Fancy hearing ghost stories from Japan or darkly humorous fairy tales for grown-ups? Then you’ll want to head to the Story Museum in Oxford for The Crick Crack Club’s new season of events.
Who are The Crick Crack Club, I hear you ask? Well, they’re one of the UK’s boldest (and busiest) performance storytelling producers. And they love creating exuberant events that everyone can enjoy. The club dip into the world’s rich and diverse folk, myth and fairy tale material. Often mixing it up to make weird and wonderful new stories. Telling them in unique and interesting ways.
Dark tales for grown-ups
This new season of events, in partnership with The Story Museum, is about to start. The Game of Candles follows a Japanese folk-storytelling custom whereby a candle is extinguished after each supernatural tale is told. Allowing the room to get darker and more ghostly as the evening wears on. Expect ravenous flying heads, demon masks, goblin-rats and lonely roads.
Then next month, you can hear tales of female protagonists who break the rules and use their cunning to get the upper-hand in Little Red Riding Hood and Other Lost Girls. Following in April is Kali. This performance storytelling event features a shape-shifter from Hindu mythology. And towards the end of May, is the folkloric Thief’s Tale. There’ll be epic stories of riotous adventure, last-minute escapes and a bit of magic.
These events will be performed live in the museum’s ‘Woodshed’ theatre space and live-streamed across the world. This series explores the darker side of fairytales, featuring familiar and seldom told tales. The line-up includes some of the UK’s top storytellers including Emily Hennessey, Tim Ralphs, Daniel Morden and Nell Phoenix, as well as live music by Sheema Mukherjee.
The Crick Crack Club are also performing at The British Museum and Rich Mix in London, and at Cranborne Earthouse in Dorset.
When: From 17th February 2022
Where: The Story Museum, 42 Pembroke Street, Oxford OX1 1BP
£: Tickets cost £10 – £12 per show (Suitable for ages 14+)
More info: crickcrackclub.com/whats-on/the-story-museum