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Becoming Virgin, Tales from the Convent
a Stories about Storytelling story; Indian Mythology story; Hindu Mythology story

Sound recording, story; Becoming Virgin, Tales from the Convent, a combination of reminiscence, original tale, folk tale, wonder tale, stories about storytelling, aetiological or how and why stories, and Indian and Hindu mythology told by Sally Pomme Clayton in the Bradenstoke Hall at the Beyond the Border Festival, St Donats Art Centre, Llantwit Major, South Glamorgan, Wales, 5th July 2003

An introduction with commentary about why we tell stories, followed by a series of stories told by Sally Pomme Clayton, about her experiences in a convent school as a child, including forbidden acts, pillow fights, an account of a fellow pupil becoming ill, underwear, sex education, meeting boys and being instructed to practice their virginity by the nuns. These accounts are interspersed with traditional tales, including a story about ten wise and foolish virgins all travelling to marry the same man; a section from Indian mythology which tells of the milk maids or Gopi girls falling in love with Krishna and of Krishna stealing their clothes whilst they are bathing; the tale of two girls falling in love with two stars, but then trying to escape back to Earth; a story of Prince searching for fruit from the garden of the Virgin Queen to give to his dying father, and a story about the moon who has two lovers, one a good cook and one a good storyteller.

This performance was orginally commissioned by the Literature Department of The South Bank Centre, London.

audience:- adult
    recording quality
condition:- fair
completeness:- complete
duration:- 0 hours, 57 minutes, 19 seconds

Beyond the Border Festival was founded in 1993 by Ben Haggarty, Artistic Director of the Crick Crack Club, and David Ambrose, the then Director of St Donats Arts Centre, Wales. The Festival was founded as The Beyond the Border International Festival of Storytelling and Epic Singing, but became known simply as Beyond the Border. The festival ran from 1993 to 2006 co-directed by the two founders: with Ben Haggarty programming storytellers and David Ambrose programming musicians. Since 2007 the festival has been directed by David Ambrose. The festival is a weekend event running on the first weekend of July annually; attracting around 2,500 people from across Britain and from overseas. The festival is sited at St Donats Arts Centre and in the grounds of St Donats Castle in the Vale of Glamorgan on the South Coast of Wales. Beyond the Border was initiated as part of the UK Year of Literature in 1995. The successful bid submitted by Academi Wales, prominently featured a storytelling festival. The original Director of the UK Year of Literature was Maura Dooley, who had been at the South Bank Centre in London when Ben Haggarty ran the Third International Storytelling Festival there in 1989. Maura Dooley supported the proposal brought to her by Ben Haggarty and David Ambrose to hold an International festival and series of summer schools at St Donats Castle and to begin Beyond the Border in 1993 in order to build an audience and a core of Wales-based artists for the Year of Literature in 1995. However before the plan could be implemented Maura Dooley resigned from her post (the position was later taken by Sean Dorran). Despite this, St Donats Arts Centre was committed to the festival and Beyond the Border was launched in July 1993. The 1993, 1994 and 1995 festivals were accompanied by summer schools, which produced a number of storytellers including Megan Lloyd, Francis Maxey, Richard Berry and Michael Harvey.

storytelling:- storyteller: Sally Pomme Clayton
female / British


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Festival programme

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programming:- Festival Co-Director: Ben Haggarty
Festival Co-Director: David Ambrose


administration:- administrator: St Donats Arts Centre


storytelling:- St Donats, Llantwit Major, South Glamorgan, Wales: St Donats Art Centre: Bradenstoke Hall
05 Jul 2003
festival: Tenth Anniversary Beyond the Border Festival
Tales from the Convent Becoming Virgin


gift from:- St Donats Arts Centre


©  The London Centre for International Storytelling: 2007
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