Silence and Love – The Story of Rachel Carson with Lisa Schneidau – 7.30pm Tuesday 13 Jan 2026
Not all wars are seen or heard. Sometimes the only sound of war you will hear is… silence.
Devon storyteller Lisa Schneidau tells the story of Rachel Carson, author of Silent Spring. It is a tale of love and lies, a million tiny murders – and the soaring wings of the peregrine falcon as it returns home.
“A really powerful piece… shocking, compelling and curious.”
What happens when the hourglass of our life shatters into a thousand shards?
How can we pick up the pieces when the shape of the world is forgotten?
Old gods roam the streets of Bristol plotting revenge upon an aging empire, as mad prophets proclaim the end is nigh, and the hammer of misfortune breaks open a head filled with story, releasing deep myth to correct a timeline in crisis.
Kestrel Morton tells the true and unbelievable tale of their journey from mental breakdown, eviction and homelessness, into the underworld and beyond, in a perception-altering psychosis revealing the power of story to harm and heal our relationship with reality.
Words shall be forged into keys, the locked gateways of memory shall open, and the secret mysteries of the initiation shall be unveiled.BIO-
Kestrel Morton is a queer, non-binary storyteller based in South Wales and usually found bewitching audiences with spider-web tales spun from the echoes of the wild, blurring reality with myth and drawing the otherworld close. They’ve performed on stages, in caves, at festivals and in raves across the UK including at Brighton Fringe, the Scottish International Storytelling Festival, Boomtown Faire and Beyond the Border, most recently touring their show Binderella with the Ragged Storytelling Collective.
“A dynamic and passionate performer with a unique vision.” – Daniel Morden
“In all my life I’ve never heard anything like your storytelling before.” – Audience Member
“I was so spellbound I didn’t realise my beer had fallen over!” – Audience Member
Hey! Festivals are pop-up, micro literary festivals which go where other festivals fear to tread. Conceived by a group of writers on the back of a meeting in Brian Eno’s studio in February 2025. Hey! Festivals are a writer-led Hard Art initiative and are part of the Fete of Britain.
Newhaven’s Hey! Festival will put an emphasis on listening to the audience. The half-day literary festival will offer a line-up of both locally known and nationally known writers, reading, talking and debating issues around climate, democracy, social justice and cultural change. Audiences will have an opportunity to have their views recorded when they talk to “the Ear of Britain.” In doing so, they will become part of a collaborative British ‘voice mosaic’.
Programme: 2.00 – 2.15: Welcome; poem by Keston Sutherland
2.15 – 2.45: Voices from Gaza (Ahmed Alnaouq with Umi Sinha)
2.45 – 3.05: Poetry by Sea Sharp
3.05 – 3.40: Naomi Booth in conversation with Peter Boxall
3.40 – 4.00: Newhaven Lighthouse and Virginia Woolf (Kabe Wilson in conversation with Hope Wolf)
4.00 – 4.45: Fate Writing (writing workshop sessions with Xanthe Gresham and Rich Hume) / Nick Pynn, music
Hey! is free and there’s no need to book. There is free parking at and around the Hillcrest, if you’re coming by car. Regular buses and trains to Newhaven. There is a licensed cafe (with good coffee) at the Hillcrest, serving snacks and refreshments. The aim is for things to start promptly at 2 pm and move steadily through what we hope will be a stimulating and memorable afternoon.
“Uncanny” – Nell Phoenix, Tuesday 11 November 7.30 pm – Hillcrest Centre, Bay Vue Rd, Newhaven, BN9 9LH
Tickets: General Adult – £12 Concession- Online £8 / on the door £10
‘I heard a whining voice but saw no body in the room’
‘We saw her and we saw right through her’ ‘I blinked just once and he had changed his shape’
Nell paces a path from dusty Mesopotamia, to Ancient Egypt, through Bloomsbury, London, along a dingey road at dawn in Guatemala, to her kitchen table – gathering up disturbing, unsettling, baffling, bewildering, sinister UNCANNY stories.
