Event: Lost in Translation – celebrated storytellers live on stage at the Bonington Theatre, Arnold
Date: Saturday 27 March, 7.30pm
Admission: £10 / £8 concessions
Bookings: Call 0115 9670114

Don’t miss this chance to see celebrated storytellers, Shonaleigh and Peter Chand, taking to the stage for an evening of live storytelling at the Bonington Theatre, Arnold, on Saturday 27 March, 7.30pm.

‘Lost is Translation’ is a tale of destiny, aching for one’s homeland, and the understanding between cultures.

The event is a fantastic opportunity to see two great storytellers live on stage in the East Midlands. Part of Storyfest – Nottinghamshire County Council Libraries’ celebration of stories during March.

January was a cold month for Tim Ralphs’ show, but we welcomed a wonderfully supportive audience of students to the Voice Box. In February the snow was still with us for Cath Little’s heartwarmingly Welsh stories from the Mabinogion. In March, we have our guest show, our story circle and, a special treat, the Fifth Wednesday Project where we premier new work & new storytelling. We hope you’ll enjoy a feast of storytellling this month…

Wednesday 10th March
7.30pm
THE VOICE BOX
MC Sophie Snell

Mike O’Connor (violin) & Barbara Griggs (harp)
TRISTAN & ISEULT
The timeless Cornish epic of love, enchantment and loss. A poisoned spear, a dragon’s tongue, a magic love potion… a story of tragic twists and pssionate perils set in the landscapes of dark age Kernow, and brough lyrically to life in words and mellifluous music.

Mike O’Connor is a musician, singer, writer & storyteller, stalwart of Festival at the Edge, where he appeared last year with his specially commissioned piece about the Wenlock Olympics. Tonight, he’s here by special arrangement with Barbara Griggs, harpist & singer, with a wonderful epic version of the famous mediaeval love story, and some rarely heard Cornish folk tales thrown in for good measure.

The Voice Box
Forman Street
DE1 1JQ

Tickets £6 / £4
Cakes & drinks available
Parking on Abbey Street Car Pak
FULL DISABLED ACCESS

Info: 01773 781007

WEDNESDAY 24TH MARCH
7.30PM
HALLMARK HOTEL

STORY CIRCLE
An informal chance to listen, tell, or both!

Hallmark Hotel
Midlands Road
DE1 2SQ
Parking behind the Hotel

Tapas available, cost £3.75 (this price has increased since our flyers were printed, but so has the value for money!)
THE STORY CIRCLE IS FREE

WEDNESDAY 31ST MARCH
7.30pm
THE VOICE BOX
MC Raymond Greenoaken

FIFTH WEDNESDAY PROJECT

Honor Giles & Helen Stewart
LOVE, DEATH & DIVINE INTERVENTION

A portmanteau of tales from all points of the compass. Arrogance out-thought by womanly wit: gods with lustrous pedigrees and cleaning fetishes; death by dreaming: love, despair and crygenics… Fabulous fare for the fabled Fifth Wednesday.

Why fifth Wednesday? Because it’s there. Flying Donkeys showcase previews, premieres and storytellers’ ground-breaking work. Honor & Helen have been running Word of Mouth in Manchester for ten years – their first guest was our own Simon Heywood! – and know how to put on a good show at their central Manchester pub venue The Briton’s Protection. Highly experienced at heading the evening’s entertainment on the first Friday of the month, appearing at Flying Donkeys is a new experience for them.

The Voice Box
Forman Street
DE1 1JQ

Tickets £6 / £4
Cakes & drinks available
Parking on Abbey Street Car Pak
FULL DISABLED ACCESS

Info: 01773 781007

On 31st March, flyers will be available for our summer season. Well, have a happy and safe time in March and look forward to seeing you at our shows. Cordial greetings from Flying Donkeys…
Annie, Helen, John, Mel, Ray, Roy, Sophie…

You can contact us on
flyingdonkeysderbystorytelling@live.co.uk

Friday 5th february, BELPER, Derbys: Strutts Centre (the old Strutts School) Derby Rd. DE56 1UU 7.30pm A National Storytelling Week Production: When That I Was a Little Tiny Boy… trad songs and stories with children and childhood as a theme (inc some dark ones!) £5

SHONALEIGH
with her new show, specially commissioned by Flying Donkeys,
FROST & FIRE

On a frosty night a lonely soul looks for a fireside by which to sit and spin out the long cold night with… stories from the dead of winter. Shonaleigh makes the cold crack open the fire in our hearts with this sparkling Christmas box of delights.

