camberadverse

productions

yr hen aith yn y tir i

alawon hen yn bywthe old language is in theland and the old songs livethe old language is in the

Hun ingg

ttt

hethauGG Dan si er

Hun ingg

ttt

hethauGG Dan s

‘‘

i er

Welcome to the Hunting the Giant’s Daughter South WestEngland tour.We’re so excited about bringing this show to audiences who live inplaces close to where the action of the story takes place. We’realso very excited about story walks, celebrating wonderfullandscapes and the many different stories those landscapes hold.We’re grateful to everyone who has helped make this tour happen,see page 31 for a full list of thanks. If you’re here for a performance, do check out the dates for storywalks overleaf. We’ll be walking and sharing stories and songs ofland and sea, informally. Similarly, if you’ve come for a walk today,why not come to hear a story which passes by the very landscapeyou’re walking through. Our tour is inspired by the story ofCulhwch and Olwen, one of the oldest surviving King Arthurlegends in Welsh, full of questing, magic, love and fellowship andwe’re looking forward to sharing it with you. As a company, Adverse Camber is fascinated by how oral storiestold over the centuries by hundreds of different people continue tospeak to us today. We are also inspired by the contemporary artistswho work with these stories, bringing them to life in outstandingperformances. If you’d like to find out more about our work, do getin touch and follow our tour as we move across the region.Thanks for coming today and hope you enjoy it.

Naomi WildsAdverse Camber productions

Welcome

I am the beginning

I am the word

my body is the land and the trees and the leaves

my hair is the grass

I will be here after the end

follow me

oh innocent youth

Myfi yw’r dechreuad

Myfi yw’r gair

Fy nghorff yw'r tir a choed a'r dail

Fy ngwallt yw'r gwair

Myfi a fydd yma ar ol y diwedd

Tyrd ar fy ol

O lanc diniwed

v

v

Myfi yw’r dechreuad I am the beginning

by Meic Stevens and Geraint Jarman, published Lupus Music ltd

All artist and landscape photographywww.chriswebbphotography.com

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When a young man falls in love with a woman no one can find,only Arthur’s chosen warriors can help. A quest across lands you’llknow and places you’ll discover – through music, words and song.

Sat 21 September, 7.30pmHunting the Giant’s DaughterPerranporth Memorial Hall,Wheal Leisure, Perranporth,Cornwall, TR6 0DPTickets: £8/£6 from 01872 572121 andwww.carntocove.co.uk

Fri 27 September, 7.15pmHunting the Giant’s DaughterBerrynarbour Manor Hall,Birdswell Lane, Berrynarbor,Devon, EX34 9SWTickets: £7.50/£5; family of 4: £22.50 from www.beaford-arts.org.uk

Sat 28 September, 7.15pmHunting the Giant’s DaughterLee Memorial Hall, Lee Bay, near Ilfracombe,North Devon, EX34 8LWTickets: £7.50/£5; family of 4, £22.50; from www.beaford-arts.org.uk

Fri 11 October, 7.30pmHunting the Giant’s DaughterRed Brick Building, MorlandRoad, Glastonbury, Somerset, BA6 9FTTickets, £8/£4; family, £20;from 01458 899564 orwww.takeart.org

Sat 12 October, 7.30pmHunting the Giant’s DaughterKilve Village Hall, Main Road,Kilve, Somerset, TA5 1EATickets: £8/£4; family, £20;from 01278 741317 orwww.takeart.org

Sat 26 October, 7.30pmHunting the Giant’s DaughterPerformance Centre, Penryn Campus, FalmouthUniversity, TR10 9EZTickets: £12/£11 from 01326 255885;www.theperformancecentre.orgor boxoffice@falmouth.ac.uk

PerformancesHunting the Giant’s Daughter

Five unique encounters between legend and landscape in aseries of leisurely strolls through magnificent settings, sharingmusic, stories and song.

