The trail of a tale - Joan Lennon

Telling stories round the fire, out in the wilderness, holding back the night ... That's pretty much where it all started, I guess, at the beginning of the human era.

And one of the great joys of childhood is still being told a story. Being read to. The theatre company, White Rabbit, tries to recreate that joy for grownups. In an evening performance called Are You Sitting Comfortably? the actors (Bernadette Russell and Gareth Brierley) read aloud stories written by local writers, on a set theme, in a tea party setting. (This was in the Byre Theatre in St Andrews but they go all over.) I loved what Gareth did with my story! It needed to be read by a male voice, but Gareth does a crooked smile like no one on earth, and he just lit the tale up.



It was an exhilarating, slightly atavistic evening. At the end each writer was given a booklet of their story, tied up with red ribbon - AND an invitation to submit their tale to Ether Books to be made into an app.



So "Dissidents and Distilleries" - 700 words of magic meets industrial sabotage - has gone out into the world in both the most old-fashioned way and the most new-fangled. Both audibly and app-ably. From the fire to the phone. From ape to app.

And that just makes me smile.

Cheers, Joan.

P.S. I don't have an Iphone - if any of you do, and would like to download "Dissidents and Distilleries" for free from Ether, this is the link: http://bit.ly/bpvC84

P.P.S. And if you do, please tell me if it looks all right! Thanks!

Comments

madwippitt said…
I loved being read to as a kid - I remember listening spellbound to our class teacher reading a chapter of Ian Serailliers The Silver Sword each day while at primary school. And I loved lkistening to Jackanory even when I was supposedly too old for it ...
Then I grew up and forgot about how wonderful listening to stories as well as reading them for yourself can be, until recently, when I picked up an audio book at the library for myself while helping my Mum select hers (she's partially sighted). And it's my great pleasure now to listen to a book in bed last thing at night: it's a terrific way of relaxing and unwinding. And even though you may have read a book already, it doesn't matter - listening to it brings a different perspective.
Unfortunately I only have tape and CD players, so I can't download your story - poop. Although I am thining of buying an Ipoddy thingy so I can get free audio library downloads - just not sure how technologically challenging I might find it, and no idea which to buy ...
Hope it goes brilliantly!
Joan Lennon said…
I have this lovely image of you now, curled up in bed under a pile of whippets, listening to stories ...
madwippitt said…
Not for nothing are they called Barnsley bedwarmers Joan!
(And I do apologise for the hasty and erratic spelling earllier! Too much enthusiasm, not enough accuracy.)
Susan Price said…
Loved this post, Joan. Blogger wouldn't let me comment before.

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