Wednesday 9th December
7.30pm
The Voice Box
Forman Street
Derby
DE1 1JQ

Tickets £6 / £4
Refreshments on sale

Car parking on Abbey Street
FULL DISABLED ACCESS

www.shonaleigh.co.uk or click on the link from our own website

We look forward to seeing you on the night: tickets are already being reserved, so do contact us. Shonaleigh is a fabulous storyteller; if you have friends who’ve never been to a storytelling before, tonight’s the night for the Christmas treat!

And finally, please note that in December, there is no Story Circle (fourth Wednesday in December this year being on Boxing Day)! Our Spring season opens again on January 13th at The Voice Box.

With very best wishes for a lovely Christmas and happy New Year,
seasonal greetings from Flying Donkeys…
Annie, Helen, John, Mel, Ray, Roy, Sophie…

you can contact us on
flyingdonkeysderbystorytelling@live.co.uk
roy@flyingdonkeys.co.uk
01773 781007 or 0795 875 7008

www.flyingdonkeys.co.uk
Look out for our new web design, and blogspot…

There are lots of Storytelling Cafe events over Halloween and November.

We have two nights with the Young Storytellers of the Year, Wilf Merttens and Ruthie Boycott-Garnett. They have had a great time this year with performances at festivals and clubs throughout the country and one memorable visit to Sweden. See them at Lambley in Nottingham and at the Arts Complex in Solihull. Around the Wrekin is always the long way round but Debs Newbold will be at Wednesbury Storytelling Cafe with stories of her long, slow journey around England told in tale and anecdote. At Matlock we have two great local storytellers Matt Laurie and Rachel Murray as special guests. We have several regular sessions and our monthly storytelling training day in Matlock.

Saturday 31 October
MATLOCK
Halloween Storytelling Cafe
Imperial Rooms
www.tradartsteam.co.uk/storytelling/matlock.htm

Sunday 1 November
PEAK PERFORMANCE
Storytelling training day
Ernest Bailey Centre, Matlock
www.tradartsteam.co.uk/storytelling/training.htm

Tuesday 3 November
BIRMINGHAM STORYTELLING SESSION
The Bulls Head, Moseley
www.tradartsteam.co.uk/storytelling/bhamsession.htm

Thursday 5 November
BIRMINGHAM TRADITIONAL SONG SESSION
Kitchen Garden Cafe, York Road, Kings Heath
www.tradartsteam.co.uk/song/songsession.htm

Friday 6 November
MATLOCK STORYTELLING CAFE
Matt Laurie and Rachel Murray
Imperial Rooms
www.tradartsteam.co.uk/storytelling/matlock.htm

Thursday 12 November
LAMBLEY STORYTELLING CAFE
Wilf Merttens and Ruthie Boycott-Garnett
Floralands Garden Village, Lambley, Notts
www.tradartsteam.co.uk/diary/091112lambleyinfo.html

Friday 13 November
SOLIHULL STORYTELLIONG CAFE
Wilf Merttens and Ruthie Boycott-Garnett
Solihull Arts Complex
www.tradartsteam.co.uk/diary/091113solihullinfo.html

Tuesday 17 November
WEDNESBURY STORYTELLING CAFE
Debs Newbold in “The Wrekin Cycle”
Wednesbury Library
www.tradartsteam.co.uk/storytelling/sandwell.htm

Tuesday 1 December
BIRMINGHAM STORYTELLING SESSION
The Bulls Head, Moseley
www.tradartsteam.co.uk/storytelling/bhamsession.htm

Pete Castle and Keith Kendrick present traditional songs and stories from and about Derbyshire at Gothic Warehouse, Cromford Wharf DE4 3RQ at 7.30pm on Wed 28th October 2009. This is part of the World Heritage Site Discovery Days programme. Pete and Keith are both professional folk musicians and storytellers living in Derbyshire. Separately they perform all over the UK and abroad and occasionally team up for special events. They both have CDs available and some of Pete’s stories are from his book of Derbyshire Folk Tales to be published by The History Press next year.

