Torstaina menin nähdä tarinankerronta suorituskyky nimeltään Tuli pohjoisessa taivaalla. I really hope that Google Translate has been kind to me...if you happen to speak Finnish and have just been offended, I’m awfully sorry! What I was trying to say was that on Thursday I went to see a storytelling performance called Fire in the North Sky. It certainly was something a bit different, with ancient Finnish poems being sung, stories being told simply but fearsomely and an array of intriguing instruments. It was dynamic, furious, gentle, magical and it really got me thinking... Storytelling is ancient. People have used it throughout history to communicate to each other – Aesop used fables, Jesus told parables, Hans Christian Anderson spoke through tales of princesses, peas and ducklings! There is something about a story which reaches all ages. I wonder what that something is. Is it imagination’s liberty? Escaping to a land of make-believe? Or perhaps the lessons we learn about reality? On Thursday it was magical to listen - to shut up, switch off and just listen. Storytelling still goes on around us left, right and centre in our everyday lives, but it feels a bit like it always involves watching a screen. Though not to diminish facial expressions, body language or dramatic lighting (all of which were incredible last night), what really struck me was the power of sound. Music, noises, singing and spoken words. The instruments were amazing. It was the most alternative drum kit I’ve ever seen, made up of antlers, bells, keys, even teaspoons! (It looked like something from a Finnish Alice in Wonderland.) There were strings, shakers and wooden flutes. I was taken back to my primary school days of playing Jingle Bells and Mary Had a Little Lamb at recorder club, except these wind instruments sounded infinitely more tuneful and less like a strangled cat than I used to! As the room was dark, the lights glowed warmly, and the flute danced up and down melodies effortlessly, I felt as though I was having tea at Mr Tumnus’ house. It wasn’t all soft and gentle; I feel sorry for whoever was sat downstairs, as a full on Finnish storm was breaking out and bears were being released above them. We probably weren’t the quietest neighbours! Some of the sounds created were uncomfortable, threatening and like controlled shrieks. To be honest, I was so impressed that a human could produce such incredibly high pitched noises. I don’t know how they did it; it is so difficult. (Not that I tried it myself when no-one else was in the room or anything...Ahem!) Through sound, tension was created, icy winds blew, waters rushed, people died, fell in love, were hurt, and stories were told. I didn’t need to see anything. I could just listen...something I really should do more.
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AuthorMegan Kate Chester Archives
June 2017
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