Our Lily got down to The White Lion in Beeston for a night of gripping storytelling, belly laughs and great company. Here she tells us all about this little-known monthly event and why she encourages the rest of us to check it out...
As I sat down in the upstairs room of The White Lion, wine glass in hand, I was ready to be transported to lands far beyond the four walls which surrounded me. I looked around the room and felt as though I had joined some sort of secret club – people seemed to know one another and there was a real sense of camaraderie, even for those who were new. It’s a proper warm setting, with a backdrop of multi-coloured fire set up at the front and fairy-lights draped on the walls.
The newbies (me included) received a warm welcome from Mike who said: “it’s dry in here and it’s full of warmth and stories”, which set the tone for a great night of laughter, some questionable singing, and magical stories. I was told the usual set-up was slightly different to what we would experience tonight and that we were missing the usual professional musicians, but Mike took to the role of musician like a fish to water, despite only trusting himself to use two chords.
Mike began the storytelling journey with a story about the Boggart of Saddleworth. He then passed the torch to Daisy, who told a tale of the Disappearing Knight, a “perfect and rather boring specimen of medieval masculinity”, full of slightly sassy feminist quips. Something that made me laugh particularly hard was her cleverly pointing out that despite how worthy his wife was, she wasn’t quite worthy enough to be given a name.
After Daisy came Saul Jaffe, the main act who was back by popular demand. Saul was the storytelling resident at the Globe Theatre for years, and his last visit to the Beeston Tales received magnificent feedback, with one audience member saying he was “a genius" and that they "didn’t know stories could be so funny”.
His storytelling set was romantically titled The Ebony Scroll, and all of the separate stories revolved around the stars, the night sky and even the creation of day and night. Saul told stories of the beauty that chaos can create, The Row of Great Mother Crow and Great Father Crow, and how Orion ended up in the night sky, as well as stories of his own childhood in Zimbabwe. All the tales managed to be both poignant and side-splittingly funny, not to mention the fact that his delivery had everyone on the edge of their seats.
Although I went not knowing what to expect and found myself to be one of the youngest in the room, I quickly found that storytelling was fun for all ages and kind of like the best bits of stand-up comedy, theatre and spoken word all rolled into one. I couldn’t recommend the event more, especially to those in the younger demographic who might be unfamiliar with the medium.
Beeston Tales takes place every month at The White Lion in Beeston. Check out their website below for more details
Beeston Tales website
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