Enjoy the ancient and traditional art of storytelling
The last Friday of every month, except December.
Commencing at 8:00pm.

CHRISTINE McMAHON & URSULA HOLDEN-GILL
"Pinocchio"
SPECIAL FAMILY NIGHT - 7pm to 9pm

Friday 27 June 2008
Entrance: £5.00 adults £3 for children

Originally commissioned by and performed at THE LOWRY

"Pinocchio" is a collaboration between Christine McMahon and actress and storyteller, Ursula Holden-Gill. Together they retell Carlo Collodi's story of feckless youth in a manner that delights audiences of all ages. This fable of redemption will bring a smile to your face and hope to your heart.

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www.christinemcmahon.co.uk

ROBIN WILLIAMSON
Gems of Celtic Story

Friday 30 May 2008
Entrance: £5.00 (£4.00 for members.)

Founder in the 1960’s of the highly influential Incredible String Band, and during the 1970’s of the pioneering new celtic-style Merry Band – Robin Williamson was at the forefront of the storytelling revival during the 1980’s in Britain and America.

He was the first to concentrate on the renaissance of bardic style storytelling with harp, developing the tradition in his unique style up to the present.

The ancient spoken literature of Britain and Ireland brings alive his Gems of Celtic Story tour. From the magic lore of the celtic heritage Robin recounts the deeds of the ancestors at the dawn of the world – stark, strange, beautiful, violent and sometimes oddly humorous, the false hint always at hidden truths and life insights.

JACK LYNCH

Friday 25 April 2008
Entrance: £5.00 (£4.00 for members.)

A master of storytelling, Jack Lynch tells a wide range of stories that draw on Ireland's rich oral tradition combining elements from folklore with ancient Irish myths and Wonder Tales.

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HUGH LUPTON

Friday 28 March 2008
Entrance: £5.00 (£4.00 for members.)

One of Britain's leading storytellers. Hugh Lupton's storytelling art is sheer wizardry in the guise of utter simplicity. Lupton uses a richness of language filled with the rhythms and cadences of the spoken word. His spellbinding performances draw on the oral traditions and folk culture of these Isles.

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CLARE MURPHY & DIARMUID O'DRISCEOIL
Two of Ireland’s new wave of storytellers

Thursday 6 March 2008
Entrance: £5.00 (£4.00 for members.)
***A first for Shaggy Dog! - 2 Storytelling Nights in the same month!***

Clare Muireann Murphy hails from Dublin but dries her socks in Galway on the west coast of Ireland. This creates a storyteller with a perfect blend of the new and the old Ireland. She tells stories as if against a tidal wave but touches the heart and the depths of the ancient wisdom that her stories contain.

Diarmuid O Drisceoil is a natural storyteller. He tells his stories with great energy, often using elements of stand-up but he knows how to twist the kniofe. He grew up in a bi-lingual home, speaking English and Gaelic, and listened to the stories of his wide family network for years before discovering that ‘strangers’ enjoyed them also! He draws his stories mainly from the Irish tradition but adapts them to suit his surreal sense of humour.

MICHAEL HARVEY

Friday 29 February 2008
Entrance: £5.00 (£4.00 for members.)

A leading contemporary Welsh Storyteller. Michael Harvey tells stories from the Celtic cultures with a keen use of language, rhythm and humour; complemented with an ability to evoke the darker side of the tale.

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LIZ WEIR

Friday 25 January 2008
Entrance: £5.00 (£4.00 for members.)

Liz Weir is a professional storyteller and writer from Northern Ireland. Formerly children’s librarian for the city of Belfast, she now travels the world telling stories to adults and children. Storyteller Liz is well known for her work in "Peace Initiative" Projects involving young children and with local prisons.

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WINTER TALES

Friday 30 December 2007
Entrance: FREE

We would like to celebrate the festive season by welcoming you to a free evening of Winter Tales at the Stubbing Wharf. Feel free to bring a story, a song, a bite of seasonal food and a drink to share!
 
We start at 8pm as usual and look forward to seeing you there.

ROBERT GREYGRASS

Friday 30 November 2007
Entrance: £5.00 waged £4.00 unwaged (discount of £1 for members.)

"Walking on Turtle Island", stories from the Lakota people. Robert Greygrass is a Lakota Indian telling stories from his native tradition.

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JESS SMITH

Friday 26 October 2007
Entrance: £5.00 waged £4.00 unwaged (discount of £1 for members.)

