Stephe Harrop

Contemporary storytelling in performance, training, and research

Stephe sits on the ground, her back to the camera, her arms outstretched, in a pool of light.

About Stephe


I’m a contemporary storyteller, creating and sharing intelligent, irreverent spoken-word shows with audiences across the UK, and beyond. I also research and write about contemporary storytellers, as well as training and mentoring students to develop their own storytelling practices.

Stephe leans against a brick wall, her face turned towards the light from a nearby window.

Raised between the North-East and Argyll (often in the back of a Ford Cortina), I especially love telling English and Scottish fairytales, the fiery folklore of the Anglo-Scottish Borders, and salvaged stories from the two kingdoms’ historic and mythic pasts.

I’m also fascinated by the challenge of using storytelling to help promote a positive sense of belonging, and a spirit of creative citizenship, across a range of communities and contexts.

I’m currently leading a British Academy funded research project which supports storytelling artists in England to develop new, ethically-engaged performance repertoires in post-colonial contexts. You can find out more here.

At the same time, I’m developing and touring Stories from Mythic England. This fierce and funny performance project sets out to re-discover the many different tales England has told itself about its identity and destiny. And it embraces this tradition of self-storying as an opportunity to start playful, inclusive, and empowering conversations about the kind of nation(s) we want to imagine for ourselves today …

 

Ovalhouse, 52-54 Kennington Oval, London, SE11 5SW
eing compelled, energised and inspired by traditional tales, by new (old?) ways of sharing stories, and by the simple (complicated?) knack of spinning a yarn – See more at: http://www.devotedanddisgruntled.com/events/dd-storytellers/#invite