Theater: Last Chance to See "Iron-Brow and Thorn-Coat" in 2019! (Glastonbury, UK)

LAST PERFORMANCE IS THIS WEEK: OCTOBER 24th!

Hedgespoken is a traveling storytelling theater-caravan that converts the home of artist pair Rima Staines and Tom Hirons to a performance place. They take their show on the literal road and are about to have their last show of Iron-Brow and Thorn-Coat for 2019. This show has quickly sold out in many locations so if you are local to Glastonbury, go grab your tickets HERE RIGHT NOW! (We dearly wish we could do this!) 

Hedgespoken performances and events have grown to be the stuff of legend, with Rima and Tom (and their sons) living a mythic traveling life, using traditional storytelling with fairy tales, folklore, performance, puppetry and live music.. combining many artforms, all while living sustainably.

Here's the publicity statement for their show Iron-Brow and Thorn-Coat:

When the sea-foam is red at the end of the Earth, only then will you see me again – until then you will wander the earth and all that you touch will turn to iron… 

Once upon a time, there was a forest...

In the forest, strange changes can take place. There may be kings and queens and princesses and witches, and common folk going about their business, not to mention all the animals. A lot is going on. Love can be found, and lost, and found again. There’s talk of the farthest sea, of a desert of fire beyond the forest, but these are probably just rumours... 

Once upon a time, there was a forest...

A curious hedgehog with high hopes and his iron-browed bride journey to the ends of the Earth. Will they find true love and happiness, or witches and dragon-flames? Beyond a limitless ocean, a woman covered in moss begs for forgiveness, while under a crone’s stone doorstep, two toads endure winter for love’s sake. 

**  **  **  ** 

IRON-BROW AND THORN-COAT is our retelling of a classic Lithuanian folk-tale. Steeped in old magic and half-familiar memories, this is a beguiling tale of magical transformation, love, betrayal and endurance, featuring puppets and masks designed by Rima, plus foolery and traditional storytelling, accompanied by exquisite multi-instrumental music and song. 

Suitable for ages 5+ (it's very much not just for kids, though!)
Duration - approx 1hr 15mins

If you're wondering about the fairy tale Hedgespoken are basing their show on, here's a little more information. The title Iron-Brow and Thorn-Coat is wonderfully evocative, and typical of how Hedgespoken can draw the magic out of the simplest phrase. The original title of this Lithuanian fairy tale is The Hedgehog and His Bride. At first it seems to be a funny and straight-forward little fairy tale about a transformed-to-hedgehog curse, but then, right about where you would expect the fairy tale to end (happily), the interesting part begins. Throw in an iron-curse, some East of the Sun West of the Moon, some Tam Lin, some brooms and some toads and you have quite an atypical fairy tale (compared to those popular in Western tradition, at least). 

Here are some teasers from the text, but you can be sure that Hedgespoken, making the character of Iron-Brow the center of the story will take you on an intriguing journey before and well beyond this.

(From Fairy-Tales.parnas in the Lithuanian fairy tales in English, section):

"And before I go I will put a magic spell on you: whatever you touch will turn to iron."
Off he went beyond the far seas, leaving his young wife behind him, and whatever she touched was at once covered with a thick coat of iron. She touched her legs and they turned to iron. She passed her hand forgetfully over her forehead and her forehead turned to iron, too. This was a harsh punishment indeed and (she) suffered cruelly and wept because of it.
Cursing her lot and moving her feet with difficulty, she came to the house of the old broom-maker...

You can read the whole tale HERE but we recommend you not doing so if you're planning on seeing the show, either now or in the future. (If you do, you will have to prove you are not a robot to enter the site.) There are obviously spoilers, and while Hedgespoken will still make anything expected magical, the twists in the story, if you're not familiar with them, are pretty wonderful and we can only imagine how much fun Tom and Rima have had putting together this enchanting show. (Look at those puppets in progress!)

