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Stories, spells, songs – The Mighty Goddess show!
“Fiery, thrilling, powerful storytelling,” Bloomsbury Festival Electrifying, soulful storytelling for adults only! Pioneering storyteller Sally Pomme Clayton evokes powerful goddesses from across the globe. These feminist retellings are sly, subversive and spectacular and put goddesses in the centre of narratives about lust, desire, death, destruction, transformation and rebirth. Follow the goddess: creator, virgin, lover, mother, warrior, crone. Meet: Vesta the fiery virgin; Cybele the mother goddess who fathered a child; Ishtar Goddess of Love and War who journeys to the Land of the Dead. Sally Pomme Clayton entwines myths with memories, spells with songs, comedy with ceremony. She brings ancient myths to contemporary life with dynamic spoken-word, strange musical sounds,…
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What’s on
Once upon a Time24 September 2026, 7.30am – 9.30amWrite and Shine, Westminster Quaker Meeting HouseTICKETSEnter the enchanted forest with Sophie Herxheimer and Sally Pomme Clayton. Together we will explore how time is experienced and portrayed in fairytales and myths, and share examples from our own work and other poets and writers who hide amongst the trees and glades. We will draw on our long conversations and collaborations on fairytales to guide you into the world of ‘Once Upon a Time’. Asking where is it? What does it look like? What does it mean? Explore fairytale images of time: on the stroke of your pens – midnight! Find lost seconds from…
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Sally Pomme Clayton
“Some people are born to entertain – Sally Pomme Clayton has that magic in plenty, she is a dream-weaver, a spell-binder.” The Londonist Sally Pomme Clayton – please call her Pomme – is a pioneering storyteller and writer creating unique performances, books and plays for theatres, museums, gardens, galleries, festivals and broadcast. With sparkling words, playful humour and haunting images she performs fairytales, witty folktales, romances and fragments of forgotten myths. She creates dark and gleaming stories set in strange worlds that seem strangely close. Her performances are captivating, tender, elegantly crafted and shot through with songs and unusual musical sounds. She has recently appeared at: The Royal Opera House;…
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Balkan Fairytale Party – swirling music, story and song!
“Captivating!” “An engaging and entertaining performance!” A Balkan dance party swirled through with enchanting songs, music and sparkling spoken word, with Gundula Gruen, The Magic Violin Trio and Sally Pomme Clayton. This joyous performance combines live music, storytelling, dance and song, taking the audience into a fairytale world! Songs and stories are drawn from the rich folk traditions of Eastern Europe and the Balkans. Gundula Gruen is a virtuosic violinist who has studied with gypsy musicians, she is director of ‘The Magic Violin’ and has composed and arranged all the music. The audience hear and see live musical instruments up-close, join in with songs and gestures, sounds and rhythms. Come…
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Greek Myths
Sally Pomme Clayton performs stories from her collection ‘Greek Myths – stories of sun, sea and stone’ illustrated by Jane Ray (Frances Lincoln 2014). The stories are perfect for schools, families, museums, festivals and theatres. “Ten stories of sun, stone and sea, which sum up the appeal of tales set in Greece, bringing their familiar magic.” Mary Hoffman – The Book Maven “Luminously lovely.” The Times Find out how the Universe was created. Learn about the battle of the Titans. Discover how Perseus risks his life searching for the snake-haired Medusa. Find out how to tame Pegasus the flying horse. Try out some Greek words. Meet gods and goddesses. Hear how…
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Galleries and Gardens
“Thank you for gracing us with your wonderful performances last night. You were, as ever, a pleasure to work with and your storytelling held the audience captivated.” The Horniman Museum Sally Pomme Clayton has extensive experience of creating stories with exhibitions, objects, sites and buildings, indoor and open air spaces. She has been working with museums, galleries and heritage organizations for more than 25 years, responding to surroundings, bringing collections, buildings, gardens and archives to life through narrative performance. She uses stories to inspire and share, create and interpret. She sees her role as guide to the imagination – taking the audience inside an object or location to reveal hidden…