These are not literary tales crafted to scare you, or folktales, bloody fairytales or urban myths – these are spine-tingling tales told as true.
Who are these witnesses of these other-worldly acts? Why did they tell their stories? Do we believe in ghosts? A lively night of eerie stories told by one of the UKs most popular and dynamic storytellers, Nell Phoenix.
“A mercurial and captivating performer.” – Exeunt Magazine
“The Hairy Girl” – Kersti Stabi, Tuesday 9 Dec 7.30 pm – Hillcrest Centre, Bay Vue Rd, Newhaven, BN9 9LH
Tickets: General Adult – £12 Concession- Online £8 / on the door £10
Once upon a time there was a king and a queen who lived in a castle full of gold, diamonds and good food, but they didn’t have any children… this is the very ordinary beginning to one of the wildest of Scandinavian fairytales! The Hairy Girl thunders through the world on her goat, beats up trollhags, saves her sister from a grim destiny, and uses all her cunning to find a future for them both.
Kersti Ståbi remixes this old tale with the power of Japanese Taiko drumming – music you can hear with your eyes, with its martial arts influences and dynamic use of the drummer’s body.
Director Abbi Patrix. Taiko Consultant John Bolwell
Age recommendation 12+
Once upon a time there was a king and a queen who lived in a castle full of gold, diamonds and good food, but they didn’t have any children… this is the very ordinary beginning to one of the wildest of Scandinavian fairytales! The Hairy Girl thunders through the world on her goat, beats up trollhags, saves her sister from a grim destiny, and uses all her cunning to find a future for them both.
Kersti Ståbi remixes this old tale with the power of Japanese Taiko drumming – music you can hear with your eyes, with its martial arts influences and dynamic use of the drummer’s body.
Director Abbi Patrix. Taiko Consultant John Bolwell
Age recommendation 12+
PAST EVENTS GUESTHOUSE
“A Spell In Time – Bulgarian Tales” with Moni Sheehan & Ivor Davies – Tuesday September 9th 7.30 pm – Hillcrest Centre, Bay Vue Rd, Newhaven, BN9 9LH
Within the fragrant forests and beautiful mountains of Bulgaria lies a hidden world of ancient myth and folklore – a world of seductive shape-shifting dragons, wild nature nymphs who can heal or harm, and giant-hearted heroes.
Bulgaria’s traditional tales are magical and deliciously dark. They have ancient origins and are largely unknown in the West. Archetypal characters, thrilling narratives and exquisite imagery conjure the intense world of dream and a mythic age of long ago when anything was possible. Beautifully atmospheric and profoundly entertaining, they cross the boundaries of space and time to speak to the heart, mind and soul.
A Spell In Time is a unique British-Bulgarian storytelling company that brings Bulgaria’s extraordinary myths and folk tales to English-speaking audiences for the first time. Formed in 1995 by storyteller, Moni Sheehan, who is half-Bulgarian, and musician, Ivor Davies, the Company’s work is based on authentic stories translated from old and dialect Bulgarian. With a spellbinding mix of traditional storytelling, evocative music and fascinating folklore, the Company has gained acclaim in the UK and abroad for its passionate and poetic performances.
“Our audiences were spellbound ” Graham Langley, Storytelling Café “Glorious storytelling and music… the stars, the moon and the lamp-posts leaned down to listen” Nell Phoenix, StoryNight at Torriano “Extraordinarily poetic…Storytelling at its most deeply colourful red” Sharon Jacksties
THIS EVENT HAS PASSED
A prophecy, a hive of story and plenty of cross pollination.
Meet Mary Bumby, Aotearoa’s honey bee pioneer and the only woman in European history credited with the introduction of Apis Mellifica.
Mary has returned to earth to re awaken the bee- ing in humans. A high interactive and humorous excursion into a world where Apis Mellifera, New Zealand’s past & future, meet to make something sticky and sweet.