Fairy tale theater ad storytelling is always wonderful to see. It's extra wonderful when it's done extremely well and captures a mythic quality in the process. It's even more special when a lesser-known fairy tale takes center stage and enchants a modern audience. It makes you wonder how this tale got forgotten in the first place. Perhaps by re-naming The Hedgehog and His Bride, the fairy tale of Iron-Brow and Thorn-Coat will have finally completed its journey and transformed from forgotten and obscure, to fresh and magical, along with strains of "I've heard of that one!"

We know that there is much power in a name...

Thank you Hedgespoken for using all your many quality skills to bring back the arts and tales, to help us find roots and grow into a better future.

About Hedgespoken (from their website):

Storyteller, mask-maker and writer Tom Hirons and internationally-respected artist, puppeteer and musician Rima Staines tell tales and spark imaginations from the Hedgespoken truck wherever they can, from busy festivals and family camps to quiet laybys and secluded forests.

Hedgespoken specialise in retelling East European and British folktales and also stories from the wide world of the Traveller and Gypsy communities.

Note: All images in this post are from Hedgespoken's promotional materials.

Juliet Marillier Retells "East of the Sun, West of the Moon" in Audible Exclusive "Beautiful"

Yes - you read correctly: this is an ears-only story!

Most fairy tale fans have heard of Juliet Marillier. Ever since meeting Sorcha in the first book of the Sevenwaters series, Daughter of the Forest, still many folks' favorite retelling of The Wild Swans, she's been an author who guarantees a fresh, folklore-based and well-researched take on any fairy tale she puts her pen to.

This time she's tackled the popular Norwegian fairy tale, East of the Sun, West of the Moon, and, true to form, the narrator isn't someone you'd suspect.

Marillier's look at the beloved tale is told from the perspective of one of the players in the story who was taken advantage of, then unceremoniously left behind as the main couple "get their Happily Ever After".

Here's the description:

Illustration by Anton Lomaev for the novel East, written by Edith Pattou

With the Nordic fairy tale East of the Sun and West of the Moon as her inspiration, Juliet Marillier weaves a magical story of a young princess' search for her true self.
Hulde is a queen's daughter and lives in a palace. But her life is lonely. Growing up atop the glass mountain, she knows only her violent and autocratic mother and a household of terrified servants.

Then a white bear named Rune comes to visit, and Hulde learns what kindness is.

But the queen has a plan for Hulde. When she turns 16, she will wed the most beautiful man in all the world. Hulde has never met her intended husband, and her mother refuses to explain the arrangement. Hulde becomes desperate to find out more and seeks the help of a magic mirror. Perhaps someone is coming to her rescue.

On her wedding day, Hulde's existence is turned upside down. For the first time she leaves the glass mountain behind, setting out to be as brave as the heroines in her beloved storybook.

The journey will test Hulde to the limit. Can she overcome her fears and take control of her own life?

Marillier posted this little insight on her personal blog:

East of the Sun, West of the Moon by Bev Johnson

Beautiful (the novel) is in three parts. Part one follows the pattern of the fairy tale, though the central character is not the white bear prince or the intrepid young woman who travels east of the sun and west of the moon to save him from a curse. Our narrator, whom I named Hulde, only had a bit-part in that original story. The novel-length version takes Hulde way out of her comfort zone as she heads off into the unknown world beyond the glass mountain, to find out what it means to make your own story. I really loved writing this book and I hope readers will enjoy it too. It has adventures and catastrophes and a dragon. Beautiful is suitable for both adult and young adult readers.  

One reviewer, Steff (Mogsy) at Bibliosanctum, had some interesting things to add about the book, which made us more inclined to consider taking the time to listen:

Hulde is what you would call the bit-parter, the forgotten one. Not the bold and indomitable heroine, nor the girl who gets the guy, she is in fact the troll princess, the quiet and unassuming daughter of the power-hungry Troll Queen. Marillier has described Hulde as “rather hard done by” in the original tale, so her novel was a chance to explore the character and her viewpoint in more detail. The first part of Beautiful tells of her childhood high in the mountain castle, growing up under the thumb of her temperamental and ambitious mother. Hulde is told that when she reaches age sixteen, she will be married to the most handsome prince in the land, though having been sheltered and isolated all her life, our protagonist isn’t really sure what to make of that. Her only friend—and the only one she’s ever had those kinds of feelings for—is Rune, the kindly white bear who only visits the castle every three years. 