Sun 22 September, 11amPerranporth Story WalkJoin local historian TomTremewan and the Huntingthe Giant’s Daughter artists–Michael, Lynne and Stacey –for a leisurely stroll, with stopsfor stories and songs.Phone 01872 572121 for more info or visitwww.carntocove.co.uk

Sun 29 September, 2pmHunting the Giant’sDaughter Story Walk atHeddon’s MouthExperience the earliestArthurian legend retold amidthe rugged and dramaticsetting of the woodland gorgeat Heddon’s Mouth.Tickets:  £7.50/£5; family of 4, £22.50; from www.beaford-arts.org.uk

Sun 13 October at 12noon and 2.30pmHunting the Giant’s DaughterStory Walk at Dunster CastleEnjoy passion, drama andhumour as extracts of thisArthurian legend are shared inthe magnificent grounds ofDunster CastleTickets: £4 /£2, from Castleentrances (NB usual admissionfee still apply).

Fri 25 October, 10.30amFal River Story Boat TripJoin Michael, Lynne and Staceyon a boat trip along the FalRiver with stories and songsinspired by the location sharedas the boat glides along.Meet: Prince of Wales Pier,Falmouth at 10am for a10.30am departure.To book: www.carntocove.co.uk

Story Walks Hunting the Giant’s Daughter

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Hunting the Giant’s Daughter is based on Culhwch ac Olwenthe oldest surviving Arthurian tale recorded in TheMabinogion, a collection of eleven Welsh tales formed fromtwo medieval manuscripts, the White Book of Rhydderch(c1350) and the Red Book of Hergest (c1400). The story ismuch older than the texts in which we now find it. It invitesus into a fantastic, primitive place where men and beasts areequal and shape changing and magic are everywhere. Themedieval author drew on oral as well as written traditions tofill the world of the story with colour, character and vigour.Like much other Welsh oral material, the story has anuncannily close connection with the landscape; places fromPembrokeshire to Gloucester are identifiable, with names ofrivers, valleys and hills all bearing witness to the events.

Storyteller Michael Harvey began work with this story afterreading John Layard’s book A Celtic Quest. He performed itfirst as a solo story at the Scottish International Festival ofStorytelling, then revisited it with Stacey Blythe and LynneDenman. Michael had worked with Stacey for many years,enjoying her combination of musical sensitivity and risk-taking, and he knew of Stacey’s work with singer LynneDenman and Lynne’s deep knowledge of traditional song.

More about The Story

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He felt Lynne and Stacey could help give a voice to the womenin this story, notably Olwen and the witch Y Widdon Orddu,who live in what seems to be a very male landscape but turnout to be the emotional and psychic centres around which themen are in orbit. Festival Director David Ambrosecommissioned the piece for the 10th Anniversary of theBeyond the Border International Storytelling Festival (see p29).

Following its commission, the show toured Ireland, Wales andHolland with Creu Cymru and Iain Kempton before AdverseCamber began working with the artists in 2009. Thanks tofunding from Arts Council England and then Arts CouncilWales, the artists redeveloped the piece in collaboration withAdverse Camber and a creative team (see pp27-28) and havetoured it together since then. As appropriate for a story told forhundreds of years by perhaps thousands of individuals, thisversion, too, is continually evolving. For more info, includingan interview with Michael Harvey, visitwww.adversecamber.org.

The music and songs in Hunting the Giant’s Daughter aredrawn from both newly written and traditional material. Just asthe story isn’t scripted, so the music is subject to changethrough improvisation, as Lynne and Stacey respond to theshifts and dynamics in each telling of the story.

The first song ‘Myfi yw-r dechreuad’ (I am the beginning) byMeic Stevens makes the landscape human ‘my hair is thegrass’, appropriate for a tale in which human and landscaperelate so closely. A traditional Welsh melody ‘Mae blodau ffein’(the beautiful garden) underscores the appearance of thedouble headed thorn. The tune and lyrics to ‘Cariad Cyntaf’(First Love) are also traditional and this tender song contrastswith the music which conveys Culhwch’s alpha male qualities,his beauty and sexuality as he ‘goes in style’ to Arthur’s court.Towards the end of the first half the music shifts to incorporate ablues riff, conveying the invisible force of Olwen, a powerfulvoice even if she is not physically present when the giant isconfronted, encouraging Culhwch on with the repeated words‘He thinks it’s hard, but it’s easy for you’.

