Stories for Entertainment

Performances of all kinds of stories / all occasions / all venues / all ages

Ben is a skilled and experienced performer, telling stories to old and young at Arts Festivals, weddings, Country Parks, children's parties, restaurants, theatres, pubs, on beaches in Sussex or Thailand, in caves in Greece, in schools throughout the UK, in airports anywhere...

He tells all kinds of stories:

• Traditional Tales
• Myths, Legends
• Modern Stories, Action Stories
• 'Spontaneous Shorties' (often involving the audience!)
• ...and he can be commissioned to create/write stories for Special People (Everyone!)
  and Special Occasions (Anytime!). See also Ben's PresentStories on the gifts page.
• ...AND he presents the flexible funshops EcPc - Entertainment-Crafty-Party-Chill - It's Easy-Peasy!
  
  

Ben is also a singer-songwriter. Listen to excerpts from his first (2004) CD "Waiting for the Song to burst"

Sample programmes - new ones developed all the time!

Venues Ben has performed at:

• Café Caricature
• Pursuing the Change of Winter
• Jack-in-the-Green Festival, Hastings
• Wirksworth Arts Festival
• Folkestone Children's Festival
• World Book Day, Croydon Children's Library
• Black Horse Folk Festival
• Tall Tales, event on Hastings West Hill, with local Arts group DAB
• "Jours de Fete", De La Warr Pavillion, Bexhill
  
  

EcPc - Entertainment-Crafty-Party-Chill - It's Easy-Peasy!
Story-Arty-Crafty-Party / Create a play in half a day!

Thought you (or your children or colleagues) could never make up characters and stories and put on a little play in half a day?
Well, these flexible funshops for children, adults & colleagues of all ages will amaze and delight you!

They include:

• Story Time (30-60 min):
  Ben warming up the audience's imaginations with some stories
• Arty Crafty Time (60-120 min):
  Audience become participants in making figures/creatures/characters/masks out of wire, cane, paper, cloth, bubble-wrap, paint, glue, sequins, etc.
• Story Crafty Time (20-60 min):
  Ben & Audience weave together a story out of the emerging puppets / character figures - and finally...
• Show Time (10-20 min):
  The play-story we have created together is performed to the parents & friends
• Chill time (mins-days):
  Mutual appreciations, congratulations, celebrations - and memories that go on and on...

For more party ideas, see PresentStory Parties

Testimonials

"When sending out invitations for our wedding/house warming party it dawned on us that there would be some fifty children attending, of every age from babies to teens. After our initial alarm at this thought, we booked Ben and a colleague to come and keep them entertained for the afternoon - a pretty tall order, we thought. In the event Ben was quite brilliant and kept the whole group enthralled from beginning to end, culminating in a triumphant puppet show. Every letter we had from a parent expressed huge gratitude for Ben's work, which meant that both children AND adults had a good time."

Andrew Blackman
www.andrewblackman.com

"Ben's storytelling is imaginative and captivating with stories, poems and songs"

(from Wintery Tales to While Away the Hours, Folkestone Library, December 2003)

"Ben Fairlight captivated the minds of children with his performed stories...He is at the top of his craft, which is why he has been invited to return to entertain at the festival once again."

The Black Horse Folk Festival 2006

"Gosh, I enjoy being told stories by Ben. One can lose oneself in his gentle humour, the characters with their delicious accents and the simple sound effects. Get comfy before he starts and you are assured of being visited by the Sandman as soon as he finishes."

Nicholas Wynne, Composer - Regular listener to Storytime
on www.LifeConversationsRadio.com

"Ben is a smiling, rich-toned storyteller...not to be missed"

Ashdown Forest Storytelling Club