A Bath based community group of oral storytellers, performance poets and folk singers, find out more at: bathstorytellingcircle.btck.co.uk
What encouraged you to take the plunge to storytelling in public?
Anthony: having gained experience and confidence through telling stories for some months in the safe, semi-private setting of a storytelling club.
Verona: I attended the Bath Storytelling circle in The Raven Pub for about six months, enjoying watching and listening. It took a deal of courage to stand up in a pub full of people and tell my own tale. I continued regularly for about fifteen years. (I had actually practised at a fireside in Australia while I was travelling there, before I took the plunge when I came back to Bath. It had worked on my imagination. My first story in The Raven was about ‘How I told my first story‘!)
David: for me, becoming a storyteller was a natural progression from already being a publicly performing folk singer and guitar player, but the nurturing environment of the Bath Storytelling Circle over 20 years ago nudged me into professional storytelling. I still mix songs and stories together to help give audiences a varied listening experience.
Who is your favourite storyteller and why?
Anthony: difficult to choose one!
Verona: Daniel Morden, a professional storyteller from Wales. His entire demeanour encourages one to accept the place and the atmosphere of his tale. Facial expressions and direct quotes, all draw one into the situation. He brings myth alive. I have attended the Beyond the Border Storytelling Festivals in Wales.
David: there are so many excellent storytellers, each distinct in material, style and voice, but for me Robin Williamson melds energy, authenticity, story and music into powerful performances.
Which types of stories do you prefer to tell? Old myths, your own creations, poetry?
Anthony: very eclectic – myths, folktales, wisdom tales, legends, my own and others’ fiction, and historical and scientific stories. Nearly always extempore.
Verona: I have increasingly used old folk tales, Native American legends and traditional myth from the Greek tradition. I re-write them in my own words, and choose them to reflect something about anything currently in the news or in our thoughts because of an anniversary or a Memorial. I like delivering poetry, but I need to be able to refer to the text. However, those who can master reciting from memory are the most effective. Poems bring gravity to an occasion, and bardic talents have a strong, unifying effect. The young Poet Laureate’s delivery at The Biden inauguration is an example of oratory that was effective, somehow emphasizing the gravity of the occasion.
David: my personal leaning (as a former field archaeologist) is towards telling stories which I create myself that are rooted in actual past events or about places with particular historical or archaeological resonance, but I also enjoy telling mythic tales that provide insight into the human condition – all of which can involve weaving stories, songs and poetry together.
How has Storytelling adapted during Lockdown?
Anthony: many storytellers have used Zoom. I have not felt attracted to this. I’ve spent much time in lockdown reading stories and writing a book about storytelling.
Verona: groups have tried to keep the spirit of storytelling alive through Zoom meetings, but it’s a flickering flame without the spark of live encounter.
David: some storytellers have taken to digital technology platforms to reach audiences, but, because I value particularly the intimate ‘fireside’ interaction of live storytelling performances, I consider digital technology to be a poor (and hopefully temporary) substitute for the face-to-face, inter-personal encounter of either a small storytelling group or large theatre performance – where the connection between performer and audience, the atmosphere of the venue (whether indoor or outdoor), and the collective sense of presence in a shared space and time are all crucial ingredients in the quality of the overall experience.
What is the future of Storytelling?
Anthony: storytelling is ancient art which goes against the grain of technological trends in communication and yet, for that very reason, is more precious than ever. I hope that the experience of lockdown will provide a renewed appreciation of the worth of activities like storytelling that involve the direct mutual presence of their participants.
Verona: The essence of live Storytelling Circles is the connection, the eye contact, facial expressions and also bodily expressiveness. All this is absent from online storytelling. I, personally, don’t know where to look and get confused by looking at the screen full of blank faces. I’ve found it better to look at my own image, in order to concentrate, which is most peculiar and goes against the essence of the genre. The electric atmosphere generated by a live experience of storytelling is what is absent from the current system, and will remain a drawback. In effect, we’re withdrawing into a more remote way of connecting.
David: whenever and wherever human beings physically encounter one another they will always tell each other stories, and because stories help shape the way we make sense of our world they are essential imaginative pathways to creating the future we wish to see.
This interview was conducted for Storytelling Week 2021.