‘Once upon a time, when the North Wind blew and turned the trees of the forest into crystal chandeliers, there was a king …’ 

Valemon the White Bear King is a classic Norwegian wondertale, one of the many variants of White Bear tales of the Beauty and the Beast typology. This is a magical tale set in snow-covered mountain forests, with glittering, jewel-encrusted castles and wild blue skies. Our heroine, the archetypal ‘third daughter’ is lured by the vision of a golden wreath to fall in love with a prince, cursed by the Queen of the Hag Trolls to live as a bear for seven years. To release him, she must sacrifice her children, journey through the dark wood, climb a glass mountain and enter a battle of wits with the troll queen, aided on her way by a variety of helpers. The tale takes us on Eyra’s journey with themes of longing, loneliness and loss; her struggle to find the inner courage, kindness and deep wisdom that she needs to be united with her heart’s desire and return to love and light.

In this show, I present the story set to original music written for classical guitar by Anthony Dodds and played by Anthony Dodds and Colin Thompson.

In Dolls Trolls and Iron Feet, I perform with West of the Moon – a storytelling collaboration with Hannah Moore and Mica Sinclair - to present a tapestry of three wondertales weaving together their wisdom and magic with music and song. 

This 2-hour show follows the paths of Valemon the White Bear King, Finist the Bright Falcon, and Vasilisa the Beautiful - timeless stories of fierce heroines who set out to obtain their deepest need on journeys strewn with fierce foes, monsters, unexpected helpers, impossible tasks, fire and flight, endurance, gifts and the terror of the deep dark woods. Together we travel with the wild third daughters of these stories as they follow their hearts and journey into unknown realms to find love and light, running with the white bear king, questing for Finist beyond the thrice-ninth kingdom and facing trial by fire in the chicken-footed hut of Baba Yaga.