by Anne-Louise Fortune
Secret Storytellers from Shadow Road Productions is the company’s first-ever show at their first visit to Edinburgh Fringe. The show is set in a dystopian future, where society has collapsed, and power has been seized by the secretive group known as the Ravens.
The Ravens, who sound very right-wing indeed, have banned stories, their position being that controlling the past, and the stories told of it, allows them to control the future. At this point, that stand feels like the oft-stated ‘history is written by the victors’.
Presented by the duo of Amy Floyd and Emma King-Farlow, who, as well as multi-rolling within the show, also have multiple roles within the production company, the story unfolds with occasional interventions from the shadowy presence of the Ravens, who, we are told, will be trying to locate this clandestine meeting, to arrest the storytellers.
Opposing the Ravens are the Magpies, who hold clandestine meetings where they act out the old stories in the hope that they will be remembered. Two of their group have already been detained, meaning only Ash (Floyd) and Wren (King-Farlow) remain. Written storytelling has been outlawed, and the group use oral storytelling to ensure the survival of ancient myths. And so is established the framing device for a version of the Greek myth of Persephone and how the seasons came to be.
The Persephone story is told through short scenes conveying the essence of the myth, with Floyd and King-Farlow swapping in and out of a range of capes and headgear to signify the different gods and other characters. There is also a beautifully crafted prop tree, rotated to indicate the current location of the story being told. The story is conveyed through music as well as dialogue, and also narration.
This was the first performance of the show at The Fringe, and we later learnt that the team’s technical rehearsal had only happened earlier that morning and that, indeed, this had originally been a show developed for four actors. Given all of those factors, it was quite an accomplishment that the performance went off seemingly without any hitches.
However, there are some tweaks which could be made which would improve the overall pace of the piece. Character changes could be indicated by just the headgear and associated small props, rather than those and the capes, the donning and removal of which all take time which currently means momentum in the storytelling is lost. We’d also really like to know more about the world of the Ravens, although this is promised to form part of an expanded work which the company will present in early 2024.
At the end of the show, in the closing scene, it becomes apparent that this is not just a warning from history – it’s also a cautionary tale of what is currently happening in the United States, as books written by and about members of minority communities are banned for spurious reasons. We have to ensure that their stories, our stories, survive and thrive. Stated to be suitable for ages 8+, this is a timely family show that demonstrates the importance of hearing everyone’s voices.
Secret Storytellers continues at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe until August 12th, 2023