Well, knowing the gist of the original fairy tale, you can probably guess what became of that relationship and how Hulde took it. Hard done by, indeed. After the introduction, I began to better understand the author’s fascination for the forgotten troll princess’ role in the story as well as her motivation to come up with the next chapter for her character, and I was glad to see that parts two and three of Beautiful did just that. Following Hulde after she finally steps out from the shadow of her mother, this book chronicles the epic journey of her self-discovery.

While Marillier did publish a novella-length version in the Aurum anthology late last year, this story, released in May 2019, is novel-length, and clocks in at 7+ hours of listening time. To date, if you want the whole story, this audiobook exclusive is the only way to go. (We hope that changes in the future!)

You can have a sample listen at Amazon HERE or at Audible HERE. It's free with a 30-day trial of Audible.

'East of the Sun, West of the Moon'-Inspired Designs Walk on Water for Fendi's 90th Anniversary

Note:

At this time of great tension, immediately prior to the 2016 US election, we've decided rather than dwell on those anxieties, that we'd focus on beauty - call it eye candy, if you will - but either way, it lifts the soul and reminds us not all the world is an ugly place right now. Our posting will likely be a little sparse or very brief, over the coming week as things unfold and, hopefully, resolve, but we believe in the power of beauty and stories to ground people and aim to make the world a better place, and we will continue to be here to note it as we can. 

For all those US citizens who can vote, please do that: vote, no matter which side you lean toward, and please choose wisely: think of the future of your/our children, and of the world. You are choosing the future for more than one country and more than one people. It's that important.

In the meantime, we assume there is no real deciding left to be done, only to wait for the polls to open, so let's think on lovely and inspiring things.

“In my wildest imagination, I never thought something like this could exist,” he mused in a pre-show conversation. “To do this on a crystal bridge over the most famous fountain in the world? If that’s not a fairy tale, I don’t know what a fairy tale is.” (CREATIVE DIRECTOR, CHANEL, FENDI - KARL LAGERFELD)

Rome's famous Trevi fountain, after a one and a half year $2.4 million rehab, recently added to its already existing fairy tale status by becoming the stage for Fendi's 90th anniversary Legends and Fairy Tales Collection debut. A crystal-like walkway was built right over the water, (out of plexi-glass) and the models, walking on the water (yes - ON), told Fendi's own spin of East of the Sun, West of the Moon, in the procession of Kay Nielsen inspired wearable art over the evening.

The collection spun its own tale: a princess journeying from day to night, the colour palette darkening as she travelled further into the woods. Consistent throughout was the subtle application of Fendi’s extraordinary craftsmanship, the way, for instance, an insect’s wings illuminated by sunlight were duplicated in a tiny clutch of feathers, or the flowers around the hem of an organza dress had petals of mink. (Business of Fashion)

"It is an extraordinary experience to see East of the Sun and West of the Moon take on a totally new life in the hands of Karl Lagerfeld at Fendi, and it's an absolute delight to see how the images so directly inspired his breathtaking 90th anniversary show," stated editor Noel Daniel. "The artistry and craftsmanship and love behind each flower, each branch, each hue of sky is unbelievable. The tales have proved yet again to be eternally inspiring." (dexigner)

The inspiration began with the recent TASCHEN release of Kay Nielsen's beautiful illustrations and developed from there.

