TALES OF BRITAIN: ORIGINAL PITCH

As told by Brother Bernard, to Jem Roberts

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TALES OF BRITAIN is an exciting road atlas of ancient British stories retold for the 21st century, with tourist guides. This unique multimedia celebration of the British story treasury comprises a book series, anarchic live show, podcast/audiobook, app, games, and many other potential things, but first and foremost, it is a campaign, to revive Britain's tales for a new generation – support the campaign today by ordering the book online or in the shops! The official press release can be downloaded HERE.

    The campaign began because of the difficulty of finding books which bring together the ancient stories of England, Scotland, Wales and the Isles, and particularly any that aim, above all, to entertain the largest audience possible. There are lots of localised anthologies and expensive academic works, mythology-based books which remain ghetto-ised as ‘Special Interest’. But in a time of Brexit-based disunity, we believe that one thing which has always brought the people of this island together is our shared culture, and particularly our national treasury of tales, which have been retold afresh for each generation.

     Each one of the 77 stories to be found in TALES OF BRITAIN – from the folktales of Dick Whittington, Robin Hood and King Arthur to heroes who deserve to be better known, like Mollie Whuppie, Tristan & Isolde and Jack O’Kent – has been forged in performance to find the 21st century retelling to suit today’s audience, no matter what their age, gender, sexuality or creed. Some tales are moving, some bawdy, some downright weird, but above all, they have been retold with a crucial sense of anarchic fun, while restoring the true root of every legend in a way which should appeal to every Briton, whether first generation or thousandth – or indeed, lovers of great stories all around the world, of British descent or not. What the Grimms did for German folklore, TALES OF BRITAIN does for the British – with the added bonus that each story is rooted in the landscape, and so a tourist guide is provided for every tale, encouraging everyone to visit the places where each story ‘really happened’.

     This is not just a book, but a movement, to revive and celebrate Britain’s shared culture, in a time of political uncertainty – and to have a lot of laughs with it, too. Thanks to the enthusiastic support of #FolkloreThursday and an ever-growing online community of compassionate progressive patriots and story lovers, TALES OF BRITAIN is available to buy now, both online and in the shops – though you may have to order in the latter. Please do, because then more people will discover our national treasury of tales!

     Buy the book, come to a show, and generally join the campaign today! You will be in good company, given our kind patrons so far…

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