Shows
It's hard to say what constitutes a show
and what doesn't. Here are a few words about one recent show, The Castle of Melvales at Dartington, and the flyers for a few of the storytellings we did back in the days before the truck, before Hedgespoken
existed...
The Castle of Melvales
I could tell you about the king’s sons – Valentine, Oliver and Jack, or about the king’s strange illness. I could tell you about the peculiar and hideous old men we encounter along the way. I could tell you about the Castle itself, and the ominous denizens of that strange and powerful place. Of course, I could tell you about the Golden Apples, I could tell you about bears and beheadings and adventures and queens and gypsies and all manner of excitements and curiosities…
The Castle of Melvales is based on a Welsh Gypsy story that I first came across a few years ago in a 19th century collection by Frances Groome, and then found again in Alan Garner’s (very fine) Book of British Fairy Tales. It is a peculiar tale, ringing with echoes of Parzival and wreathed with old magic.
It’s the journey of a young man who begins the tale as something of an idiot and ends it… Well, he ends it in style, with dancing – this much I can tell you without giving too much away. It’s gruesome in parts and defiantly transgressive in others. It’s suitable for all, so long as they don’t mind stampeding skeletal horses or a little bit of murder.
Old posters
Here are a few posters from older shows.