The second half opens with ‘Aros Mae’ (Staying), to a tuneLynne wrote, expressing the wistfulness of what has passedand the hopefulness for what is to come. ‘Adar Gwylltion’ (TheWild Birds) is a collection of lines from old Welsh verses, againsung to a tune Lynne wrote. The music becomes deeper anddeeper as the story moves back through the ages, towards theoldest creatures.

During the battle sequences, music evokes the conflict, darkand brooding, as lines from Y Gododdin, the 6th Century epicpoem, are interwoven with the reading out of names of thedead. And we move to a slowed chord progression of‘Cherries’, a Ffynnon composition by Stacey, for the conclusionof the hunt for the Twrch Trwyth, the music showing respect forthe rite of passage we are witnessing. The final song is sungfor the joyfulness of its melody.

A live recording of Hunting the Giant’s Daughter whichincludes all the songs and music is available to buy atperformances or online.

The Music and SongsMore about

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Cariad Cyntaf(First Love)

Bright happy one love of my breast

Fairest that I ever loved

Let me take you to my own

Trust in me

And say you’ll come

In your eyes I see truth

That shines like stars of grace and virtue

Seeing you fills my soul

Beautiful star

Hear this lovesick one

Liwus lonad serch fy mynwes

Wiwdeg orau ‘rioed a geres

mi’th gymheraf yn gymhares

Rho dy gred

A dwed y doi

Yn dy lygaid caf wirionedd

Yn serennu gras a rhinwedd

mae dy weld i mi’n orfoledd

Seren syw

Clyw di’r claf

Mae prydferthwch ail i Eden

Yn dy fynwes gynnes fwynwen

fwyngariadus liwus lawen

Seren syw

Clyw di’r claf

Addo’th gariad i mi heno

Gwnawn amodau cyn ymado

i ymrwymo doed a ddelo

Rho dy gred

A dwed y doi

There is a beauty second only to Eden

In your warm breast fair maiden

Dear loved one bright and happy

Beautiful star

Hear this lovesick one

Pledge your love to me tonight

We’ll make vows before we leave

To be promised come what may

Trust in me

And say you’ll comeTraditional melody and words

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Who’s WhoThe Main Characters

Culhwch (Keel-hooch) and FamilyCulhwch (Keel-hooch) His name means Slender Young PigCilydd (Kill-ith) Culhwch’s fatherGoleuddydd (Gol-ay-theeth) Culhwch’s mother

Olwen and FamilyOlwen (Ol-wen) The giant’s daughter Ysbaddaden Bencawr(Uss-bath-adin Ben-caoor)The Chief of all Giants and Olwen’s FatherYsbaddaden means hawthorn, which is a magic tree.Hawthorn has links to Glastonburyand Joseph of Arimathea in Somerset.Hawthorn are fairy trees in Ireland.Custennin The Shepherd(Kiss-ten-in) and his wife (while not stated directly, it’s possiblethey are also related to the giant)

Naming is a significant part of thisand many stories. Whether givingplace names, names of people andtheir relationships or naming ‘howthings came to be’, stories help passon knowledge across generationsand across cultures.

When Culhwch names all of Arthur’scourtiers (over a hundred in thesource text) the names and thestories attached to them hint at cyclesof stories which we no longer knowas well as demonstrating the skill ofthe storyteller in being able to reelthem all off. Here is a handy guide tosome of the key names in this storyand some of the relationships.

Arthur’s CourtArthurCai (Kie)Bedwyr (Bed-wier)Gwrhir the Interpreter (Gwr-heer)Cynddilig the Tracker (Kin-thil-ig)Gwalchmai (Gwalch-my)all purpose questing bloke Menw the magician (Menoo)

The BoarsTwrch Trwyth(Twrch - Boar)Trwyth = Triath, chieftan, in Irish(Toorch Trooith) Grugyn Gwrych Ereint (Grig-in Gooreech Eraint) The Silver Backed Boar

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Landscapes and settings: In this story, Arthur’s court is clearlyplaced in Cornwall at ‘Gelli Wig’. Thiscould be Penwith but it is not certain,as the literal translation of Gelli Wig is‘forest clearing’. The closest matchesbetween the story and specificgeography are in Wales at the start ofthe hunt for the Twrch Trwyth, whererivers and mountains are named indirect connection to the incidents inthe story – Carngafallt the ‘rock ofCafallt’ or ‘rock of Arthur’s dog’ wherethe paw of Arthur’s dog is said to havemade an impression while runningthrough, for example. The hunt racesacross the North Somerset and Devoncoast back towards Arthur’s court.There are frequent mentions of peopleand places from the North, which Inthis context is the ‘old North’ of theBrythonic (Welsh) people in Cumbriaand Southern Scotland.

