Coming soon! Brothers Grimm: 200 Years and Counting

Remember Snow White, Cinderella, Rapunzel, Rumpelstiltskin, or Hänsel and Gretel?

If you do, thank the Brothers Grimm, who collected these stories and hundreds of others. This December marks the 200th anniversary of their first fairytale publication. Storyteller Dale Jarvis and musician Delf Maria Hohmann are celebrating, and want you to join them December 5th-6th at Petro Canada Hall, Memorial University, at 8pm.

In 1812, the brothers Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm published the first of what would become a two volume book of tales, gathered from the German people. Unbeknownst to the Grimms, this was destined to become the best known, most widely translated, and most influential book ever created in the German language.

This December marks 200 hundred years since that first publication, yet these stories still continue to catch us unawares. Fierce, funny, and ancient, yet contemporary in their ability to reflect our strengths and weaknesses, these are stories handed down through the ages because they are essential to humankind.

“The Brothers Grimm: 200 Years and Counting” is a 2-hour theatre show, written and performed by Dale Jarvis with music by Delf Maria Hohmann. For the past decade, Jarvis and Hohmann have been retelling the most famous, as well as some of less well-known, Grimm’s tales. Their new show tells the life story of Jacob and Wilhelm, interwoven with classic stories and the music of the period. It will run December 5th and 6th at the Petro Canada Hall, in cooperation with Memorial University’s Department of German and Russian, in celebration of December’s 200th anniversary of the publication of the Grimm’s Kinder- und Hausmärchen.

Jarvis and Hohmann go back to the source. That means their stories are not for the faint
of heart.

"These are the real deal,” says Jarvis. “These stories are full of loss, longing, violence, blood, wicked men and women; they contain the best and the worst of humanity, always alongside themes of hope, and rebirth. But these stories are definitely not for children!”

A portion of the show’s proceeds will support the H.H. Jackson Travel Scholarship in German. This scholarship was established upon the retirement of Dr. Herbert H. Jackson, Professor Emeritus and first Head of the Department of German and Russian. The scholarship is awarded annually to a candidate who is planning to undertake a program of studies and/or work assignment in a German-speaking country.

The Brothers Grimm: 200 Years and Counting
Written and performed by Dale Jarvis. Music by Delf Maria Hohmann.
8pm, December 5-6, 2012
Petro Canada Hall, School of Music, Memorial University

Tickets $20, cash sale only, available at the door, and in advance from:
Department of German and Russian, Science Building, SN3061C
or Britannia Teas and Gifts, 199 Water Street

(photos by Chris Hibbs)

A mouse, a bird, and a sausage walk into a bar...

"The sausage stayed by the pot, saw that the food was cooking well, and, when it was nearly time for dinner, it rolled itself once or twice through the broth or vegetables and then they were buttered, salted, and ready."
                     - from "The Mouse, the Bird, and the Sausage" by the Brothers Grimm.


Last night was a fun night at the St. John's Storytelling Circle, with stories by yours truly, Crystal Martin, Chris Brookes, Sharon King-Campbell and Stella Mair Evans.

Stella told a Chinese-Tibetan story where a household of strange items, including a mud pie, an earthenware jar, a sewing needing, a grain of wheat, a fly and a turnip divide the house's chores between them, with disastrous results. It reminded me immediately of the Brothers Grimm tale The Mouse, The Bird and The Sausage. A somewhat obscure story, and one that is rarely told anymore, this was the second time in the past month that the story had reared its little head. When things make themselves known, they must be doing so for a reason. And so, here is that story, from the Brothers Grimm, translated by Margaret Taylor in 1884.

Exploring storytelling: From The Crow's Nest to The Turnip Princess

It seems like I've been gone for ages, so I'm delighted to be back hosting the St. John's Storytelling Circle this Thursday, March 8th, at 7:30 pm at the Crow's Nest Officers Club. If you haven't been in the Crow's Nest before, it is a great space, one of my favourite hidden gems in St. John's. The open mic storytelling circle has been running there every month (except Decembers) for the past six years, and you never know what you'll hear.

