Fairytales for Grown-ups: The Homing Stone

Arthur Ransome is best known as the author of Swallows and Amazons. What is less well known is that as a young man he went to Russia as a journalist, was swept into the maelstrom of the Revolution, and became a spy! During the 6 years he lived in Moscow he collected a rich mass of fairytales, played chess with Lenin, and fell in love with Trotsky's secretary, Evgenia Shelepina.

Weaving together history, legend, and grown-up fairytale, Hugh Lupton's Praise Song for his great uncle tells of the extraordinary story of Arthur and Evgenia’s escape through Estonia on horse and cart - with a stone from Peel Island on Lake Coniston in Arthur's pocket, and the knowledge that if caught, they would both be shot.

As the boundaries between fairytale and reality twist and fade, our various heroes put their faith in a talking horse, a utopian future, and the power of a stone talisman to get them home.

For ages 14+

Bar open at 19:00

Content: This performance contains descriptions of threat, violence and decapitation contextualised within a paradigm of mythic narrative, archetype, and metaphor.

50 mins+50 mins plus interval

HUGH LUPTON Widely acclaimed throughout the UK as the master of poetic storytelling, Hugh tells stories from many cultures, but his passion is for the hidden layers of the British landscape and the stories and ballads that give voice to them. An award winning performer and writer, he has collaborated widely with singers and musicians and other performers.

In 2005, he won the Classical Association prize for ‘the most significant contribution to the public understanding of the classics’ with Daniel Morden. His first novel, based on the life of poet John Clare, was published in 2010 and his song ‘One in a Million’ (co-written with Chris Wood) won the BBC 2 folk awards for ‘Original Song of the Year’ 2005.

Tickets to the livestream performance of this event are available here.