“A witty, educational, interactive and entertaining show, thoroughly enjoyable”
Angela Stuart, Events & Marketing Manager Princes Gate Hotel
I’ve been lucky to see some wonderful theatre in my life. It is the ones that stay with you forever that really count. Mary Bumby is definitely now part of my forevers.
Jackie Davidson
QUEENS OF ALBION – STEPHE HARROP – 16+ TUESDAY 8TH JULY 7.30PM
In the days before Britain had been named, they were the first to set foot on the island. Sisters. Refugees. Shipwrecked and storm-weary. On the hunt for a home of their own. A land where they could live free. So how come we’ve forgotten the story of our first (and fiercest) mythic mothers? Queens of Albion sets the record straight – as well as spilling the beans on how a giant made me miss my ninth birthday party. (60 minute performance, contains some adult material)
Location
The Hillcrest Centre, BN9 9LH
TALES FROM IRAN – SAHAND SAHEBDIVANI – 16 + 7.30PM
After the Iranian Revolution, at the age of three Sahebdivani fled with his parents from Iran to the Netherlands. They were on their way to Canada, but missed their transfer in Amsterdam, ending up in the Netherlands. In his twenties Sahand, by chance got the opportunity to become storyteller at the Tropenmuseum, when another Iranian storyteller noticed his hat in the tram. He continued his parents’ Iranian tradition of storytelling and music making, founding the cultural Centre, Mezrab in 2004. It started as a monthly gathering in a small teahouse, but within ten years grew into an established cultural centre with a multidisciplinary programme for five days per week.
As his cultural centre grew, so did Sahand’s career as an artist. Together with various storytellers, actors and musicians he performs at theatres and festivals across the Netherlands and internationally. In 2014 he was chosen as the Netherlands’ Best Storyteller of the Year. In 2017 together with storyteller Raphael Rodan he won the Amsterdam Fringe Gold Award for their play My Father Held a Gun. In 2020 Sahebdivani’s cultural center won the Amsterdamprijs voor de Kunst (Amsterdam Prize for the Arts) for Best Achievements.
TISTOU OF THE GREEN THUMBS – ASHLEY RAMSDEN 16+ – TUESDAY MAY13TH 7.30PM
Tistou of the Green Thumbs was penned by the French statesman Maurice Druon in the 1960’s. It has been hailed as a classic ever since, much in the vein of St Exupery’s Little Prince.
Tistou is born into a wealthy family in France. His father runs a gun factory and hopes that his son will follow in his footsteps. Incapable of learning at school, his parents try homeschooling. First lesson, gardening with some unexpected consequences!
Ashley Ramsden is the founder of the School of Storytelling at Emerson College, East Sussex, the longest running centre of its kind. For the last 40 years he has brought his acclaimed performances and workshops to audiences all over the world.
Vivid and highly engaging. The Independent
A tale for our time
LILITH – THE OTHER SIDE OF THE STORY – KATY CAWKWALL 16+
Tuesday 8 April , 2025, 7.30pmhttps://www.tickettailor.com/events/xanthegreshamknightguesthousethegoddesslounge/1538355
The Hillcrest Centre, Bay Vue Road BN9 9LH
An uplifting one-woman storytelling show to shock, seduce and entertain.
Lilith was not prepared to lie down and accept what was given to her: thrown out of Eden she slithered back in to take her revenge and wake Eve up to what her body could do. She slipped out of the Bible and is dancing with us still, forever free.
Katy Cawkwell, a performance storyteller at the top of her game, mixes myth from Mesopotamia, Ethiopia and Jewish tradition, with a dash of feminist flavouring and a large dollop of her own wild dreaming.
“Totally captivating”
“I was spellbound”
“Wow! What a rich, wonderful evening
of entertainment”
‘Macabre’ Edgar Allan Poe – Tuesday March 11th 2025
guesthousestorytellers.com 