The Settle Stories Festival will return in April, on its 7th year, to Settle (North Yorkshire), this time featuring a giant 50-foot whale and a splash of technology in telling stories.It starts on 6th April and ends on 8th April (Friday to Sunday) featuring the theme – technology. Various technologoes will be featured to tell stories. The inflatable whale in Settle Market Place, will be running a free shows of 30mins by Circo-Rum-Ba-Ba Theatre Company, in the “belly” of the whale
Charles Tyler, the communication and event s manager of the festival, said the festival has many events and artists of high quality, generally targeted at adults, but has big family events too. Thanks to a grant of £900 from Settle Town Council plus the Settle Stories Christmas Raffle raising £900, families and young people at the festival get free events, said the manager. He added that they work with North Yorkshire Children and families Services and the local schools, to ensure the young get access to great art.
An adopted telephone box, the Listening Gallery , on Duke Street, get people to dial on a vintage phone a number, to listen to a story. ‘A Machine They Are Secretly Building’, an edgy political show by Prto-type Theatre, on Friday, is the first theatre performance of the festival. The Queen and the Jester, a big family highlight on 7th Aprril, Saturday, will be preformed by Keith Donnelly and Ursula Holden Gill.
‘Even In Wartime Children Play’ – a play fusing visual effects with sonic art and poetry, will be featured on Saturday,. Also find Ana Maria Lines, the Brazilian storyteller, performing and the WiFi game show by Steve McNel,the comedian. Highlights for Sunday (8 April) include the ‘Bird Fell From The Sky’, a goggles experience, retelling of ‘Midsummer Night’s Dream’ by 2 Magpies and a how – Hip Hop Griot, by Alim Kamara.
Families and kids can follow a trail, Swim In The Deep, running around shops here, inspired by the book -The Snail and the Whale. There’s also a teddy-bears picnic, based on the Jack and the Beanstalk story. The Settle Stories Festival has tickets available online (settlestories.org.uk) and many free events that will attract children and families.
