I probably saw you at WITCHFEST INTERNATIONAL and if not WHY NOT!?! lol this year there seemed a real buzz about. A real (almost festive) atmosphere. It was nice and busy too. There were alot of stalls there that I don't remember being there before, eg: High Spirit Therapies and Egyptian Chamber along with some old faces eg The Witches Cottage & Stagman Creations.
From what I've heard the talks went off without a hitch but the most wonderful thing about WF INT this year was..... THE SPIRIT OF ALBION!
If you've not heard of it before except as a Damh the Bard song then stay a little longer and i will enlighten you!
The Spirit Of Albion play (originally performed as a three night special at the Archway theatre in Horley)
The Archway Theatre Young Adults Workshop present their most ambitious production to date: THE SPIRIT OF ALBION.
This is a devised piece based around belief, identity and British Folklore featuring 10 songs by the internationally renowned Pagan Folk artist, Damh the Bard.
Esther, Annie and George are 3 young people whose lives have reached a crisis point. On the night of 31st October, all three find themselves drawn to a clearing in the woods. Secrets are revealed and nothing will ever be the same again as an ancient power emerges from the shadows…
Originally a cast of 15 talented young people, for witchfest it was swapped around so that the parts were age appropriate. After seeing the original it was a shame that I was unable to see the witchfest performance but there have been rave review for this not to be missed play.
To see this play you MUST buy tickets to the Artemis gathering next summer (2011) at the moment there have been no other events announced but there maybe in the future so watch this space!
However Gary Andrews - the director and co creator of this wonderful play is currently working on the movie, filming i believe starts next year and I predict will be massive amongst the pagan comunity!
So back to witchfest... Some of the new faces that came witchfest in my opinion seemed to reinvigorate the market making it a more interesting and tactile experience. previous years when i have been it always seemed to be similar stuff on each stall but this year the organisers have reached new people and brought new stuff in! I was brilliant to see so many individual and awesome market stalls in one place. High spirit therapies was one of note... the owners, Jo & Aaron worked their socks off creating all their wonderful handmade 100% natural products including body lotions, bath bomb and lip balms. (the lip balms which i can personally recomend!!!) And there on the day Jo (A trained and quilified massage therapist) was worked to the bone by tired, stressed and shopped-out punters. But when offering such wonderful massages at a mere £5 for around 7 minutes it was definatly worth the money! Whilst around the corner you had Egyptian Chambers being rushed off their feet with people trying their exotic range of multi-purpose oils. Believe me, as we were situated right next to them, all I could smell was these rich and vibrate aromas wafting past and person upon person walked past with tester patches on their skin... it was wonderful... i even bought some myself! Lotus Flower for your information! btw before I forget the contact details of both companies just mentioned
http://www.highspirittherapies.webs.com/
www.egyptianchambers.com
Hope you enjoy!
As for Us here at Dreamstone it was a good day, lots of people came to our stall and i think we're slowly getting our name out around Croydon and hopefully all over as we do do web orders. I do know that as soon as the spirit of albion comes out on dvd we'll be one of the people selling copies!
Well thats all from me for now, But before I go, I'm trying out this new thing called twitterdeck which a friend suggested and i must admit its great but confusing lol so bear with me :)
Ciao
Gemz at dreamstone
www.dreamstonecrystals.co.uk
To find out more about Damh & the Spirit of albion production team, visit their websites.
The Archway Theatre is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Quotes from the audience:
- "The opening night of Spirit of Albion was amazing. What an honour to have been there. They should take it on the road..." (Damh the Bard)
- "The Spirit of Albion was ABSOLUTELY AMAZING... Incredibly well done, and brilliant to see young people perform it (and they wrote it). They handled Damh's songs with care, and the whole performance seemed to me to show they got 'it'. Oh, and if you do go (which you must) don't forget your tissues. Well done everyone involved, brilliant."
- "What a fantastic group of youngsters we have at the Archway. First Olivia and now The Spirit of Albion. Well done all of you tonight - first performance was super."
- " The spirit of Albion was epic awesomeness!!! Everyone was amazing and the atmosphere was great!"
- " 'Spirit of Albion' was absolutely smashing! I walked into the Archway theatre with excited anticipation and left with a buzzing happiness. The enthusiasm the young actors put into their performances was inspiring and the creativity of the production was a perfect icing to the enjoyable cake that is Damh's music and songs. Each actor and crewman played their roles with expert precision and really brought that forest grove to life. From the leafy set dressing and ambient lighting, to the beautiful costumes and musical instruments, everything blended together to weave a wonderful story that enthralled the audience and certainly made this pagan's heart swell. Gary said that this production marks the end of this line up of actors/crew before they head to other projects or University studies. I wish you each the very best in your endeavours… such talent will certainly spell success! Thank you Gary, thank you Damh and most of all, a huge thank you to the cast and crew!"
- "Just wanted to say well done to all of you for the show the other night. (I) really enjoyed it and the enthusiasm shone through and belief, which is so lacking in other drama pieces."
- "Really enjoyed Albion...actually made this old cynic slightly less jaundiced re pagans - but do not expect to see me dancing with wild abandon in a woodland glade quite yet....."
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