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Nature Cannot be Changed

Sound recording, story; Nature Cannot be Changed, a folk tale, told by Daisy Keable, a member of The West London Storytelling Unit, at the ninth West London Storytelling Unit Clubnight entitled The Feast of Heart's Tongue, at Common Stock Theatre, Hammersmith, London, 19th February 1984

Story told by Daisy Keable. A story about a rabbit and monkey who irritate one another with their respective habits of head twitching and scratching. They begin a competition in which both will sit still, but find it impossible, so agree to tell one another stories which allow them to twitch and scratch through the gestures they use. Followed by an explanation by Ben Haggarty as to why the clubnight has been entitled The Feast of Heart's Tongue.

audience:- adult; contributing storytellers
    recording quality
condition:- fair
completeness:- complete
duration:- 0 hours, 4 minutes, 1 seconds

The West London Storytelling Unit Clubnights or The Storytelling Unit Clubnights were begun by Ben Haggarty, TUUP and Daisy Keable in 1982 shortly after beginning to work together as the West London Storytelling Unit (W.L.S.T.U). They took place on roughly a fortnightly basis during the atumn and winter months, in community centres in Acton, Shepherds Bush and Hammersmith. The clubnights were an opportunity for anyone to come and tell a story, or perform music on the condition that it had a toe-hold in tradition. The performance of original poetry and the reading of original writing was actively discouraged as there were plenty of other fora for 'new writing' elsewhere in London. In 2007 Ben Haggarty explained that the clubnight format was in part inspired by the College of Storytellers, but with the aim of doing something less bourgeois, for a younger audience and which was not dominated by Idries Shah's mission to promote his vision of Sufi storytelling. The clubnights also took inspiration from the anarchy of the London Musicians Collective clubnight events in Camden. The clubnights led Ben Haggarty to inaugurate the First UK International Storytelling Festival at Battersea Arts Centre in London in January 1985. After the 1985 festival a few further clubnights were run, before ending in 1986. The clubnights were superseded by the formation of the Company of Storytellers who pioneered the touring of adult evening shows throughout the UK, and by the formation of the Crick Crack Club in 1987, which focused on the programming and development of professional storytellers, their performance skills and their repertoire for adult audiences.

The West London Storytelling Unit (W.L.S.T.U), was founded in 1981, by members Ben Haggarty, Godfrey Duncan and Daisy Keable and based in an Afro-Caribbean Youth Centre, the Priory in Acton. The members worked together and as solo artists, telling stories mainly in school and community contexts in London. Over time performances for adults also began to be developed. In 1983 W.L.S.T.U became The Storytelling Unit with Marva Cumberbatch, Pomme Clayton, Daisy Keable. In or around 1985 Daisy Keable and Marva Cumberbatch left the Storytelling Unit, at which point Ben Haggarty rejoined and worked with Sally Pomme Clayton for a brief period before the group was disbanded. The increased interest and demand for storytelling performance for adults led to the formation of The Company of Storytellers in 1985.

storytelling:- storyteller: Daisy Keable; Georgiana Jerstad; Georgiana Keable
female / British / Norwegian / member of the West London Storytelling Unit

storytelling:- storyteller: Ben Haggarty
male / British / born 30.11.1958


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Images of clubnight events at Common Stock Theatre

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administration:- storyteller; promoter: Ben Haggarty
storyteller: Daisy Keable; Georgiana Jerstad; Georgiana Keable
storyteller; musician: TUUP; Godfrey Duncan


storytelling:- Hammersmith, London, England: Common Stock Theatre
19 Feb 1984
storytelling club: West London Storytelling Unit Clubnight
storytelling club: Clubnight 9
The Feast of Heart's Tongue


gift from:- storyteller: Ben Haggarty


©  The London Centre for International Storytelling: 2007
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