A note on pronounciationth is used to denote ‘th’ as in ‘there’ch is like a German ‘ch’roll your ‘r’s !‘oo’ is more forward in the mouththan in English – pucker up!the stress of the word is on thesecond last syllable

Source Material

He thinks it’s hard,

but it’s easy for you

Mae’n meddwl bod hi’n anodd

ond mae’n rhwydd i ti!

Primary Sources

Culhwch and Olwen, ed Rachel Bromwich and D Simon Evans (Uni Wales Press, 1992)Y Mabinogion, Diweddariad gan, by Dafydd a Rhiannon Ifans (Gwasg Gomer, 1980)Crefft y Cyfarwydd, Sioned Davies (University Wales Press 1995) An analysis of the text of the Mabinogion showing its oral roots.The Mabinogion trans. Sioned Davies (2007 Oxford)Culhwch ac Olwen/The Quest for Olwen Gwyn Thomas,illustrated by Margaret Jones (1988 University Wales press/Lutterworth)Y Gododdin by Aneurin, a 6th century elegy for warriors killed in battle.

Secondary Texts

Orality and Literacy Walter Ong A Widening Field Miranda Tufnell and Chris Crickmay (Dance Books, London 2004)Celtic Heritage Alwyn & Brinley Rees (Thames & Hudson 1961)A Celtic Quest John Layard, (Spring Publications 1975) The Arthur of the Welsh (Bromwich, Jarman, Robert Eds)

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Heddon’s Mouth

Berrynarbor

ExmoorNational Park

Lee

Dunster KilveGlastonbury

Strata Florida Abbey

FalmouthPenwith

PerranporthCastle Killibury /Kelly Rounds

Fal River

Where the story wasfirst writtern down

Possible location ofGelli Wig – where

Arthur’s court is located

Iron Age Hillfort, possiblelocation of Gelli Wig

Gwlat yr Haf

The Summer CountrySomerset

Caer Loyw

The Shining FortGloucester

Mapping the Landscapethe hunt for the Twrch Trwyth

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Y PRESSELEU

AberTywl

PELUNYAWCPorthClaisPreseli

Mountains

Tywl

UlwchEwin

Tany

Llyn Llyw

AberGuy

Kaer Loyer

River Severn

Hafren

Y STRADYW

EWYAS

River WyeGwy

DEUGLEDYF

The route of the hunt as given in the story

Aros mae’r mynyddau mawr

Rhuo trostynt mae y gwynt

Clywir eto gyda’r wawr

Gan bugeiliaid megis cynt

Eto tyf y llygad dydd

O gylch traed y graig a’r bryn

Ond bugeiliaid newydd sydd

Ar yr hen fynyddoedd hyn

A setting of the poem by the 19th century bard Ceiriog. Thepoem describes the wind roaring across the mountains andthe flowers appearing each year. Although many things comeand go some are unchanging, amongst these, the oldlanguage and the old tunes remain.

Ar arferion Cymru gynt

Newid daeth o rod i rod

Mae cenhedlaeth wedi mynd

A chenhedlaeth wedi dod

Wedi oes dymhestlog hir

Alun Mabon mwy nid yw

Ond mae’r heniaith yn y tir

A’r alawon hen yn fyw

The great mountains remain

The wind roars across them

The song of shepherds is heard again

With the dawn, as before

Also the daisies grow

Around the feet of rock and hill

But there are new shepherds

On these old mountains

Upon the customs of the former Wales

Change came with the Earth’s turn

A generation has gone

And a generation has come

After a tempestuous age

Alun Mabon is no more

But the old language is in the land

And the old tunes live

Aros Mae (Staying)

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Are you trying to find the true King Arthur?

