Patron: Professor Ronald Hutton
A Spell In Time British-Bulgarian storytelling company
“Ancient tales from the heart of Bulgarian myth and folklore...
A spellbinding mix of traditional storytelling, fascinating folklore and evocative music”
Current Shows: Tales of Hidden Bulgaria
Tales of Hidden Bulgaria is a series of shows for adults that lead you into the hauntingly beautiful world of Bulgarian myth and folklore - dark-edged folk and fairy tales, mythological and epic tales told through a mix of traditional oral storytelling, ancient folklore and evocative music. Below is a selection of the shows available. We also design programmes to suit specific requests and are happy to work with you on particular projects.
If you would like to book one of our shows or discuss a project, please get in touch with us via our Contact page.
The Dragon's Black-dressed Daughter:
Tales of Hidden Bulgaria
Two heroes enter the forbidden realms of two mighty women. One woman carries her white silk banner into battle. The other, dressed in black, guards the primeval forest. Love, loss, magic and prophetic dreams entangle as worlds collide.
Beautiful, humorous and dark in turn, these strange and wonderful tales from Bulgarian myth and folklore are brought to UK audiences for the first time. With a mix of traditional oral storytelling and evocative music, this is both a hymn to our endangered forests and a journey into an unknown and perilous landscape.
The Bear's Son: Tales of Hidden Bulgaria
Beyond nine green forests, in the borderlands between the wild and the civilised, lies a world of man-bears, deer-women and dog-headed people. Fate and fortune twist and turn as a wife runs wild, a hero searches for his true nature, and a girl falls under a dragon's spell.
The Bear's Son harkens back to a time when people turned from hunting to farming yet still walked in the way of animal powers. Magical, beautiful and savage, it conjures the half-rememberd world of the dreamtime when humans and animals shared the same pathways but began to take a different journey home.
“Glorious storytelling and music… the stars, the moon and the lamp-posts leaned down to listen”
Nell Phoenix, StoryNight at Torriano
"A fabulous evening..." Amy Douglas, BLAST Storytelling
The Serpent's Kiss: Tales of Hidden Bulgaria
A warrior maiden dreams about snakes, but is it a blessing or is it a curse? A girl marries a dead man and a kingdom falls into ruin, but when a serpent makes a promise, can it be trusted? And what should you do when you meet the Mistress of Snakes?
Since ancient times, serpents have been both feared and revered. Sensuous, slippery and often dangerous, their gifts can be either dark or light. Welcome to the realm of the snake - death-bringer, life-giver, the beginning and end of all things.
"An extraordinary programme of magical tales ...a box of delights, The Serpent's Kiss takes listeners to a timeless and transformative place where predictability is shed and the brighter self emerges." Sharon Jacksties
A Spell In Time thanks The British-Bulgarian Society for its generous support of "The Serpent's Kiss."
The Dragon Lover: Tales of Hidden Bulgaria
“From your eyes fierce sparks fly.
From your mouth a tongue of flame leaps.”
He’s handsome, smiling, alluring, beguiling. His eyes are like fire upon water. He’s the man of your dreams. But is he all that he seems? Delve into the darkness and discover... if he’s a man or a Dragon Lover.
Welcome to a world of dangerous delights where shapes shift and dragons dwell. But some dragons wear their skins on the inside, and they lure you in to a realm of sweet seduction, magical enchantment and fatal attraction.
A deliciously dark jewel from the heart of Bulgarian myth and folklore.
The Dreamwatcher:
Winter Tales of Hidden Bulgaria
A Christmas / winter special
A woman sits at the crossroads on a midwinter’s night and turns the heavens with her hand. The stars glisten, the universe listens and stories of old unfold.
Step into an enchanted world of dreaming dragons, giant brides and wild men, a twilight realm where anything can happen.
A Spell In Time presents gloriously dark seasonal tales spiced with warm winter blessings from the primal and poetic heart of Bulgarian myth and folklore.
The Golden Keys: Winter Tales of Hidden Bulgaria
A Christmas / winter special
In a magical winter world, a hooded woman sits at the crossroads where all dreams come to pass. A man loses his heart, a woman finds her wings, and from out of the forest comes a stag with the sun on its forehead, the moon on its breast and the stars upon its back. And two golden keys are forged to unlock the secrets of heaven and earth.
A Spell In Time presents gloriously dark seasonal tales spiced with warm winter blessings from the primal and poetic heart of Bulgarian myth and folklore.
Header image: detail from "A Dragon Loves a Shepherdess," painting by Keazim Isinov