The Voice Box,
Forman Street,
Derby DE1 1JQ
Tickets £6 / £4
Cakes & Coffee on sale

Full disabled access
Car parking: on Abbey Street Car Park
Group bookings available – contact roy@flyingdonkeys.co.uk or 0795 875 7008
email list: flyingdonkeysderbystorytelling@live.co.uk

Wednesday 14 October

Sophie Snell, with her show
Seven Deadly Sins
MC John Fearon

“Bless me father, for I have sinned.” Do you have anything to confess? A young girl hiding in the confessional, overhears her neighbours’ confessions …lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy and pride… whispered revelations of sinning and secret desires. As she listens with growing unease stories unfold that should never be told.

Premiered as part of our Fifth Wednesday Project in April, Sophie has worked on the collection of stories, and we can now bring you all seven sins, in deadly succession.
At turns dark and comic, this show offers twisting tales from the stones and bones of the British Isles – where the Devil watches in delight and angels weep …

One of our very own Flying Donkeys, Sophie has rapidly built up a reputation as a lively and engaging storyteller with wicked sense of humour. For more information on Sophie, see her website www.sophiesnell.co.uk

”So absorbing. I didn’t know storytelling was like this.”

“Delightful storytelling – great fun and hugely enjoyable – we didn’t want it to end!”

“Having seen you tell a lot of stories this is the moment when I saw a real star. Fantastic storytelling – well done!”

The Elements

An evening of storytelling with Mel Blount and Sophie Snell

Thursday, 17^th September

7.30pm

A special fundraiser event for Oxfam at the Oxfam Music and Book Shop,

12 Central Avenue, West Bridgford, Nottingham, NG2 5GR

Air, Water, Earth and Fire – the four elements revered by Greek philosophers and so many different cultures across time.  At times eloquent and lyrical, gritty and sharp, these stories open your eyes to a different world, where anything might happen – and usually does.  Discover the beauty and drama of elemental landscapes – a passionate journey in search of the mysterious, unseen Fifth element.

“A feast for the senses.  This is magical storytelling – they conjure up images and mesmerise with their tales.   You’ll be hooked right from the start!”

If you haven’t seen traditional storytelling before, then you are in for a treat – it is not reading from the page or a scripted play, but the oral telling of folk tales and myths for adults.  This is a performance art that goes back thousands of years. Age old folk tales and myths are woven together by storytellers Sophie and Mel, to celebrate and explore each of the five elements.

Mel is a member of Flying Donkeys – a storytelling club in Derby.  Based in West Bridgford, she has a uniquely poetic style of storytelling, a lyrical way with words that conjure up beautiful and startling images.

Sophie, also a “Flying Donkey,” is a regular teller at Nottingham Storytellers and Matlock Storytelling Café.  A professional storyteller, she is known for her warm, engaging style of storytelling and “wicked sense of humour”.

“A great evening – Sophie is a fantastic storyteller – dramatic, gripping stuff – mesmerizing.”

“Delightful storytelling – great fun and hugely enjoyable – we didn’t want it to end!”

Audience feedback from Sophie’s show “Seven Deadly Sins,” Darley Abbey, July 09.

www.sophiesnell.co.uk www.flyingdonkeys.co.uk

Tickets are £5 and available from the West Bridgford Oxfam shop

or Tel 0115 982 6951  or email oxfamshopf1530@oxfam.org.uk

Flying Donkeys
The Voice Box
Forman Street
Derby
DE1 1JQ

Wednesday 8th July, 7.30 pm

Guest storyteller: TUUP – international musician and storyteller comes
to Derby for the closing session of Flying Donkeys’ 2008 – 9 season.

Tickets £6 / £4

Full disabled access. Parking on Abbey Street car park.

Flying Donkeys is supported by the Arts Council & Derby City Council

www.flyingdonkeys.co.uk

Friday 3rd July 2009
at the Abbey Pub
Darley Street, Darley Abbey, Derby DE22 1DX (downstairs in the Old Hall)

www.sophiesnell.co.uk

Set in the stunning mediaeval Abbey Pub, an evening of storytelling by the fireside, with Sophie Snell.

Greed, Pride, Lust and Wrath (not to mention the other Deadly Sins…) – which of us would confess to these?

Dark and comic, and based on folk tales taken from the stones and bones of the British Isles, these are the twisting tales of sinning and secret desires – where the Devil watches in delight and Angels weep…

The Abbey Pub is an old 12th century Augustinian Priory in the heart of Derby’s charming Darley Abbey suburb. With a stunning original mediaeval hall, candlelit with a roaring fire – what could be a more fitting setting for these hidden stories of the confessional…

“Wow! Gripping!” “Sophie has a wicked sense of humour!”

