Date & Time
Wed Aug 09 2023 at 05:30 pm to 07:30 pm
Location
Westminster Abbey, 20 Deans Yd, London, United Kingdom
About the event
Tales of Sacred Nature
Join us in our story tent for a curated series of outdoor storytelling events designed for adult audiences.
About this Event
Wednesday Night Stories
Tonight’s Theme Tales of Sacred Nature
Olivia untangles the myths and magical folklore of thorns and the mysterious Thorney Island.
Jumana looks to a selection of stories from Muslim traditions that connect us with creation & the Oneness that echoes through it, stories that invite us to listen, feel – and read the Universe. Veiled with concrete & tarmac; constrained by rigid work routines, commitments & lack of resources, how do most of us find & nurture our relationships with nature? What does nature have to tell us anyway about the Divine, about ourselves and what ties us all together?
Come and join us for an enchanting evening of storytelling in Dean’s Yard. Sit back, relax, and let our talented storytellers captivate you with their words. Bring your friends, family, or even a date for a night filled with imagination and wonder. Picnic blankets and refreshments encouraged.
Don’t miss out on this unique opportunity to immerse yourself in the power of storytelling in historic Dean’s Yard.
Meet the Storytellers
Jumana Moon
Jumana is a traditional storyteller with a great love of stories of all kinds, they are, she says, ‘her favourite things’. Jumana has a particular passion for stories from her Islamic faith, stories from both sacred text and the rich tradition of folklore, wisdom tales and stories from devotional poetry. Jumana particularly collects and works with stories that centre women’s voices & experience and our relationship with nature. Jumana enjoys working in collaboration with other storytellers, musicians & poets as well as solo projects. She tells in schools, universities, gatherings, festivals and at a wide range of cultural and community events across the UK and beyond. Jumana works with both traditional and personal narratives in workshops for children & adults and also works as a child psychotherapist, using play & mixed arts media. Based in east London, her happiest pastime is to wander the marshes & wetlands along the Lea Valley or her favourite parts of Epping Forest. Jumana co founded and co runs ‘Stowtellers’, a monthly storytelling club in north-east London. She believes that story & creativity are essential for understanding ourselves, each other and the world around us.
Olivia Armstrong
Olivia has twenty years’ experience creating and telling stories for many major names in the heritage and cultural sector. Whether it is bringing to life the biography of Leonardo Da Vinci alongside dancers and choreographers for Masterpieces of Motion at Windsor Castle, exploring the history of witchcraft at the Ashmolean Museum’s Spellbound exhibition, telling stories about the rivalry between the artists Michelangelo and Sebastiano at the National Gallery or telling Irish folktales for London’s St Patrick’s Day celebration in Trafalgar Square, her stories explore folklore, nature, the seasons and the magic of being alive.
Olivia has previously curated and hosted adult storytelling evenings on-board Cutty Sark, and is currently storyteller in residence at West Horsley Place. You are as likely to discover her telling stories in the middle of Richmond Park as she you are to come across her leading storytelling workshops for the British Library. Her first book, The Birds’ Christmas, is due to be published by Starry Forest Books in 2024.
Olivia Armstrong
Jumana Moon