The truth about King Arthur will probably never be knownand that is just as well because it could be a massive anti-climax! The Arthur we are interested in is the mythical kingthat British and European imagination has spent a lot ofenergy and creativity in trying to manifest in various legends,books and films over many centuries without ever getting tothe bottom of the material. The story we are working with isthe product of a group imagining that started over 1500years ago (although there seem to be much earlier traces inthe story as well) and we are trying to bring the story to lifewith a group imagining today – which is where the audiencecomes in! The audience’s attention and participation is whatturns the story from being simply information into somethingreal that we can all experience. We are following the path ofArthur’s boar hunt. We know it started in Somerset andcarried on down to Cornwall so we are literally travelling theroute of the story.

As Hunting the Giant’s Daughter tours Cornwall, Devon andSomerset over the next few months, the creative team areexploring connections between the landscape of the story andthe geography of the region as storyteller Michael Harveyexplains– find out more by following our tour blog online atwww.adversecamber.org

What is a Story Walk?

At various times throughout the tour, the performers will gowith a group of interested people on a family friendly walkthrough a landscape in their locality and we will tell stories,make music and sing on the way in places that have a bitof space for people to relax in. A local expert may also saysomething about where we are. However the unofficialpart of the event is probably even more important. Walkingin a beautiful landscape with other people is a satisfyingactivity in itself and pretty soon the chat and stories flowbetween the members of the group as we inhabit our pathand landscape together and find that the more attention wegive to the environment the more it reveals itself to us.

About Stories and LandscapeKing Arthur in the South West

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Yn y coed y mae hi’n cysgu

Ac yn yr eithin mae hi’n nythu

Yn y llwyn, tan ddail y bedw

Dyna’r fan y bydd hi’n farw

Gwyn fy myd, na fedrwn hedeg

Bryn a phant a goriwaered

Weithiau i’r mor a weithiau’r mynydd

A dwad adref yn ddigerydd

Anonymous medieval verses from T.H.Parry Williams' collection 'Hen Benillion'

Yr Adar Gwylltion (The Wild Birds)

In the wood she sleeps

And in the gorse she nests

In the bush, under birch leaves

That is the place where she will die

Perfect my world, though I cannot fly

Hill and dale and fellside

Sometimes to the sea, sometimes to the mountain

And come blameless home

Perfect their world, the wild birds

That fly by the roadway and the fountain

Sometimes to the sea, sometimes to the mountain

And come blameless home

Perfect my world, though I cannot fly

Hill and dale and fellside

I want to know, however bad

Where the cuckoo sleeps in the winter

Gwyn ei byd, yr adar gwylltion

Hwy gant fynd y ffordd a ffynnon

Rhai tua’r mor a rhai tua’r mynydd

A dwad adref yn ddigerydd

Gwyn fy myd, na fedrwn hedeg

Bryn a phant a goriwaered

Mynnwn wybod, er ei gwaethaf

P’le mae’r gog yn cysgu’r gaeaf

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Michael HarveyMichael Harvey is an award winning storyteller, telling traditionalstories from the Celtic countries and beyond at majorinternational festivals in Britain, Europe, North and SouthAmerica. He leads audiences deep into tales with humour, skilland a great sense of enjoyment. He has appeared frequently on television and radio and workswith dancers, musicians, visual artists and many major culturalinstitutions as well as performers from Brazil, India and Europe.As well as his work for adults Michael is also in great demand inschools where he tells stories and delivers literacy workshops forboth pupils and teachers. He is a skilful and experiencedfacilitator and leads workshops for storytellers at different levelsand combines storytelling with other art forms to deliver effectiveand innovative training to help organisations and groups withdevelopment, change, creativity and communication.www.michaelharvey.org

Lynne DenmanLynne Denman is a singer whose repertoire includes songsdeeply rooted in the traditions, rhythms, languages andlandscapes of the Celtic countries. She has sung traditionaland new Welsh, English and French songs for audiences onfive continents. She runs workshops and short courses intraditional singing as well as visual arts. She works regularlywith the storyteller Michael Harvey and musician StaceyBlythe interpreting through song, tales from The Mabinogionand other stories. With Stacey, she also established the folkquintet Ffynnon, and has toured and recorded with theensemble. Ffynnon became the first Welsh band to be signedto foremost folk and roots label ‘Green Linnet Records’ in2003. Lynne recently completed a project to reintroduce ‘backinto the wild’, some of the traditional Pembrokeshire repertoirefrom the National Museum of Wales’ archive.www.ffynnon.com

