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Lindworm, The

Sound recording, story, The Lindworm, a wonder tale and birth tale from Sweden, told by Hugh Lupton, in a performance by The Company of Storytellers, at the Third International Storytelling Festival, in The Purcell Room at the The South Bank Centre, London, 22nd November 1989.

Music by all three performers, followed by story by Hugh Lupton. A King and Queen are childless. The Queen asks the advice of a henwife, who tells her to bathe in spring water; then peel and eat the two fruits she finds in the room, and she will have 2 golden haired twins. She does so, but forgets to peel 7 layers of skin from one of the fruits before eating it, as instructed. When she gives birth she first gives birth to a worm, which the midwife throws out of the window. Then she gives birth to a golden haired baby boy. The midwife is sworn to silence. The son comes of age and goes to seek a wife, but meets a huge worm, the eldest son, who demands the first bride. The King and Queen organise a wedding, but the worm devours his wife. This occurs again, so the King and Queen decide to find him a women who 'does not matter'. They find a shepherd's daughter, who goes to the henwife for advice. The shepherd's daughter asks for 7 blouses in her trouso, and a bucket of lime, scrubbing brushes and a bath of milk in the bridal suite. After the wedding the shepherd's daughter takes off her 7 blouses one by one, and at the same time asks the worm to remove his skins one by one. When they are both naked, she scrubs the naked worm with lime until she reveals a man and then bathes him in milk. The next morning the King and Queen find their first son in the arms of the shepherd's daughter and younger son is then free to find himself a bride.

audience:- adult
    recording quality
condition:- fair
completeness:- complete
duration:- 0 hours, 18 minutes, 39 seconds

The Company of Storytellers at that time comprised Ben Haggarty, Hugh Lupton and Sally Pomme Clayton.

The Company of Storytellers (C.O.S.T) was formed in March/April 1985 with the expressed aim of performing storytelling for adult audiences. C.O.S.T was actually formed during a tour in East Anglia by Sally Pomme Clayton, Hugh Lupton and Ben Haggarty. The official launch of COST was in 1986 at Common Stock Theatre, London. At this point the members of C.O.S.T were Sally Pomme Clayton, TUUP, Ben Haggarty, Daisy Keable, Hugh Lupton. However TUUP and Daisy Keable did not remain in the group and it is as a trio of storytellers, Ben Haggarty, Hugh Lupton and Sally Pomme Clayton, that C.O.S.T is publicly known. C.O.S.T was disbanded in 1999, but periodically reforms to perform the Three Snake Leaves. The two seminal pieces developed and performed by C.O.S.T were The Three Snake Leaves and I Become Part of It.

Having directed the First International Storytelling festival at Battersea Arts Centre in 1985 and the Second International Storytelling Festival at Watermans Arts Centre in 1987, Ben Haggarty was approached by Ruth McKenzie and the poet Joe Shapcott to Direct a third festival in the series. In 1989 The Third International Storytelling Festival took place at The Southbank Centre, London, and ran for 15 days from 11th to the 25th November. It also had an extensive national touring component that took storytellers to 12 regional venues. The Arts Council subsidised it with a £10,000 grant. The Festival management was undertaken by an agency called the Arts Business. The whole event was under the aegis of the Literature Department, (Lead Officer, Maura Dooley). The festival programme included performances for adult audiences, and school sessions. It was in response to the programming needs for this festival that Ben Haggarty founded and launched the Crick Crack Club, to provide a place where UK based storytellers could develop their repertoire and performance skills for adult audiences.

storytelling:- storytelling group: The Company of Storytellers

storytelling:- storyteller; musician: Hugh Lupton
male / British / English / Welsh

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

storytelling:- storyteller; musician: Sally Pomme Clayton
female / British

origin:- Sweden


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biography for Ben Haggarty printed in festival programme

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biography for Sally Pomme Clayton printed in festival programme

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biography for Hugh Lupton printed in festival programme

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festival poster

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festival programme front cover

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festival programme page 1 showing staff list

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festival programme page 2 showing acknowledgments

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festival programme page 4 showing quite from Heinrich Zimmer

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festival programme page 5 showing introduction

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festival programme page 6 showing image

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festival programme pages 7 to 12 showing interview with Peter Brook

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festival programme page 13 showing advertisment

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festival programme page 14 showing list of regional events associated with the festival

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festival programmes pages 15 to 24 showing artist biographies

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festival programme page 25 showing advertisments

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festival programme page 26 showing a reading list

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festival programme page 27 showing an advertisment for 'Word of Mouth' a Channel 4 Television programme about storytelling in the UK

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festival programme page 28 showing advertisment and a quote from C.S Lewis

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festival programme back cover showing an Irish saying or poem.

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programming & administration:- programmer; Festival Artistic Director: Ben Haggarty
administrator: The Arts Business
administrator: Alan Giddings
administrator: Richard Crosslands
production manager: Eddy Smith
production assistant: Hugh Lupton
production assistant: Sally Pomme Clayton
production assistant: Tom O'Reilly
production assistant: Daniel Morden


storytelling:- London, England: The South Bank Centre: The Purcell Room
22 Nov 1989
festival: The Third International Storytelling Festival
festival: The 1989 International Storytelling Festival


gift from:- storytelling group: The Company of Storytellers


©  The London Centre for International Storytelling: 2007
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