.

Saturday 27th November.  The internationally renowned storyteller Graham Langley lead a workshop for improvers and experienced storytellers titled "the Passion of Performance".

24th September 2010 - Rachel Rose Reid kept one of the largest audiences we have had at Three Heads in a Well adult Storytelling Circle spellbound, with her stories and songs on a theme of “and they lived”.

Charlie Goodair (Surrey Young Storyteller of the Year) also told the story that was so enthusiastically received at the national Young Storyteller of the Year competition. To see and hear him click here.

23rd July 2010 - Umi Sinha told “Twists of Fate” at Three Heads in a Well. Umi Sinha told a collection of stories, both traditional and biographical, about those times when Fate takes a hand and something unexpected happens that changes everything, sometimes but not always - for the better…

25th June 2010 - Sef Townsend told “A Tale of the Middle Sea” - Un Kuento de la Mar del Sentro' at Three Heads in a Well. Sef Townsend was joined by Rebekka Weddell and Raphael Rodan to tell Stories of Bloody War and Perfect Peace drawn from the ancient Sephardic, Turkish & Arab romances of the Middle Sea, (the Mediterranean), with live music, taking us to worlds of delight, of the spice market, as well as to the horrors of the battlefield. 

28th May 2010 - Alison Royce told “Wise, Weird and Wonderful” at Three Heads in a Well. Alison comes from Hammersmith’s “Around the Fireside” storytelling club. Her stories were of intrigue, passion, and manipulation - tales for the overindulged, rebellious, confused and audacious generation.

29th January 2010.   Tim Ralphs told "The Queen of Claywood Flats" at Three Heads in a Well. Tim took inspiration from his home city of Sheffield and asked “What fae creatures dwell amidst these scenes of urban regeneration?” He wove together a medley of traditional tales, the result had a flavour of Neil Gaiman, an echo of Chaucer, and yet remained immediate, entrancing, playful and above all unique."  Tim has been a "Young Storyteller of the Year" finalist, and he was born in Epsom!

27th and 28th November 2009 - Shonaleigh Cumbers - "Tower of Bagel".
Shonaleigh Cumbers, renowned storyteller, spun a tale of dark dreams, bright hopes and a child's cradle made of pastry at the "Three Heads in a Well" adult storytelling circle.

On the following day Shonaleigh held a Voice Workshop.

     

Shonaleigh - a fiery storyteller!

Wednesday 9th December 2009 - A special event at the Sanctuary.
Janet Dowling - "Healing Words".
A talk with stories of her experiences in Israel & Palestine, using storytelling to bring groups of Israelis and Palestinians together to exchange their stories and explore a different way to communicate.

The “Fearsome Fairy Tales for Fearless Adults” Tour of Surrey.
Between August and December 2009 "The Fearsome Fairly Tales" tour of Surrey has visited many venues throughout Surrey, including the Ashley Centre in Epsom, the Light Box in Woking, the Vaulted Cellar of Denbies Wine Estate, the Guildford Institute and the Culture Cafe - Rose Theatre in Kingston. 

The large adult audiences at all the venues soon realised that:

Not everything fairy is sweetness and light!

The dark tales of the fairy world where everything is not as it seems were told by professional storytellers from the Surrey Storytellers Guild who run the "Three Heads in a Well" Storytelling Circle for Adults in Ewell Village.

Comments from the audiences included:

"this was a brilliantly wonderful and frightening experience . The storyteller was brilliant and I look forward to listening to more stories in the future."

"captivating stories and I forgot I was in the Ashley Centre. Excellent."

"I thoroughly enjoyed the stories and marveled at the way they were cleverly linked."

Beginners Workshop for Adults - 23th October 2009.
The Surrey StoryTellers Guild aim is to promote the art of storytelling for Adults, Young People and Children throughout the county of Surrey. This workshop  lead by Alex Somerville  and held in the Farnham Maltings, provided the opportunity for residents in the south of the county to get on the first steps towards becoming a storyteller.

25th September 2009 at Three Heads in a Well.
Peter Chand - "Mangoes on the Beach". Peter told the story of his parents' journey to Britain in the 1950's and wove it with traditional Indian tales.  The piece explored themes such as the caste system, separation, misunderstandings and the infinite ties that bind a family.

Peter Chand in full flow.

26th June 2009 at Three Heads in a Well.
Featured Storyteller Kate Portal presented “Tales for Summer”.  These tales brought the brightness of the summer evening right into The Sanctuary - she
added extra warmth with a few songs and tunes.

29th May 2009 at Three Heads in a Well.
Featured Storyteller Alex Somerville searched out the truth in and amongst a cornucopia of Egyptian and Urban Myths. Threading them all together was the snake which gets everywhere from guarding a treasure at the bottom of the River Nile to hiding in a cowboy boot. This was a thought-provoking and spell-binding show that dealt with the paradox of creation and the reason why we believe in stories.

24th April 2009 at Three Heads in a Well.
Featured Storyteller Xanthe Gresham, brought us "The Bag of Wonders". This was Storytelling that's as sharp as a lemon and as sweet as a nut. Accept it or not, we are all hooked on our baggage system, whether it's a clutch bag or a holdall, but we forgot what's in ours and and rummaged around in Xanthre's bottomless bag. Between the kitchen sink and the old tube tickets laid a pick and mix of marvels, fibs and fables.  What a lucky dip!

27th March 2009 at Three Heads in a Well.
Featured Storyteller Christine Stone, brought us "Of Life, Love and Longing". Stories of life’s journeying, of dreams and yearning . . . . a weaving of tales amidst these timeless themes that touched upon us all; tales old and new that brought mystery and wisdom and a gladdening of the heart!

National Storytelling Week - 30th January/7th February 2009.

This year there were over 15 storytelling events around Surrey to celebrate National Storytelling week.

The week of events got off to a fantastic start with Jamie Crawford bringing the stories of “King Arthur” to life at the “Three Heads in a Well” Adult Storytelling Club.

Jamie Crawford enthralling the audience with his tales of King Arthur.

To help those new to storytelling workshops were run for both adults and children. These workshops, lead by Janet Dowling and Alex Somerville covered subjects such as how to learn a story, and how to tell a story.

Other events included storytelling for families at Bourne Hall in Ewell, Rhymetime sessions for toddlers at Guildford House Gallery and storytelling sessions in schools in collaboration with Bourne Hall Museum and the Surrey Hills Association.

And finally for the adults Janet Dowling told a set of stories titled “Fearless Girls and Wise Women” at Richmond Library.

Press Release

The following press cutting comes from the Sutton Guardian, dated
5th February 2009.

Top of Page