“This is the moment when I saw a real star, fantastic storytelling!”

“The story was spellbinding – a great teller.”

audience feedback at the show’s premiere at Flying Donkeys, April 09.

Tickets are £5 (adults only), available from Sophie or Rob on Tel 01332 840007, or ask Chris at the pub.

STORYTELLING CAFE NEWS MAY 2009
www.TradArtsTeam.co.uk

We have a range of events to offer to you from the Traditional Arts Team. Our Storytelling Café Tour this month is with Wilf Merttens, Young Storyteller of the Year 2009, and Ruthie Boycott-Garnett who was runner up. At each venue they will be joined by other local young storytellers.

Monday 4 May (and for the whole of May)
Radio Wildfire
Storyteller Graham Langley in conversation with Dave Reeves will discuss the background of Storytelling Cafe and the latest storytelling developments. He will describe opportunities for storytelling both as performer and audience.
The show can be heard live by logging on to www.radiowildfire.com between 8 and 10pm. You can also log on to Radio Wildfire and listen to The Loop at any time and hear a repeating programme of spoken word and music.

Tuesday 5 May 8pm
BIRMINGHAM STORY SESSION
upstairs at The Bull’s Head, St Mary’s Row, Moseley,
Birmingham B13 8HW
www.tradartsteam.co.uk/storytelling/bhamsession.htm

Thursday 7 May 8pm
BIRMINGHAM TRADITIONAL SONG SESSION
Kitchen Garden Café, York Road, B14 7SA
www.tradartsteam.co.uk/song/songsession.htm

Monday 11 May 7:30
SPINNING YARNS (Matlock story session)
The Boat Inn, Cromford, Derbyshire DE4 3QF
www.tradartsteam.co.uk/storytelling/boatsession.htm

Monday 18 May 7:30
MATLOCK STORYTELLING CAFÉ
The Boat Inn, Cromford, Derbyshire DE4 3QF
Tickets £7.00 from 01629 826939 or the Boat Inn
Food available from 6:30
www.tradartsteam.co.uk/storytelling/matlock.htm

Tuesday 19 May 7:30
SANDWELL STORYTELLING CAFÉ
Wednesbury Library, Walsall Street, WS10 9EH
Tickets £5.00/£2.50 from the library 0121 556 0351
www.tradartsteam.co.uk/storytelling/sandwell.htm

Wednesday 20 May 7:30
BIRMINGHAM STORYTELLING CAFÉ
Kitchen Garden Cafe
Tickets £7.00 from KG Café, 0121 443 4725
Food available from 6:30
www.tradartsteam.co.uk/storytelling/bham.htm

Saturday 23 May 8-11pm
BANK HOLIDAY BARN DANCE in Birmingham
All Saints Church Hall, Vicarage Road, Birmingham B14 7RA
Tickets £7 (£5 unwaged) from 0121 246 9873
£8 on the door (if there are any left)
www.tradartsteam.co.uk/dance/May09.htm

PEAK PERFORMANCE training for storytellers
—————-
Sunday 3 May 10:30 – 4:00
www.tradartsteam.co.uk/storytelling/training.htm

Storytelling Café is presented by the Traditional Arts Team with support from Arts Council England and Awards for All

Friday 24 April, 2009 at 7.30pm
The Middle Yard
Gilbert Sheldon Village Hall, Stanton, Nr Ashbourne, Derbyshire
This evening of storytelling and music for adults draws deeply on the riches of Irish mythology.  A story of warring factions, family loyalty, action and consequences told through dramatic storytelling and original music on harp and guitar, created and performed by Nick Hennessey and Simon Heywood.  Follow the story of Lugh as he takes up the mantle of leadership and the story of three brothers
Tickets £6 full price, £4 for OAP, students and unwaged
Available from 01335 324530 or 0781 5419283
Refreshments available or bring a bottle

Hunting the Giant’s Daughter – storytelling and music from The Mabinogion
Sunday 29 March, 2009 at 7.30pm
The Voice Box, Derby
Tickets £8 (£6 concessions)
to book call 01773 781 007
or email roy@flyingdonkeys.co.uk
or visit www.flyingdonkeys.co.uk or www.adversecamber.org