But why?

What if Persephone knew exactly what she was getting herself into when she ate the pomegranate seeds? And why do the wolves in the forest take 'No' for an answer when the wolf in Grandmother's clothes will not? And who is this dark haired stranger with the beguiling tongue and sparkle in his eye? ~

This is a podcast about the adventurers of becoming and being a performer of an artform that is simultaneously dynamic and traditional. I'm Tim Ralphs, of Sheffield, UK. Here, I'll tell some stories. I'll talk about what I'm up to. I'll try and develop some storytellling theory. It's a place for me to experiment, lament and generally mess around.

What story do you tell to someone who doesn't speak your language? How does a blind and deaf angel find ten righteous men? What does working in a joke shop teach you about being homeless? ~

The dream is to quit my office job and wander the earth making a crust from the tales I tell. That's a long way off, a star to give us a heading rather than a destination for the journey. Along the way I need to collect a great sack of stories. I need to unlock the secrets to making a narrative come alive and captivate. And I need to learn the weird and exciting world that is the British storytelling scene.

Come with me, maybe we'll learn how to change the world or at least have a giggle in the dark place when the dew settles.

Leave feedback! Invite me to come to festivals! Discuss my work! Challenge my theory! Correct my pronunciation of Eurydice! To participate on this podcast or to commission Rabbit and Fischer e-mail me here!

Gogol's The Nose, part vi

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We are adapting, no we have adapted, Gogol's The Nose for podcast. These are incredible events, but I assure you they are true. It is the 11^th of April, and our story reaches a conclusion that is entirely satisfactory.

In this, the final episode, Zabet Stewart of The AntiCraft was the voice of reason.

Gogol's The Nose, part iii

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We are adapting Gogol's The Nose for podcast. Things lulled for a while, but the pace races on as we approach our miraculous conclusion. As I have tried to explain; this is my part three, which is the second half of Gogol's part two.

In short, Kovalev has lost his nose. He has found it again. I realise this sounds simple, but dear listener be aware of the tangled web we weave; barbers, police, a Doctor in a hat of questionable practicality, and even accusatons of witchcraft abound. Thank goodness we have Zabet Stewart of The AntiCraft and her inestimable talents.

Tomorrow, before the sun sets, I swear I will have for you the final piece of the jigsaw, the answer to the unanswerable, the concluding piece of

THE NOSE!

Gogol's The Nose, Part ii

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A litle more of Gogol's absurd story of nasal knavery. In the first part, Ivan Yakovlevitch finds a nose in a bread roll and attempts to dispose of it, only to be accosted by a constable.

Many questions linger unanswered; if Collegiate Assessor Kovalev had no nose, then how did he smell?

Enjoy, but do not allow yourself to become too excitable. It may be the 4^th of April before the next installment is up.

Gogol's The Nose, Part i

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Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol 1809 to 1852, which was too short a spell for such an interesting person to spend with us. I was reading a translation of Dead Souls and marvelling at the light, chatty tone with which Gogol wrote.

It's a shame, I thought, that Gogol died before the birth of the internet. He'd have been a great podcaster.

I will attempt to rectify this matter, and as re-animating Gogol is out of the question, (And how would we converse? I do not speak Russian.) for the next fortnight I'll run an adaptation of The Nose, an absurd and absurdist short story.

Enjoy.

Graham's Star

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For those who know where to look it is as good a time for romance as any other. And it is a very good time to introduce the work of the authors Rabbit and Fischer, who should hopefully join us regularly.

Show Notes

Music is Bach 41:ii from Lara St Johns's Bach Violin Concerto's, provided by magnatunes.

Voices belong to Sage Tyrtle and Pete Pollard.

Stories Written. Titles Provided.

"In the usual sort of way, this is a tale about people. Like most tales, it begins at the beginning and never really ends, unfolding flower-like into the memories of its readers even after the echoes of the final punctuation have long since died away. This is also a tale about a partnership; for the world loves two heads far more than one. And, because the universe has a sense of obligation about these things, one of the two was very short, and quite squat; while the other was quite tall, thin and spindly. Some would whisper, secretly, with many sidelong glances, that sometimes, they had heard, it was the other way around.

"They had a small office which was wooden, and rickety, and old. The windows had a crust of unidentifiable grime on them, so that it seemed, on glancing down into the narrow street outside, that all the world was underwater, and the office floated like a bathysphere in the murk. Upon the frosted glass of the warped door, in bold black typeface, was simply printed 'Rabbit & Fischer. Stories Written. Titles Provided.' And this, sinking into the gloom, tossed by strange currents, is their tale."
~ ~ ~ Pete Pollard, Going Dutch

Rabbit and Fischer are writers, creators. One day I'll prise them from of their office and persuade them to let me in on the story of their meeting and their curious means of employment. For now, we will concern ourselves with the fruits of their labour.

It would be prudent to warn any potential customers that Rabbit and Fischer have an uncertain and oft times manipulative relationship with truth. Certainly no-one has seen much of Graham for a while. That said, the door is unlocked and appointments are not necessary. Titles are provided, stories are written, they just need to be asked.

Graham's Star,

Rabbit and Fischer are portrayed by:
Sage Tyrtle & Pete Pollard