Jess Smith is a traditional storyteller from Perthshire's travelling people. "Ask me where I belong," she says: "it's wherever the feather falls or the seed is blown." She is the proud inheritor of a long travelling tradition. A way of life that is now extinct. Jessie's stories describe what it is like to be one of the last traditional travelling folk.

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BEN HAGGARTY
"Lost in the Forest of Bells"

Friday 28 September 2007
Entrance: £5.00 waged £4.00 unwaged (discount of £1 for members.)

Since 2001, Ben Haggarty has been the official storyteller with Yo Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble and this has involved researching hundreds of stories from the countries traversed by trade routes from Eastern Europe to the Far East. Here, translocated into his own imaginary landscape, ‘The Forest of Bells’, are Ben’s reworkings of raw and magical stories from China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam and Cambodia. Join him for close encounters of the forest kind…

2 x 50 minute halves

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STORIES FROM THE FLOOR

Friday 31 August 2007
Entrance: £5.00 waged £4.00 unwaged (discount of £1 for members.)

Listen to stories from the very talented bunch of tellers from the Calder Valley. This is another opportunity for you to tell the story that you have been dying to tell for ages. If you just want to listen, that is also fine. You never know what you will hear; stories of heroes and heroines, strange creatures, devils and maybe just ordinary people. Whatever happens, it promises to be an entertaining evening.

JOANNE BLAKE & RACHEL ROSE REID

Friday 27 July 2007
Entrance: £5.00 waged £4.00 unwaged (discount of £1 for members.)

Joanne Blake has been storytelling since 2000, having trained at Emerson College and on courses lead by international storytellers. Joanne regularly tells stories in schools, country parks, stately homes and gardens, festivals, storytelling clubs, universities, and several other performance venues across the UK.

Raised by storytellers & musicians, Rachel Rose Reid has developed a unique brand of spell-binding cabaret in London venues, telling folk stories and singing songs amidst the glamour. Prior to winning the Young Storyteller of the Year 2007, Rachel also twice won the Junior Storytelling Competition at Sidmouth Festival.

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JAMIE CRAWFORD
"As a Sword from a Lake"

Friday 29 June 2007
Entrance: £5.00 waged £4.00 unwaged (discount of £1 for members.)

Storyteller Jamie Crawford brings this ancient British legend dramatically to life with a vivid new telling for 21st Century. From Arthur's conception to his passing, focussing on Arthur himself, Morgana, Merlin, Mordred, Guinevere and Lancelot. Among the episodes covered are the Sword in the Stone, The Lady of the Lake, The Holy Grail and the final battle at Camlann as well as lesser known parts of the story. By turns playful, tragic and mysterious

AT 613
Simon Heywood & Shonaleigh

Friday 25 May 2007
Entrance: £5.00 waged £4.00 unwaged (discount of £1 for members.)

New folk duo AT 613 showcases the formidable talents of songwriter, guitarist and storyteller Simon Heywood and the voice of singer and storyteller Shonaleigh. Simon and Shonaleigh formed AT 613 (the name derives from the listing of traditional stories, similar to the numbering of Child Ballads) with the aim of mixing songs and stories. With songs both from the tradition and also Simon’s pen, interlaced with stories that still sparkle in the telling although they’re generations old, AT 613 create something fresh and unique.

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STORIES FROM THE FLOOR

Friday 27 April 2007
Entrance: £5.00 waged £4.00 unwaged (discount of £1 for members.)

Listen to stories from the very talented bunch of tellers from the Calder Valley. This is another opportunity for you to tell the story that you have been dying to tell for ages. If you just want to listen, that is also fine. You never know what you will hear; stories of heroes and heroines, strange creatures, devils and maybe just ordinary people. Whatever happens, it promises to be an entertaining evening.

MICHAEL DACRE
"The Haunted Inn and other Weird Tales"

Friday 30 March 2007
Entrance: £5.00 waged £4.00 unwaged (discount of £1 for members.)

Michael Dacre, storyteller and Stephen Yates, guitarist will conjure you to 18th century Spain in an Arabian Nights-style entertainment of tales within tales, accompanied and interwoven by the magical strings of the guitar. You will meet (very) Moorish princesses, hanged men,and a host of ghosts, ghouls, vampires, gypsies and magicians not to mention bewitching serenades, foot-tapping Spanish dances and eerie sound effects that will send a shiver up your spine.

Horror, humour, high adventure and thrilling music mingle in this fantastic duet of wicked words and vituoso guitar playing.

PETER CHAND

Friday 23 February 2007
Entrance: £5.00 waged £4.00 unwaged (discount of £1 for members.)

