Jessie McMeekin

I have been telling stories for over 25 years. I particularly enjoy digging out traditional folk tales from Northern Britain and exploring Cumbria’s celtic and scandinavian heritage. I’ve worked for a conservation charity for over 20 years and I love stories which help us connect with the natural world. I have 4 storytelling shows collaborating with wonderful musicians, which have toured through the Rural Touring Network The Long Way Home – a lovesong to Cumbria exploring the cultural connections with the celtic nations around the Irish Sea. Imagine that you leave the pub to go home and instead of turning right, you turn left, and go home via North Wales, Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man… definitely the long way home! Written and performed with composer and musician Dave Camlin Light in the Darkness – a show about embracing the onset of winter, that warms the cockles of your heart. Written and performed with the Tatie Pot collective – composer Dave Camlin and singers Angie Power and Gilli Goodfellow The Singing Bones – an uplifting show about the biodiversity crisis! Retelling some of Cumbria’s well-known legends of the last wild boar and the last wolf and giving voice to the wildlife recovery going on in quiet corners of the county, ending with a call to action and a message of hope. Written and performed with musicians JP Worsfold and Anne-Marie Sanderson. Need Fire – an old Cumbrian tradition to cure disease at the end of winter by extinguishing all the fires in the valley, and kindling a ‘Need Fire’ with a bow-drill. Livestock were passed through the smoke to improve their health before all the hearth fires were re-lit from the embers. This is a cycle round the seasons in story, song, and clog dancing. Written and performed with the a-capella close-harmony group Quickbeam – Abi Driver, Arwen Heaton and Alison Scott. I also do family storytelling sessions, working with Art Centres in Cumbria – Kirkgate Arts and Heritage, Florence Arts, Rosehill Arts and Keswick Museum. And I’ve developed sensory storytelling sessions, based on an 8-week trainee placement with Prism Arts, and training with Different Planet Arts. These sessions are designed for children with SEND. They can also be adapted to work for early years groups. I am in the process of working with Cumbria Arts and Culture Network to create a package for working with schools.