Suited Storytellers

23 Words Brixham Library

A compelling evening of live storytelling at Brixham Library in celebration of International Women’s Day.

On Friday 6th March 2026, we will be getting together for the first time with award-winning author and seasoned performer Tanya Landman, to present a double bill of critically acclaimed pieces – 23 Words and Jane Eyre.

23 Words is a reimagining of Chaucer’s ‘Wyfe of Bath’s Tale’ which explores the enduring question, ‘What is it women most want in the world?’, whilst Jane Eyre takes a fresh perspective on the well-known and much-loved story, as an older Jane reflects on her life with wit and insight.

As well as being damn good entertainment, reexamining these old stories allows us to explore and challenge historical and contemporary representation of women. The performance begins at 7.30pm and is suitable for anyone aged 14+ – not just women! An evening not to be missed.

For tickets: https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/whats-on/brixham/brixham-library/suited-storytellers/e-vrdkqa

‘Herd’ – how we brought a new show together…

We started with one story. Discussed it, tried it out, went round the houses, came back. It just didn’t quite work. So one day we set off in a different direction. We came across a story which spoke to us, which led to another, reminded us of a third, and suddenly we were using all three of them. ‘Ah yes,’ we said to ourselves, ‘We know what this is about.’ But the more we worked on the stories and the show took shape, the more we realised the stories were telling us something quite different.

Weaving together these three tales from the oral tradition, we found ourselves contemplating what it takes to find your voice. And your people. And how to hold on to them for dear life – or let them go gracefully – as the years pass.

We began with the idea that whatever story we worked with would involve horses. In fact, all three do. And those horses have led us to also consider how we find our ‘wild within’. It is so easy in the maelstrom of modern life to lose touch with our own wildness, but when our youth-obsessed world is no longer so interested in us, that is when we can find it and revel in it again.

We had the added thrill this time of working with a musician. Paschale Straiton is a master of weird and wonderful instruments and the haunting sound of the saw was often to be heard behind the doors of the rehearsal room. As our stories originated and spread out from Georgia, Serbia and the areas inhabited by the Celtic tribes who the Romans called ‘Gauls’, Paschale researched the music of those places so sound and words meld together in a very satisfying way!

We have been able to experiment, make mistakes, and come back stronger with a show we are proud of. And we could not have done that without Arts Council England funding, giving us the time and space to devise and rehearse.

New dates of where you can see HERD will be posted on this news page and on social media. We will definitely be performing at Bude Literary Festival in May – more details to follow…

With new suits?

Of course! The suits are an important part of what we are about and not just because of our name. Wearing suits challenges pre-conceptions about storytelling and storytellers, and about us as women – and older women at that. We don’t want to conform to anyone’s expectations and the suits make it clear we mean business. It is just one of the elements in creating exciting, thought-provoking, contemporary storytelling.

And this time the suits are ……….. YELLOW! And when Paschale is with us hers is blue. (Because horses only see in shades of yellow and blue.)