Belonging to only a handful of professional Indian storytellers in Britain, Peter Chand is a vibrant and dynamic performer, who uses his Indian background as a platform for his storytelling.
Since 2001 he has taken his Indian folk stories to the length and breadth of these isles, and further afield, with a vibrant and accessible style, that engages audiences of all ages. “ Stories evolve and alter from teller to teller, and I never tell a story exactly the same way twice. The story takes on a life of its own, until someone else picks it up, and the process begins all over again”

More about Peter

STORIES FROM THE FLOOR

Friday 26 January 2007
Entrance: £5.00 waged £4.00 unwaged (discount of £1 for members.)

Listen to stories from the very talented bunch of tellers from the Calder Valley. This is another opportunity for you to tell the story that you have been dying to tell for ages. If you just want to listen, that is also fine. You never know what you will hear; stories of heroes and heroines, strange creatures, devils and maybe just ordinary people. Whatever happens, it promises to be an entertaining evening.

THE TWISTING FIELD
***VENUE CHANGE***
THE WHITE LION HOTEL, BRIDGE GATE
HEBDEN BRIDGE
HX7 8EX

Friday 24 November 2006
Entrance: £5.00 waged £4.00 unwaged (discount of £1 for members.)

The Twisting Field is an exceptional story, full of heroes and villains, magic, mystery and fate. The story is told by four of the UK's finest professional storytellers, Shonaleigh, Nick Hennessey, Amy Douglas and Simon Heywood. They weave the telling of the tale in between nine original songs, all newly composed, drawing on folk music traditions. Enjoy an epic night of storytelling and music, one which will linger in the imagination long after you've heard it.

This inspiring evening of storytelling and song is touring to venues all around the country from October 2006 to March 2007, in a tour supported by the National Lottery through Arts Council England. The tour visits literature festivals and arts centres, theatres, village halls and storytelling events.

Twisting Fields Website

MEGAN LLOYD

Friday 27 October 2006
Entrance: £5.00 waged £4.00 unwaged (discount of £1 for members.)

Megan Lloyd was born and brought up in Carmarthenshire, a land steeped in myth and legend - an ideal place for a storyteller to begin a journey.

As a solo storyteller she has performed in venues throughout Wales and has also ventured over the borders to events including Sydmouth Folk Festival, Lancaster LitFest and the Bath Festival. She has also broadcast on Sky History Channel on the Celtic Myths series and performed in Lapland for Father Christmas.

Megan has toured with the Tales Beyond the Border Group that grew out of the International Beyond the Border Storytelling Festival at St Donats, South Wales where she regularly performs.

Further afield Megan has combined storytelling with her work as an indian classical dancer. This combines Welsh and Indian epic stories bringing them alive in both dance and word.

Megan's repertoire of stories includes incredible tales and curious chronicles from her home in Wales to very far, far, far away.

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SHONALEIGH
"The FOOL of the WARSAW GHETTO"

Friday 29 September 2006
Entrance: £5.00 waged £4.00 unwaged (discount of £1 for members.)

Shonaleigh has an international reputation and performed in a variety of venues around Europe and America. She has performed for us at Tales from the Wharf for over 10 years and always puts on a great show. Come early to ensure you get a seat.
The Fool of the Warsaw Ghetto is a fairytale….from Auschwitz. It's the tale of three children found in the ruined sewers of the ghetto and their encounter with the mystical Fool, who helps them live their lives to the full when all seems lost. It's a journey from Warsaw to Auschwitz, through hope and despair. A wise woman once said that without hope, people perish. Hope can give the power to bring about the strangest of miracles, and to tell the most magical of stories. But not all stories have happy endings, which is why we should make sure each story starts with outrageous hope.

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STORIES FROM THE FLOOR

Friday 25 August 2006
Entrance: £5.00 waged £4.00 unwaged (discount of £1 for members.)

Listen to stories from the very talented bunch of tellers from the Calder Valley. This is another opportunity for you to tell the story that you have been dying to tell for ages. If you just want to listen, that is also fine. You never know what you will hear; stories of heroes and heroines, strange creatures, devils and maybe just ordinary people. Whatever happens, it promises to be an entertaining evening.

SHAGGY DOG STORYTELLERS
"TALES FROM THE EAST"

Friday 28 July 2006
Entrance: £5.00 waged £4.00 unwaged (discount of £1 for members.)

Four of the Calder Valley's finest storytellers tell tales of Wonder,
Magic and Mystery from the East.
Stories that will enchant and enthrall, captivate and cajole, amuse and amaze!

Come along and listen to:
Christine McMahon, Robert Johnston, Rod Dimbleby and Paul Degnan
Retelling traditional tales from the Russian steppes to the plains of India, from the mountains of the Himalayas to the rice fields of Japan.

NICK HENNESSEY
"THE RUINED HOUSE of SKIN"

Friday 30 June 2006
Entrance: £5.00 waged £4.00 unwaged (discount of £1 for members.)

The hag, a ruined house of skin and bone, winds up her thread. It is a thread that draws us slowly, inevitably into the withered arms of age. It is our ruin. But on her tongue is a song, on her breath the fragrance of truth.
Enjoy an evening with Nick Hennessey, one of England’s finest storytellers. Listen as his words build bridges between worlds.

STORIES FROM THE FLOOR

Friday 26 May 2006
Entrance: £5.00 waged £4.00 unwaged (discount of £1 for members.)

Listen to stories from the very talented bunch of tellers from the Calder Valley. This is another opportunity for you to tell the story that you have been dying to tell for ages. If you just want to listen, that is also fine. You never know what you will hear; stories of heroes and heroines, strange creatures, devils and maybe just ordinary people. Whatever happens, it promises to be an entertaining evening.

BEN HAGGARTY
"THE DEVIL's CATECHISM
and other RIDDLING TALES"

Friday 28th April 2006
Entrance: £5.00 waged £4.00 unwaged (discount of £1 for members.)

Join Ben Haggarty for another evening of his explosive, interrogative Crick? Crack! storytelling. Follow him and his delightful daemons down to the depths of the world's imagination as they delve dangerously for mind-blasting stories. Their mission is to provoke paradox, engineer enigma, awaken wonder and release nothing less than the truth...

GREETINGS FROM DUBROVNIK

Friday 31th March 2006
Entrance: £5.00 waged £4.00 unwaged (discount of £1 for members.)

Jasna Held discovered the power of storytelling during the war in Croatia when she began telling tales to children sheltering from the bombing in Dubrovnik. “In the dark reality in which we were surrounded, listening to stories one could feel warmth and light in the world, of another reality that belonged to all of us.”

TALES FROM THE MELTING POT

Friday 24th February 2006
Entrance: £5.00 waged £4.00 unwaged (discount of £1 for members.)

A rare treat, all the way from Portland, Maine, U.S.A.
New England storytellers Lynne Cullen, Deborah Freedman, and Lorna Stengel tell Tales from the Melting Pot. Come and hear stories with a North American flavour: from the Canadian frontier to the Southern Appalachians; from Native American animal fables to tales of the supernatural!

Lynne Cullen discovered storytelling in Yorkshire before moving to Portland, Maine. She was a regular visitor to Shaggy Dog and Tir Na Nog and is happy to be back! Her eclectic style includes such influences as Bugs Bunny, Rod Serling, comic books, old movies, myths, folktales, history, and her family of natural born storytellers. Lynne has performed at festivals, museums, schools, and clubs in England and the USA.
thetwacorbies@yahoo.com

Deborah Freedman lives in Portland, Maine. She creates fairy tales for others based on their lives, to be told on special occasions such as weddings, birthdays, or anniversaries. Debb also gives workshops on this process. Her workshops have a specific sensibility for those diagnosed with life-threatening illnesses, and their support groups. She is a
co-founder of MOOSE (The Maine Organization of Storytelling Enthusiasts.) www.storyspell.com

Lorna Stengel grew up in New York City where a multitude of city and cultural experiences fostered her artistic spirit. Seventeen years ago, she realized that storytelling was the perfect pursuit for everything she loved to do, so she got to work! Lorna began using storytelling to teach; she co-produced the first Tellabration, and served as President of the Connecticut Storytelling Center. Today, she performs nationwide for all ages and teaches storytelling to students and adults. Lorna serves on the board of the League for the Advancement of New England Storytelling (LANES.) www.lornastengel.com

STORIES FROM THE FLOOR

Friday 27th January 2006
Entrance: £5.00 waged £4.00 unwaged (discount of £1 for members.)

A very popular and great way to kick off the new year by listening to stories from the very talented bunch of tellers from the Calder Valley. Or, this was an opportunity for you to tell the story that you have been dying to tell for ages. If you just wanted to listen that was fine. You never knew what you were about to hear, stories of heroes and heroines, strange creatures, devils and maybe just ordinary people. A good story, well told was just the thing to warm up a cold, misty January night.