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The King with Dirty Feet
The King with Dirty Feet by Sally Pomme Clayton, illustrated by Rhiannon Sanderson (Otter-Barry Books 2021/ 2018) Winner of ‘Best Picture Book’, Oxford Book Awards 2019 The king has not had a bath for a whole year, and he is starting to smell. When the king finally bathes in the river, he can not get his feet clean. His servant Gabu has three days to rid the land of dirt and dust. Gabu sweeps, brushes, and stitches – as he tries to clean up the kingdom. This new picture book is a re-telling of an old and beloved folktale from Bangladesh. It is gentle and humorous and has a twist…
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Schools
Fairytales and myths belong to us all, they are a collective heritage that links us across the world and traditional stories are vital for a child’s development. Pomme believes listening to stories develops: language; imagination; a sense of story structure; expression and communication; the ability to listen; an understanding of oral tradition and global cultures; courage, and emotional maturity. Stories bring learning alive and can link to all areas of the curriculum. “Sally Pomme Clayton is a fantastic storyteller, with a great ability to engage audiences both young and old. She has a huge knowledge of stories from different cultures – every story is a treat to listen to.” Lisa Mead, Apples and…
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Death and the Warrior Maiden
A young man is running away from Death, and a warrior woman fights on horseback, in disguise! Discover rare story gems from the Silk Road. The epic of Dede Korkut is known throughout Central Asia and was written down in Ottoman times during 14th Century, but it is still traveling the Silk Road. Meet the wildest warrior woman of all, descended from Black Sea Amazons and find the place where Death does not exist. These are stories of crazed desire, wild beasts, and a woman warrior who will fight to the death. Discover the only thing that will stop death – the power of stories themselves. These passionate, hilarious and unknown stories…
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The Magician’s Apprentice
“The magnificent, magical Sally Pomme Clayton wowed us all at Exeter Customs House – storytelling and sheer wonder.” Literature Works With a top hat from a junk shop and mail-order wand, pioneering storyteller and writer Sally Pomme Clayton explores the secret world of the magician. In this bewitching performance she mixes fact with fiction, fragments of myth with antique jokes, dazzling fairytales with snippets of science, forgotten folklore with mysterious images on tarot cards. With a song on her mandolin and a spotted handkerchief she casts a shimmer of stories, shifting from humour to horror, romance to rumour searching for real magic. “Sally Pomme Clayton was truly spellbinding with her…
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Girls and Goddesses – the heroine in myth and fairytale
Dazzling goddesses, sly princesses, lazy daughters, wilful lasses, crazed sorceresses, brave maidens and girls with answers, meet bold and gutsy heroines! In these fairytales and myths girls, goddesses and women are the protagonists of the tales. They engage in tricks and romances, face dangers and obstacles, create and undo magic spells and ultimately conquer the impossible. The stories are drawn from all over the world and celebrate the varied and unexpectedly powerful roles heroines have in traditional tales. Some are clever, some are funny, some are foolish – all are brave! “Sally Pomme Clayton delivered her performance with a beautiful delicacy, and a great deal of charisma.” ‘yoppul’ Isle of…
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Persephone
“Sally Pomme Clayton’s Persephone is deeply affecting… dramatically described in visionary pictures as well as words. “ The Times No flowers. No plants. No sunshine. When Hades carries Persephone down to the Underworld, her mother Demeter curses the Earth for hiding her. Everything stops growing and it is winter all year round. Persephone must return to Earth. But how can spring return when winter reigns? “Clayton employs vivid imagery, powerful emotions and loads of action to convey adventure, grief, love, drama and the circle of life. Dialogue is crisp and accessible, while retaining just a hint of the formality expected of gods and goddesses. A beautiful retelling of an enduring myth.” Kirkus “Sally…
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Tales told in tents – stories of Central Asia
Tales Told in Tents – Stories of Central Asia by Sally Pomme Clayton and Sophie Herxheimer (Frances Lincoln 2004/2006) tells little known myths and fairytales evoking mountains and steppe, the Silk Road, the important role storytellers have in nomadic societies, and why stories are more valuable than gold! “A lovely book about the magic of stories told from memory….Clayton shares stories, riddles, proverbs and snatches of song…” Washington Post “These vivid reconstructions of nomad tales by a professional storyteller are beautifully illuminated by folk-like paintings, and together they give us access to some of the treasures of these lands. This is a splendid book.”Books for Keeps. Sally Pomme Clayton has been…
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The Phoenix of Persia
The Phoenix of Persia by Sally Pomme Clayton and Amin Hassanzadeh Sahrif (Tiny Owl 2019) Tells the story of baby Prince Zal born with hair as white as snow. His father rejects the baby and leaves him on a cold mountainside to die. The baby is found by the mythical Simorgh, the wise Phoenix of Persia. She brings the baby up in her nest and teaches him everything she knows, including forgiveness, so that father and son can be reunited again. Sally Pomme Clayton re-tells a traditional Iranian story taken from the Shahnameh, written more than a thousand years ago. ‘With acceptance at its heart, Sally Pomme Clayton’s telling really does feel…
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Stories to build bridges
Stories to build bridges uses storytelling techniques to share the stories of asylum seekers and refugees. Sally Pomme Clayton has been developing Stories to Build Bridges since 2007 working with Southwark Day Centre for Asylum Seekers to value the traditions, languages, and culture of refugees. Stories to Build Bridges fosters oral traditions and encourages understanding between different faiths, languages, cultures and local communities. It gives value to refugees’ languages and heritage of stories, encouraging people to share and tell their stories. It passes on storytelling skills, and creates an atmosphere where people can value and share each others traditions. The project believes that stories can develop and foster dialogue, and build bridges across cultural, linguistic and…
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Cupid have mercy
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Tales told in tents – stories of Central Asia
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Crow Blood Snow
“Crow Blood Snow made me jolt with glimpses into vast landscapes.” Audience Soho Theatre Crow was there at the beginning, warns of dangers, makes you fall in love, flies over the battlefield, brings the dead back to life, keeps the memories, counts time, waits for doom, is the matter of the land itself. Sally Pomme Clayton weaves forgotten folklore, fairytales, songs and fragments of myth – from Ireland to Italy, Scandinavia to Siberia – to conjure dark and dangerous Crow. With the help of a harmonium and a toy crow, she ask how has Crow comes to represent birth, and death, and transformation! Performed at Soho Theatre, with crows in a…
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Mother Danube
A mythical journey across Europe evoking the River Danube in story, song and music – celebrating the vibrant histories, cultures, languages and heritage of this vast river. Mother Danube takes the listener on a journey of 2,860km from the Black Forest to the Black Sea. Stories and songs, myths and history follow the river from source to mouth, but as the listeners travel downstream, they travel back in time to the earliest communities who lived upon her banks. The performance was originally commissioned by Totally Thames and The European Commission, and was written and created by Sally Pomme Clayton with music and songs, arranged, composed and played by Emma Clare. It was performed in six…
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Families
Enter a world of wonder and enquiry with the whole family. Storytelling reaches across generations and brings them together. Pomme thinks that telling stories for families is deeply important and creates a special circle of listening that has lasting effects. An adult listening to a story helps a child listen; a child’s enjoyment of a story is enjoyment for an adult, and both adult and child begin to value stories more. They then take the story away, talk about it together, share it, and it becomes a memory seed that grows inside them both. Pomme performs for families in libraries, museums, festivals, schools, galleries, theatres, parties, halls, art and heritage…
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Spoken Word
Storytelling is the oldest and most immediate form of theatre. The economy of the human voice evokes worlds in the listeners’ imagination. No two performances are the same, the listeners’ response feeds the storyteller’s creativity. This intimate and vital exchange continually renews the story. Sally Pomme Clayton is a storytelling pioneer and her performances are electrifying. ‘Your stories were truly mesmerizing! A real highlight of the day.’ Royal Opera House “Londonist has been lucky enough to see her in action: the awestruck faces, delighted giggles, eyes wide in wonder… and that’s just the adults in the audience!” The Londonist. Sally Pomme Clayton loves fairytales and myths – narratives that were passed by…
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Love in the shadows
Dust off your heart, dance with the devil.Kiss in the dark, a romantic revel.Under the stars, abandon your woes.Venus in furs, love in the shadows! Love in the Shadows is sheer, magical delight and shadowy enchantment, a combination of stories and shadows. Dark and gothic fairytales for grown-ups accompanied by Pomme’s little shadow puppet theatre. Stories of devil lovers, lonely lasses, passionate Goddesses, lusty lads are peppered with delicate images from a teeny, tiny shadow theatre. These are stories of having and not having, of longing and loosing, of making mistakes, and living to tell the tale. A night for all hot hearts – get lost in the dark, meet your…
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The White Bear King
The perfect wintery romance. A wonderful fairytale for adults and children over 12. This performance lasts 55 minutes and is suitable for absolutely any venue, but darkness and sparkles of candle light make it truly magical! The White Bear King is funny, mysterious, moving and transformational. Sally Pomme mixes cowbells, Nordic wedding songs, surreal characters, and gripping narrative to take you on an impossible journey. Sally Pomme also has versions of this performance with singer Helen Chadwick. Step into a snowy forest for a dark and adult fairytale, with a polar bear and a princess, trolls, stolen children, and a terrible curse. Set in a world of ice and snow,…
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Eros and Psyche
Socrates questioned itEros made sure of itAphrodite excelled at itPsyche thought about it all the time… This rich, stunningly composed, mesmerizing performance for adults brings together two classical texts, the mythical romance of Eros and Psyche, and Plato’s Symposium. These texts are over 2000 years old but still capture the contemporary imagination with insight, humour, passion and questions of existence. Eros and Psyche has been performed at The Barbican Centre; Athens Storytelling festival; The British Museum; Northern Stage; York Theatre Royal; Pelion Storytelling Festival; Beyond the Border Storytelling Festival. Socrates and his friends are having a drinking party, debating the purpose of love, but in the Other World, a…
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Cupid have mercy
Audience – adults and over 14 Length – flexible 30 – 70 mins Make a booking When Cupid looses his arrow – passion follows. His love-dart leaves lusting Gods, desperate Goddesses, pining mortals, yearning trees, and even makes the Sun fall in love! The whole Universe is at Cupid’s mercy. These hilarious, mysterious, and entertaining ancient Roman myths are perfect for a party or celebration. The poetry of Ovid, and his fiery, romantic, often darkly comic, cruel tales, are brought to life in Sally Pomme’s dynamic performance. Follow Cupid as he flies around the world making Gods fall for beasts, humans for flowers, trees for nymphs, stars for humans. Cupid…
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Solomon and Sheba
Provoking, seductive, and a virgin, the Queen of Sheba visits King Solomon to test his wisdom. Riddles and tricks, desire and foolishness ensue, as they unravel each others’ histories. Sheba has a bird’s claw and hairy legs and Solomon falls passionately in love with her. As his attempts to seduce her get increasingly desperate, he looses his wisdom and his throne, before the secret of Sheba’s virginity is revealed. Sally Pomme Clayton snips and clips stories of this royal duo from Sumerian, Hebrew, Christian, and Islamic traditions, tracing Sheba’s ancestry back through Medieval folklore to Adam’s first wife, Lilith, and forward to the nursery tales of Mother Goose. Told with…
