About

I am a storyteller, writer and folk singer, based in London. Press coverage here.

I tell stories on stage and in schools, sometimes solo, sometimes with others such as classical pianist Olga Jegunova. I sing in folk clubs, theatres and at gatherings of senior folk, performing traditional songs, monologues and music hall classics.

Recently I’ve created shows which use story and folk music to explore migration. Human Cargo charts the experiences of people aboard ships of enslavement, emigration boats and transportation vessels. The Transports links a true tale of poor folk transported to Australia in the 1780s with wider, more modern stories of exile and migration.

My Parallel Lives project charted true tales of migration across Britain, partnering with over 50 local refugee support groups from places I have performed.

I devised Living By the Sea for Sidmouth and Whitby folk festivals, together with Paul Sartin and Faustus.

My book Human Cargo, stories & songs of emigration, slavery & transportation inspired a show of the same name. My other books include The Trebor Story, a history of the sweet firm, and Tales from the Angler’s Retreat, a book of fishing stories from the Western Isles of Scotland. My publishing company Muddler Books also reprints classic books I love such as Animal Farm and Seventy Years a Showman.

Among previous careers, I worked as a speechwriter in London and Hong Kong, the administrator of an association of film producers, a dramaturg at The Old Vic theatre, a masseur and a finance director. My awards include Hebridean Fish of the Year 2008.

Here’s me singing with the much-missed Jan North.

Picture credits

Home page & Concerts page, James Fagan. About page, Elly Lucas. The Transports page, Mike Ainscoe. Human Cargo portrait with Jeff Warner, Tim Chipping. Festive Frolics, Alan Kerr. Roundhouse storytelling, Marco Molitor

Here’s a fun recent profile of me from The Warm and Toasty Club.