Week 5: Folklore and Fact

Folklore and Fact

Today we were asked to explain our existing ideas to another member of our class. I was expecting to find this difficult, as so far my ideas have been lacking, though today I feel as though it’s started to come together. I knew that I wanted to create a performance based off mythology or folklore, possibly even local stories, which is something that has been very well received with the “Folklore Theatre Company”, who similarly adapt old tales for stage. However, I have been struggling to find a medium through which to explore such ideas. Today I came up with the idea of performing a sort of “mockumentary” or sketch, in which I could pretend to be giving a lecture, maybe on the geographical landscape nearby.

However, instead of giving scientific explanations, I could give the old reasons given in folklore. For example, many of the local mountains have legends of giants attached to them. I think it could be a humorous way to explore old stories, which for thousands of years shaped people’s culture and identity. Presenting it as a science will show how incompatible folklore and the 21^st century are, though I think that just because a story is no longer perceived as factual it is any less entertaining. Folklore explores the relationship between nature and humanity, and mythology and history, and I hope that presenting it in a modern manner might not only be entertaining, but thought-provoking.

My favourite collection of folklore, Celtic Folklore: Welsh and Manx by Sir John Rhys (1901), contains many creation stories for the local landscape that I intend to research into some more. I have also taken inspiration from the “Welcome to Nightvale” podcast series, which similarly presents strange, fantastical themes in a modern setting, set up as a mock-radio broadcast.

• "Welcome to Nightvale" podcast series, produced by Commonplace Books, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ujksjzqrhys
• Sir John Rhys, "Celtic Folklore: Welsh and Manx: Volume 1", [Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1901]
• Folklore Theatre Company, https://www.facebook.com/NorthShoreFolk, Massachusetts US.