Folk and fairy tales transport us to a time when humans and animals were mutually dependent; humans respected animals, believed themselves able to communicate with them at some level, and acknowledged their power. Many tales, as demonstrated in the
music and staging of 'Toby and the Wolf' for instance, centre around the actions of animals (the close relationship between humans and animals is reflected in several instances where humans take on an animal form which, like Cinderella's mice, rats and birds, helps them to achieve their ambitions). Actor Howard Coggins talks about playing
dog and wolf characters; Kelly Williams about performing as a
horse and a goat, and Elliot Levey as
the wolf. History tells us that in pre-feudal and feudal periods humans killed only what they could eat, paid tribute to the animals they killed, and believed that the hunt was part of a pattern understood by animals (themselves hunters) who both enjoyed the hunt and commanded respect. This fundamental knowledge of nature, restraint, balance and appetites is embedded in the tales still passed on to children today. But they contain other kinds of knowledge too…
Folk and fairy tales were never intended to be told exclusively - or even primarily - to an audience of children. On the whole, they originate from an era when adults and children tended to live side by side, and everyone in a community would listen to the storyteller as they did monotonous work indoors, or in the dark nights and winter days when the light failed and they passed the time, waiting for the return of the sun and an escape from the tedium of life indoors. Director Melly Still explains how she went about
choosing the stories in Beasts & Beauties. Peter Reynolds' diary comments on the enduring appeal of these stories in
'Bluebeard, Blood and Bones'. Folk and fairy tales are the original mass culture:they not only distilled shared experiences, but also instinctively worked at multiple levels to appeal to everyone in the audience simultaneously.