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Stacey Blytheaccordion,harp, vocals, pianoClassically trained at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Dramawhere she works as a musical director and repertoire coach, Staceyplays a wide variety of instruments. Her professional musical life hastaken her to many different styles, and new languages and she hascollaborated with many artists and theatre companies. Sheresearched traditional ballads with Frankie Armstrong,and premieredMeredith Monk's ‘Requiem’ at the Queen Elizabeth Hall London. Shehas worked as a composer and performer with storyteller MichaelHarvey and produced original music for various productions, touringin the UK and Europe. Her original music for “Macsen” premiered inRome. Her most recent composing commission was a six monthresidency with Welsh National Opera. She provided accompanimentfor the George Melly lectures on Cole Porter, and performs regularlywith many different musicians.She performed recently with Billy Bragg, on her own composition “TheChainmakers’ Song” at the Festival in the Black Country Museum. www.staceyblythe.com

Paula Crutchlow Director/Artistic Advisor Paula graduated in dance from De Mortfort University and hassince been working in Britain and internationally as a collaboratingdirector, educator and performer across theatre, dance andstorytelling. From 1996-99 she was artistic director of awardwinning New Zealand theatre company All and Sundry and coremember of Pantheatre Poneke’s devising lab. During this timePaula began working with storytellers as a consulting director andtoured New Zealand with Te Torino, a bi-lingual (Maori/English)storytelling group. In 2000, she returned to the UK completing anMA in Devised Theatre at Dartington College of Arts where shewas an Associate Lecturer in Theatre until their 2010 relocation toFalmouth. Paula is currently Artistic Advisor to Adverse Camber.As co-founder and Director of Blind Ditch, she has developed arange of context specific events that bring together performance,digital and visual arts disciplines. www.blindditch.org

Mary Drummond DesignerMary Drummond studied at the Royal Welsh College of Music andDrama, Cardiff. She graduated in 2006. She has since workedextensively in Wales with companies such as Hijinx Theatre, TheLiving Theatre Company and Sherman Cymru amongst others.She also works designing and making in London and Bristol. Aswell as designing for theatre, mary also has a keen interest intextile manipulation and puppetry.

Creative TeamA creative team drawn has worked with Michael, Lynne andStacey to develop Hunting the Giant’s Daughter for nationaltouring. Adverse Camber is grateful to Arts Council England, ArtsCouncil Wales and the National Lottery for their support.

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Spotlight on StorytellingBeyond the Border International Storytelling FestivalBeyond The Border is Wales’ leading international festival of storytelling, acelebration of world myth, legend and folktale featuring storytellers,musicians, poets, singers, writers and artists from around the globe. BTB began life in 1993, born out of the desire to:• raise the status and increase understanding of storytelling as an artform

suitable for all ages, adults as well as children• showcase performances by leading practitioners from Wales and the

World involved in exploring the retelling of traditional stories for a contemporary audience

• help develop and provide a platform for an emerging new generation of performance storytellers

At the heart of what the Festival does is their spectacular  3-day summerfestival, held every other year in the beautiful South Wales countryside. Atthe same time, Beyond the Border has become very much a year-roundproject, with a variety of outreach events and innovative projects takingplace in locations across South Wales, culminating in the festival weekendevery two years.Festival Director David Ambrose commissioned Hunting the Giant’sDaughter as Culhwch and Olwen for the 10th Anniversary of the Festivaland invited the show to return as Hunting the Giant’s Daughter withAdverse Camber in 2010, where it received a standing ovation.“A Festival like no other” The Times July 2002Forthcoming Dates for Beyond the Border 4 – 6 July 2014Find out more at www.beyondtheborder.comAdverse Camber also recommends the following national UK festivalsFestival at the Edge (England) www.festivalattheedge.orgCape Clear festival (Ireland) www.capeclearstorytelling.comThe Scottish Storytelling Festival www.scottishstorytellingcentre.org.ukFor more information on where to find storytelling, visit www.sfs.org.uk

