I don’t think I’ve ever laughed so much during an interview. And that says a lot really!

Jan appeared on screen and even though I usually do interviews audio only, I couldn’t get myself to switch the camera off. As soon as we said hi, we were in where the gold is stored. She had me in tears after the first few minutes, so I forgot to hit record, so after 10 I had to stop and remind myself why we were here. She became a friend within that hour and a half, that’s how it felt. She shares about story, about the lies told throughout time about color, race and place. I could have spoken with her for hours and I hope that you find her words, insights and way of meeting what is human, as moving and important as I did.

Enjoy!

About Jan Blake

Jan Blake is one of Europe's leading storytellers who has been performing world-wide since 1986.

She was born in Manchester, of Jamaican parentage and specialises in stories from Africa and the Caribbean. Specialising in stories from Africa, the Caribbean, and Arabia, she has a well-earned reputation for dynamic and generous storytelling. Recent highlights include Hay Festival, where she was storyteller in-residence, the Viljandi Harvest Festival in Estonia and TEDx Warsaw.

She has developed relationships with several major arts organisations, including the National Theatre, where she is the Consultant on Storytelling; the London Philharmonic Orchestra; and Battersea Arts Centre. She has performed at all major storytelling festivals, leads storytelling workshops for schools and universities and is a regular contributor to BBC Radio programmes. Her own storytelling company and school is the Akua Storytelling Project.

In 2011, she was the recipient of the biannual Thüringer Märchen Preis, awarded to scholars or performers who have devoted their lives to the service of storytelling. As part of the World Shakespeare Festival in 2012, she was the curator for Shakespeare’s Stories, a landmark exhibition that explored themes of journey and identity, in conjunction with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust.