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; The Story Museum; Omnibus Theatre; Front Room; Serpentine Gallery; Alphabetti Theatre; Kings Place; Cheltenham Literature Festival; The Museum of Comedy; Cambridge Junction; Exeter Lit Works; The British Library; The British Museum; and festivals in the Netherlands, Sweden, Leipzig, Dresden and Dhaka. She has been commissioned to create performances by: Totally Thames; The London Philharmonic Orchestra; Apples and Snakes; The Royal Shakespeare Company; Unicorn Theatre.
She has a vast knowledge of fairytales and their cultural meanings, and a passion for stories where girls and women are the protagonists of the adventures. And her ground-breaking shows often focus on powerful female characters, such as ‘The Frog Princess Punked’ a hybrid performance with girl punk band and live projections.
She author of 16 books. Her latest is The Mighty Goddess (The History Press 2023/2026) her first book for adults. And for children ‘Violet and the Sea Giant’ (Autin Dance 2022); The King with Dirty Feet (Otter-Barry Books 2021/2018) winner of The Oxford Book Award best picture book 2019; The Phoenix of Persia (Tiny Owl Books 2019) nominated for the Greenaway Award 2020 and the UKLA award. Many of her books focus on female heroines: Persephone (Frances Lincoln 2009); Amazons – women warriors of the world (Frances Lincoln 2008); Tales of Amazing Maidens (Orchard Books 1995). Tales Told in Tents – stories of Central Asia (Frances Lincoln 2004) is still used in schools to study the cultural heritage of Central Asia. During 2019 she wrote five star reviewed The Little Prince (based on the book by Saint-Exupéry) for Omnibus Theatre. She also writes texts for composers and musicians, among them: David Bruce; Gundula Gruen; Panos Ghikas; Joglaresa; Dario Marianelli.
She co-founded The Company of Storytellers with Ben Haggarty and Hugh Lupton in 1985, spearheading storytelling in the UK. Together they created ground-breaking performances, especially for adult audiences, and because of their work storytelling is now a flourishing art form.
She is an experienced and inspiring educator and mentor, teaching practical and creative workshops in writing and performance, and has worked with: West Norwood Cemetery; Chelsea Physic Garden; RAF Museum; Age UK; London Libraries; The National Trust; Apples and Snakes; The Prince’s Trust; The Horniman Museum; East 15. She lectured on World oral traditions at Middlesex University (1992 – 2008). And in Theatre Studies Rose Bruford College (2009 – 2015).
“Sally Pomme Clayton is a gifted storyteller who can bring the wonder of the most powerful stories from the past to life for audiences of any ages.” The Guardian
