Past Events

27th and 28th November - 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 - 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."

Waxing Lyrical - Adult Storytelling Practice & Coaching Group.

This group continues to meet regularly once a month.

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."

Three Heads in a Well - 23rd October.

Many ventured out on this dark halloween evening  to listen to and tell the Stories of the Season - an Open Mike session. Many scary, frightening and terrifying stories were told and it was noticeable that at the end people were reluctant to leave the Sanctuary alone.

Beginners Storytelling Workshop for Adults - 23th October.

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.

Three Heads in a Well - 25th September

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.

 

Three Heads in a Well - 24th July 2009.

Featured Storyteller Janet Dowling replaced Ghisiaine Walker who was unfortunately not available on the night.

Three Heads in a Well - 26th June 2009.

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.

Three Heads in a Well - 29th May 2009.

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.

Three Heads in a Well - 24th April 2009.

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!

Three Heads in a Well - 27th March 2009.

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.

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