We are delighted to be welcoming Nell Phoenix & Michael Harvey as our headline storytellers for the first time to the festival this year. Michael is also our guest storyteller for the Storytellers Supper, a popular Friday night event at the festival, which can be booked here:
Joining our headliners for the first time are storytellers Vanessa Woolf with her new show 'She's Electric', Alastair K Daniels with his new show 'When The Gentlemen Go By', Laura Sampson with her show Yamanba (She'll Be Coming Round the Mountain) and Maria Credali with her show 'Seven Years A Wolf'. This is just a taster of what to expect at this years festival, with many more delights being programmed for the weekend.
Full programme coming soon!
Featured Storytellers!
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Alastair K Daniel...
is a performance storyteller who lives on the border between London and Surrey. He has worked as a professional storyteller for over 25 years and regularly performs internationally, most recently in Greece, Belgium and Morocco, where Alastair was part of the team that broke the world record for the longest continuous storytelling performance. Alastair's storytelling manages to combine high energy performance with an almost conversational style, drawing the audience into tales so that they become an integral part of the telling.
We are delighted that Alastair is bringing his show 'When the Gentlemen Go By' to the festival this year.
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Laura Sampson...
is a British-Trinidadian storyteller, writer and noh practitioner who loves to tell stories of big emotions, surreal situations and misunderstood women, from all over the world.
Recent commissions include Folk Horror (Crick Crack Club), Noh Reimagined Festival (London), solo show Yamanba, and a new retelling of Old English epic Beowulf. Laura is also founder of story promoter The House of Rumour, and a published author of two children’s story collections (2023 + 2025), with another for adults out in October 2026. We are very excited that she is joining us for the first time at the festival with her show Yamanba.
Maria Credali...
tells stories with a warm, engaging, and intimate style. She will leave you with a warm heart and smile on your face.
Previous commissions include Yarn Storytelling Festival in Ireland, The Royal Shakespeare Company,
Festival at the Edge and many other national and international festivals.
mariacredali.co.uk
“Joyous, beautiful, inspiring and poetic.” Taffy Thomas MBE.
“Storytelling gold” Lisa Schneidau.
We are excited that she is bringing her show 'Seven Years A Wolf' to the festival this year.
Maria Gillan...
is a well known popular storyteller and Bean An Tí (Irish Session Host) on the storytelling circuit in Ireland and on the Cyberspace Platform.
She loves listening to stories and will tell a story at the drop of a hat. She loves co-creating stories with anyone ‘from the cradle to the grave’. She believes deeply in the power of stories to build communities, heal prejudice and to build resilience.
We are delighted she is returning to the festival this year.
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Marion Leeper...
needs no introduction as the festivals former chair. Based in Cambridge, Marion and her amazing story mat are familiar visitors to museums, schools and libraries around the region. She has toured her shows for grownups to clubs and festivals around the country and internationally. She tells stories for children of all ages, and specialises in multi-sensory storytelling for the very young and for people with learning difficulties, working with the charity Bag Books.
Vanessa Woolf...
stories for adults are real, exciting, magical and engaging from start to finish. Her trailblazing performances and live events have taken her around the world. She has shared her stories for TEDxStormont, on TV, radio and on podcasts. Her CV includes unique collaborations with major museums, cultural institutions, architects, publishers, film makers, artists & academics. We are excited that she is joining us for the first time this year with her brand new show; 'She's Electric'.
Festival Regulars & Local Tellers!
Baden Prince
Chris Richardson
Gerry Donlon
Jonathan Lambert
Sarah Lloyd -Winder
C B Jackson
Dan Sedge
Hannah Brailsford
Justine De Mierre
Shane Ibbs
Carl Merry
Despina Ariou
John Row
Roisin Murray
Simon Hooten
More Delights!
Crankie Magic...
Discover the art of the crankie: a scrolling picture artform which brings a whole new dimension to storytelling, for adults and children alike. Come and meet some of the most talented crankie performers from across the country and beyond.
Find them on our Sunday morning story trail and in other unexpected places throughout the festival.
Bronia Evers
Returns to the festival with a brand new show 'Oakheart'.
Wendy Dacre
Will perform a brand-new adventure, Alf and the Trolls, and the mysterious and unearthly Snake on the Western Wave
Peter Stevenson
Welsh storyteller, illustrator, children’s writer is using crankies to launch his new bi-lingual picturebooks
Taletta van Bierens
From Bloemendahl in the Netherlands, brings the story The Flying Ship and the Fool of the World, and the Boy who went to sea in a sugarpot.
Sara Hurley
Her stories feature ancient myths and encounters with the more than human and set in the Devon landscape.