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Naomi Wilds ProducerNaomi Wilds studied English Literature at the University of Leeds.Following work with arts organisations including West YorkshirePlayhouse and Sinfonia Viva, she specialised in literaturedevelopment from 1999 -2005. Naomi set up Adverse Camber in2006 and has produced six national tours for the company,raising funds for creative investment and working closely withindividual artists and ensembles to commission, creativelydevelop and tour productions. In addition to steering AdverseCamber's development, Naomi has also recently worked forWirksworth Festival, Signposts South Yorkshire, The FirebirdTrust, East Staffordshire Borough Council and Apples & Snakes.

Amanda Smith Assistant Producer

Amanda joined Adverse Camber in May 2013 and draws on 17years experience in arts development as well as a long standingcommitment to storytelling as an artform.  Based in the EastMidlands, she has previously worked for Arts Council Englandand Nottinghamshire County Council as well as developing anddelivering a wealth of community arts projects.

Jon Burke Tour Manager (TSM)

Jon has helped tell stories with Kaboodle, Rejects Revenge,Spike Theatre, Tmesis Theatre, Walk The Plank, Zho Visual andGrosvenor Park Outdoor Theatre. This is his first tour withAdverse Camber.

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Embrace the unexpected road

Many thanks to the following:Mark Wallace, Fiona Fraser-Smith and Heidi Stephenson from Beaford Arts for their support of this tour at key crossroads, as well asSarah Peterkin from Take Art, Claire Marshall and Tim Smithies fromCarn to Cove, Ed O’Driscoll from Arts in Rural Gloucesteshire, theNational Trust, Exmoor National Park and Paula Crutchlow, MichaelHarvey, Lynne Denman and Stacey Blythe. In addition to all thepromoters and artists we work with, thanks for their time, expertise andsupport to Helen Frances, Nick Cutts, Esther Danmeri, AmandaRoberts, Amanda Smith, Ali Finn, Pam Beddard, the Wirksworth Festivalteam, Cathy Grindrod, Lorna Leese, Bob Rushton, Louisa Davies,Simon Hollingworth, Keith Turner, Gavin Repton, Chris Webb, Paul Carr,Bianca Winter, Kat Quatermass and Arts Council East Midlands.

Adverse Camber’s mission is to inspire new thinking about storytelling,by producing and touring outstanding examples of the craft, created andperformed by the UK’s finest storytellers and musicians. The companywas founded in 2006 by Naomi Wilds and has received repeated grantawards from Arts Council England as well as support from Arts CouncilWales, Cultivate East Midlands, Arts & Business and CyprusWell.Adverse Camber invests in specific storytelling performances,sometimes working on an existing piece or supporting artists to developnew work from scratch.

We’re fascinated by the conversations which happen when people cometogether to work with storytelling, by the different cultures within the formand what contemporary audiences, in all their diversity, bring to the work.

As with Hunting the Giant’s Daughter, we often work with a show over along period of time, exploring new and different ways in which storiesand audiences interact. Between 45-55% of audiences for our workhave been rare or first time attenders of storytelling. In our 2012-14tours, we are moving beyond the performance space and participantfeedback from singing sessions, story walks and schools workshops areinforming our forthcoming exciting programmes of work.

If you haven’t yet enjoyed them, do check out our tours, The OldWoman, the Buffalo and the Lion of Manding, created and performed by Jan Blake, Kouame Sereba and Raymond Sereba and The Kingdomof the Heart, an atmospheric exploration of two Czech wondertales. The Kingdom of the Heart, created and performed by storyteller KatyCawkwell and classical cellist Sarah Llewellyn-Jones, features music by Bach, Britten and Barchet and is also available as a CD recording.

To keep in touch, sign up for updates on our website.

30 31search adverse camber stories

The Kingdom of the HeartThe Old Woman, the Buffaloand the Lion of Manding

Contact us through www.adversecamber.org

search adverse camber stories

With financial support from Exmoor National Park Authorityand kind permission of the National Trust.