It all started with an early 20th century edition of East of the Sun, West of the Moon, a Norwegian fairy tale with pictures by the famous children’s book illustrator Kay Nielsen, which Lagerfeld found at his friend Sandy Brant’s place. His curiosity was piqued. “This was something from the North, we were making a fur collection, and the pictures were something in between art nouveau and art deco,” he explained. (It was also, coincidentally, an era when the designer liked the way fashion used fur, as opposed to later decades when everything got much too heavy for him.) “So we asked the estate for permission to use them.” And that is how Nielsen’s illustrations came to be reproduced in a minutely-intarsia-ed mink coat, or embroidered on a flowing empire-line gown then re-appliqued with fur and organza. (Contemporary artists Katy Bailey and Charlotte Gastaut also contributed ideas.) (Business of Fashion)

Lagerfeld explained, “I called the show Legends and Fairy Tales, because it’s a collection that doesn’t relate to everybody like ready-to-wear, this is very special for people who have a special kind of life”. (hausmag)

We didn't report on this back in July during the event and, frankly, fashion is a little difficult to keep track of, as fairy tales are commonly linked with fashion, and it's almost always possible to find a connection. While that's historically been the trend, one could argue it's more so the case today, with much more emphasis on a theatrical and 'transportive' presentation of themed collections.

Today, while themed collections often tell stories through their clothes and construction, the runway shows themselves are no longer just platforms for models to parade the designs, but are expected to build an atmosphere of fantasy and of a different world. It's not uncommon, even, for these stages to be specially built to specific design specifications, just like a theater set, but to involve mechanics and moving parts, revealing either the paths to be trod or the models, acting as the 'prelude' to the show, or story, being modeled in the wearable art that follows.

We greatly recommend you look at this incredibly artful behind-the-scenes video, showing the design and construction process right through to the show. It's short but leaves us wanting much more in terms of the tales hinted at in the seams. We are seriously considering keeping this little wonder-peek for our fairy tale library and future inspiration:

Fendi Legends and Fairy Tales : Backstage from Simone Campanella - Videoblitz on Vimeo.

This video is enough to make us seriously consider a change in vocation!

We'll leave you with more lovely designs reflecting Nielsen's inspiring fairy tale illustrations. (We're guessing you won't mind the few overlaps necessary to show you the range of the collection.)

              
              
              

Forest Rogers Wins Gold Spectrum Award!

Venetian Harpy  by Forest Rogers

The 22nd Spectrum Awards (for science fiction and fantasy art in all mediums) were recently held and one of my favorite fairy tale illustrators and sculptors, Forest Rogers, won a gold award in the Dimensional category, for her stunning and amazing Venetian Harpy (see above).

Congratulations Forest!!

Note: I should also mention that Scott Gustafson, who has illustrated many a fairy tale picture book, received the Grand Master Award!

Though Forest Rogers doesn't exclusively work on fairy tale subjects she has made, and continues to create, many memorable fairy tale-based pieces, and from little bits I pick up around social media, she's looking at continuing/completing the Vasilissa illustrations she began many years ago (before she got into sculpting) and, off and on, has been researching The Crane Wife, as she'd apparently like to create a sculpture based on the Japanese fairy tale as well. (!!)

Below are some of her other fairy tale works to date, and perhaps you can see why I love her work so.

Baba Yaga

Baba Yaga's Hut

Vasilissa with her mother's doll

Baba Yaga (still being dressed) & Vasilissa

Baba Yaga, Vasilissa and the Chicken-Legged Hut together

Snow Maiden as she melts

Banshee

Yuki Ona - snow spirit

East of the Sun (inspired by Kay Neilsen's illustration)

East of the Sun (2nd sculpt)

Swan child in progress

Hans Andersen's Little Mermaid

Silvershod (aka Silver Hoof) & his friend Cat (Russian tale)

Red Riding Hood in progress

Red Riding Hood & Wolf
(Something about this evokes Perrault and Dore and other early illustrated versions of LRRH to me.)

Vasiliss'a Mother gives her a doll before she passes away

Vaslissa enters Baba Yaga's forest

Baba Yaga tasks Vasilissa with impossible tasks

Vaslissa talks to her doll (and the doll talks back)

Baba Yaga in a rage

One of the horsemen Vasilissa sees on her journey

 You can see much more of Forest Roger's work on her website HERE and follow her on Facebook HERE and Twitter HERE. She also has a great set of boards on Pinterest HERE.