Over the years, a group of regular storytellers has evolved, who tell tall tales, ghost stories, personal narratives, and recitations, but it is a rare night when there isn't someone new who gets up and shares some kind of story. All kinds of stories are welcome; the only rule is that stories must be told from memory rather than read from the page. Come out, and chances are you'll hear a story you've never heard before. Tickets $3 at the door.

I've been working for the past few months on Brothers Grimm material with my friend Delf Hohmann, who hosted the Storytelling Circle in January. Therefore, it was with delight that I read something that had been posted on Facebook by local performer and author Sara Tilley, about five hundred new fairytales which have been discovered in Germany.

A collection of fairytales gathered by historian Franz Xaver von Schönwerth has been locked away in an archive in Regensburg for over 150 years, a collection which is now re-emerging.  According to the article in The Guardian, in 1885, Jacob Grimm said this about von Schönwerth: "Nowhere in the whole of Germany is anyone collecting [folklore] so accurately, thoroughly and with such a sensitive ear." Coming from Jacob Grimm, that is a huge compliment, and I look forward to seeing the entirety of von Schönwerth's work.

Many of von Schönwerth's tales are not yet available in English, but you can read one quirky little story already, The Turnip Princess.

The first 2012 Storytelling Circle, and tales of rats, rats, everywhere...

Last night was the first night of the St. John’s Storytelling Circle for 2012. It was a great night, hosted by musician Delf Hohmann. Delf and I performed a few pieces from our new show about the Brothers Grimm, there were recitations from Storytelling Circle favourites Dave Paddon, Chris Brookes, and Hubert Furey (including a few recitations that were new to me) and a story about the Chinese New Year, from the lovely Zoe Wu.

There were a lot of new faces at the Crow’s Nest, which is always great to see. I love the mix of people who come to the monthly event. Last night there was everyone from high school kids, to university students to seniors. It is the type of varied audience that I love about storytelling events in St. John’s, something which I haven’t seen at a lot of storytelling events in other places.

I first met Delf Hohmann through Memorial University’s Department of Folklore, back in 1994. Ten years ago, we started collaborating on Brothers Grimm material, with a show called “Under the Juniper Tree: The Stories and Songs of the Brothers Grimm.” This year, 2012, marks the 200th anniversary of the publication of the Grimm’s first edition of their Kinder- und Hausmärchen – the famous collection of tales that would be the most translated book ever produced in the German language.

To celebrate that anniversary, Delf and I have been working on a new show, and we tested out of one of our new pieces on the audience last night. The piece weaves together two stories taken from another work by the brothers, Deutsche Sagen, German Legends, which was published in two volumes in 1816 and 1818. The two stories are united by the theme of retribution, and by a cast of thousands... of rats.

One of the pieces, The Pied Piper of Hamelin, is well known to North American audiences, while the other, The Mouse Tower on the Rhine, is perhaps less familiar. In it, the evil Bishop Hatto burns a group of hungry peasants alive, mocking them as rats that only consume food meant for their betters. The Bishop meets a rather grisly end at the teeth of rats sent as a form of divine punishment.  You can read a 1910 English version of the tale here.

Delf and I are off to perform our new show in February in Peterborough and Perth in Ontario, and in Wakefield, Quebec. Check out the 2wp website for details.

Newfoundland audiences will get a chance to hear the show later this spring. Stay tuned!

Re-imagining the Brothers Grimm

Next year, 2012, marks the 200th anniversary of the publication of the first edition of the first volume of the Brothers Grimm's remarkable Kinder-und Hausmärchen, which went on to become the most widely translated book ever produced in the German language.

About a decade ago (see archival photographic evidence above) musician Delf Maria Hohmann and I produced a show called "Under the Juniper Tree," a selection of stories and songs from and inspired by the Brothers Grimm.

In honour of the Brothers' 200th anniversary, Delf and I are going back, revisiting that wonderful material and working on a new show which we'll be touring next year.  We're off tonight with the fabulous Chris Hibbs to shoot some promo photos. Keep your eyes peeled (and/or away from doves, if you know the story of Aschenputtel).

To keep you entertained in the meantime, a discussion of the Brothers Grimm, and the telling of dark, grim material, is featured in this podcast by Rachel James of radio station CIUT.

And you can listen to my version of the Grimm Brothers' rarely-told story "The Mother in Law" here.