London Dreamtime Story Co-op: Re-enchant the City.

Oral storytelling is one of the most ancient and powerful art forms in the world. It's also great fun!

In 2019, London had a thriving oral storytelling scene with clubs, cafes, events and collectives. Now Covid restrictions have lifted, London's many diverse storytellers are ready to bring enchantment, wonder, connection and community back in real life.  But the pandemic left a heavy legacy of problems. Help us overcome them and regrow grassroots storytelling.

The problems...

• Almost all regular storytelling clubs are 'paused', closed or moved online.
• Live venues have closed or are more expensive to hire. 
• Many people still need reassurance about attending live events
• Performer, audience or crew may have to cancel at the last minute.
• Listings magazines (like Time Out) have changed so it's harder to get listed and seen.
• Storytellers, artists and audiences are tired, stressed and often under financial pressure.

We have never needed the healing power and magic of stories more!

Our dream:

 The Story Co-Operative. A generous event with telling, learning and being enchanted by stories which is 100% FREE to attend. A RELIABLE Sunday afternoon space. A HUB for storytelling in London, and a model for similar spaces in the city and across the UK.

Who benefits?

A city which is longing for beauty, connection and magic!

• Storytellers looking to build their audience, learn new tales, improve their skills. 
• Listeners who want to hear different voices and stories, find out about world folklore, meet and network or just bathe in the enchanted waters.

But it's NOT JUST FOR  ATTENDEES:

• We will nurture grassroots audiences for storytelling across London
• Encourage story-lovers to explore and experience more.
• Promote every London storytelling event, show, book launch, exhibition, course and club we can find
• Grow our city's storytelling ecosystem so that it's stronger in a years time
• Create a stable dependable hub.

rewards:

more about the practicialities of the project below, but before we go any further we would like to tell you about the BADGES, BOOKS, STORIES, COACHING, CAKE and ART which have been generously donated by our supporters. Here's just a tiny selection of photos:

Practicalities:

A once-a-month event. 

Open mic performance with a mix of experienced and beginner storytellers, plus...

Informal coaching, networking, a £2 bookshop, news and announcements. 

We hope to showcase (and pay) a diverse array of professional storytellers to perform longer sets.

• REGULAR for a whole year. With rules and plans changing all the time we need an event which will be dependable.
• SOCIABLE, welcoming and a good laugh. 
• DIVERSE as the city is diverse.
• FREE at the point of delivery (like the NHS!) People's mental health and earning capacity has been affected by the last two years. We don't want cost to be a barrier. 

The facilitator will be Vanessa Woolf a very experienced storyteller and story promoter.

Where is it?

The beautiful hall above the Electric Elephant Cafe SE17 in Elephant and Castle zone 1. 

How we will spend your donation:

The money will pay a base-rate for the venue and for an organiser to plan, host and promote the event for 12 months giving us the support we need to be a springboard for storytelling in London.

Any donations above our target would: 

• Help us continue for longer than a year meaning more stability.
• Pay guest storytellers to bring their magic and showcase the diverse styles and cultures within the storytelling world
• Buy technical support to create a live audio broadcast so people can experience our stories across the UK (leading to more accessibility).

Feedback from our similar events in 2021:

"A truly magical evening of telling.  My first trip out for a live event in well over a year.  Four tellers performing with their own unique style, and in perfect compliment with each other.  Just what the doctor ordered.  More please!!”  Andy Grazebrook (audience)

"I had such a wonderful evening. I’d forgotten how magical it is listening to stories outside. It was restorative for me, calming, healing. I’m not just saying that, it really struck me at the time how healing storytelling is. A truly wonderful experience" Hannah Need (professional storyteller)

London's storytelling eco-system needs a boost, help us make it happen!

*Accessibility is very important to us. The cafe has a disabled toilet in Pullens yards, (a few metres from the cafe) and there is a ramp and access to the downstairs where the stories will be on a live feed. We are looking at another nearby space too and are consulting with people who have disabilities. We are keen to apply any adjustments we can to makinge the venue more accessible and we welcome your ideas.