Dolls, Trolls and Iron Feet

West of the Moon presents Dolls, Trolls and Iron Feet, a storytelling tapestry that weaves together three wondertales full of wisdom and magic. 

In this 2hour show, listeners travel 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.

Each story is woven in and out of the others with music and song. The parallels, contrasts, wild imagery and poignancy of the stories are shared by Storytellers Lu Orza, Mica Sinclair and Hannah Moore, who pick up the threads of each tale and weave them into their own so that the themes speak to the power of the others. 

Join us to 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.

A journey deep into story magic

"Hey ho, all in a row

Three wild sisters with far to go

Love and loss and self to know

The way is long and a fierce wind blows.

Will they find the strength to go?

Hey ho, here we go..."

West of the Moon

West of the Moon is a collaboration between storytellers Lu Orza, Mica Sinclair and Hannah Moore. They met on Storytelling Beyond Words, the School of Storytelling's flagship course in the art and craft of traditional storytelling for the 21st century. Since then, Lu, Mica and Hannah have been working as storytellers in their own right and in collaboration, combining story work with a range of previous experience - music, dance, theatre, activism and facilitation. They use storytelling to create spaces for connection, voice finding and building community. Compelled by the wisdom and medicine to be found in traditional stories, West of the Moon's work is driven by the power of images and imagination to cross divides and inspire personal and social change. 

In particular, Lu, Mica and Hannah are inspired by the imaginative potential to be found in working with wondertales - tales which invite us to wonder: why did that thing happen; what made that character do that, when in my life have I experienced something like facing the darkness in the heart of the forest, climbing to the top of the glass mountain, or managing an impossible task? And what if ...?. 

In weaving different tales together, we explore the commonality of the experiences of love, loss, longing and way-finding. The show brings out the parallels in the three stories which map, through metaphor and image, the universal struggles and triumphs we face in this world. It also highlights the vivid contrasts between the tales, and how they explore the rich diversity of each human life. We are inspired and humbled by the conversations this work inspires.

Forthcoming Shows

The Storytelling Hut

Emerson College

Sat 13 April 2024

7:30pm

£10/donation - cash on the door

Bookings

Show info

Running time: 2.5 hours including intervals

Recommended age: 10+

To find out more and to book the show, email hannahmoorestoryteller@gmail.com, 

https://www.hannahmoore.co.uk/home 

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Previous performances include:

Jan 2023 Hawkwood College Centre for Future Thinking 

March 2023 The School of Storytelling at Emerson College

August 2023 Oxford Storytelling Festival

Working with wondertales

Traditional wondertales (like the fairy stories collected by the Grimms brothers) are

deeply layered metaphors for the soul’s journey. Magical, otherworldly and transporting,

people find a deep pleasure in listening to them and in wandering through the

imaginative realms they conjure up.

But these stories are more than just entertainment. They have been passed on for hundreds

of years because they explore life’s essential themes:

Love & Loss

Conflict & peace

Oppression & liberation,

Trauma & healing

Losing and finding identity and empowerment

How to create balance

… And so many more - all the challenges and possibilities of ourselves, our relationships,

communities, our nations and species.

There is wisdom and medicine for us in these stories, however we find ourselves walking

this human road, and they give us a powerful shared language for discussing these deep

concerns.