Festive storytelling brings legend to life at Kenilworth Castle
Saturday 3 & Sunday 4 December 2011
It has got a green giant, executions, magic, romance and seduction – it is not the local panto, but the story of Gawaine and the Green Knight which will be retold at Kenilworth Castle in Warwickshire on Saturday 3 & Sunday 4 December, as part of English Heritage’s expanded winter events programme!
Expert raconteur, Mark Vance, will share the swashbuckling tale from the court of King Arthur. All the action taking place over the Christmas period, when Arthur’s nephew – the knight Sir Gawaine – accepts a challenge from the Green Knight and sets in motion all kinds of adventures, watched over by wicked sorceress, Morgan le Faye.
“This is a story which goes back centuries, although it was lost for several hundred years before being rediscovered by the Victorians,” saysKenilworthCastle’s property manager, Holly Woodward. “Anyone familiar with the legends of King Arthur will recognise many of the characters in the story, and with events hinging around festive celebrations, this is a perfect tale to get everyone in the mood for Christmas!”
The story will be told in Leicester’s Gatehouse at Kenilworth Castle, with performances each day at 11.00am, 12.30pm, 1.30pm and 3.00pm. In the best storytelling traditions, Mark’s storyteller will be animated, putting a real executioner’s axe to good use to add some live-action scenes to the legend! Each storytelling session lasts around 40 minutes.
Kenilworth Castle itself is open every weekend throughout the winter months (excluding 24 & 25 December and 1 January). Admission prices are £8.00 for adults, £7.20 for concessions and £4.80 for children, or £20.80 for a family ticket (two adults and up to three children). For more information, please call English Heritage customer services on 0870 333 1181 or visit www.english-heritage.org.uk/kenilworth
The Christmas Storytelling is just one of series of events taking place throughout December at Kenilworth Castle. Indeed, on Thursday 8 December, the site’s tearoom will be awash with icing sugar and edible delights as local sugarcraft teacher, Lynne Rigby, demonstrates how to perfect your Christmas cake decorating in an interactive workshop day running from 9.30am to 4.00pm. The cost is £75 (£70 for English Heritage members) per person, and participants should bring along their own marzipaned cake.
Also, on the evening of Friday 9 December, visitors can put themselves in the shoes of Ebenezer Scrooge, for a frightfully good Christmas Ghost Tour! Expect to hear stories of ghosts from Christmases past and present in this terrifying tour around Kenilworth Castle by night! Tours run at 8.00pm and 9.00pm and cost £20.00 per person or £16.00 for English Heritage members (over 16s only).
For more information, or to book places on the Christmas Cake Decorating workshop or Christmas Ghost Tour, please call 0870 333 1183.
ENDS
For further media information, please contact:
Jay Commins – PRO English Heritage (West Midlands)
Tel: 0113 251 5698
Mob: 07810 546567
Email: jay@fim.org.uk
