I tell stories for social and environmental justice, to bear witness to and honour the courage of those who resist oppression and work to bring about change. I focus in particular on the tree huggers and human rights defenders from South Asia and the Indian Ocean regions but also tell stories from all over the world.
I enjoy just sharing tales about the mischievous demons, clever princesses, magic pots, flying horses, wise talking parrots and the many more magical things that populate the world if you just know where to look. It is wonderful to take people on a story journey around the world and sometimes I include literary short stories in that tour as well.
I am an experienced creator of collaborative learning materials that facilitate discussion and raise awareness of issues such as climate change and the hidden histories of women and people of colour around the world which I combine with storytelling. I particularly enjoy working with KS2 and KS3 (8 – 14 years). Talk to me about what you would like me to do.
Performances
New Performance!
I enjoyed sharing this story at the Oxford Storytelling Festival 2022 and since then I have also shared it at the Stowtellers in Walthamstow and online for the Last Tuesday Society.
Beyond Thirteen Rivers and Seven Oceans
A young king, keen to be a good leader, sets off on a journey to find the wise and beautiful princess who lives beyond the thirteen rivers and seven oceans. His guide, a learned parrot tells stories that help him to see the injustices suffered by the people he rules. Deeply troubled, he is anxious to heal the kingdom. But is he the right man to do it?
The parrot invites the princess to tell the most powerful story of all; a true story that opens the king’s eyes to previously unimagined possibilities. But it is the people who have the most important lesson of all to teach him.
This account of a young man’s journey to wisdom and a wise people’s struggle for justice is explored through folktales and true stories from South Asia. It was created to address issues of global warming, climate justice, land rights, gender and inequality.
Suitable for ages 6 upwards
60 minute performance
If the Trees Could Speak
Tales of Epic Struggles in the Dandaka Forest
The Ramayana is one of India`s great epic tales and widely known throughout South and South East Asia. However, is this story, as it is usually told, all there is to tell? Who were the demons? What was the war really about? Where are the women`s voices?
The Dandaka Forest in Eastern India is the setting for the Ramayana. Today the Dandaka forest is again the site of bitter struggle. Mining companies prowl the land hungry for the minerals beneath the trees. They are fiercely opposed by the Adivasi people who have lived in the forest for centuries. Maoist guerrillas fighting a decades’ old armed struggle for social justice also occupy the forest. In order to clear the way for mining, the Indian government has gone to war against its own people. What happens to a woman who dares to make her voice heard?
If the trees could speak, what stories would they tell?
This lively interweaving of a contemporary real life story with a feminist re-telling of a myth is performed in honour of the courage of the women and men on the frontlines of a struggle to protect a forest which is in danger of becoming a place that will only exist in a story.
Suitable for ages 12 and up. 1 hour long
I enjoyed performing If the Trees Could Speak at the Beyond the Borders Festival in Wales in July 2021.
Just Storytelling 