The Short Story Supper Club with Racontesse

 

I am delighted to be joining  Racontesse ( Sarah Gray and Josephine Rydberg ) in their second installment of online talks on the wonders of the short story. If you would like to attend this free event organised by Kensington and Chelsea Libraries, please scroll down to the bottom of the page. Click on the link which will take you straight to the Eventbrite booking form, where you can purchase your  free ticket to the remaining events. 

Racontesse, the champion of short stories, will share their passion for the genre by showcasing six of the very best in this series of half-hour Supper Clubs.

 

 

Each Short Story Supper Club will explore a different tale: tragic, twisted or funny, to prove that a delicious nibble can be every bit as satisfying as a rich feast. In digesting every element, from genre and themes to character and plot, they will look at how and why each story works and marvel at the author who created it. 

Selected stories:
1. The Lottery by Shirley Jackson (1948) - 27 January 2021

2. The Heart of a Heartless World by Sarah Gray (2016) - 16 February 2021

3. The Lady of the House of Love by Angela Carter (1975) - 16 March 2021

4. Custard Cream by Robert Shearman (2013) – 30 March 2021

5. The Machine Stops by EM Forster (1909) - 13 April 2021

6. Pop Art by Joe Hill (2001) - 27 April 2021

Our second featured story is The Heart of a Heartless World by Sarah Gray herself.#The Heart of a Heartless World leads us into the forest; an entire story world of supernature, folklore and lost souls.

It is a 'found' Victorian pamphlet, ostensibly written in 1896 by naturalist Henry Scott. It warns against an arrogant reliance on reason and science. Supernatural creatures inhabit the earth and if we don't accept their existence, we become vulnerable prey.

 

About the Speakers:

Racontesse is Sarah Gray and Josephine Rydberg. They have been friends and collaborators for nearly 25 years after meeting whilst working at the same TV production company. Together they have made three short films and have developed numerous cross media projects.

Racontesse are thrilled that Alodie Fielding, who has beautifully illustrated the pamphlet, can join us for our second Supper Club to reflect on the Victorian tradition of using pictures as an integral part of storytelling.

We are looking forward to discussing our shared enthusiasm for folklore and fairy tale and how illustrations, once commonplace, are now making a comeback.
Performance, page, screen or sound – their tales interweave complimentary story formats for full audience immersive impact. These stories burrow deep into all facets of human experience, the dark and light, the strange, uncanny and unexplained.

Stories are at the heart of everything they do.

Their current online collaboration Heartwood takes place deep in the forests of Scandinavia and tells of the lost souls who dwell there – it is due for launch in spring 2021.