Dancing with Pan

Have you ever had a brilliant dream where all the stories you were told as a child were real, and big and leaping around in front of your eyes? Have you ever read the tales of Never Ever land, and wished you could fly from the second star to the right, and straight on til midnight? We might be grown up now and magic may only exist in fairy tales, at Disney land and in our dreams, but the miraculous minds of a bold few that call themselves the Rogue Theater have began dreaming up brilliant parties that bring folk tales to life and make the impossible, possible. 


I am a lover of theater, a lover of fairy tales and beyond all a lover of nature so when my dad told me that there was a Wild Woodland Ball taking place this summer in the woods that I've grown up in, well... it was like being told Disneyland had moved to your home village and only charged a £7.50 entry fee :P 



Apparently, the Rogue Theater have been putting together these themed "Walks" for a while now. From King Arthur Medieval and Winter tales, to Austere Pagan Halloween celebrations and now a beautiful Wild Woodland summer ball, this really isn't the sort of thing you find in the city, and another reason why I love my home county (and today, my home village of Illogan :P)




The walk goes something like this; 

Fairy lights line the  trees and little dangling lanterns. The tree's are tall and stretch up to the sky and as the path continues, a cosy lounge emerges, a crackling gramophone playing dully in the background music belonging to the time of war and Edith Piaf. Tattered lampshades sway in the tree's above and vintage cups are laid out waiting for guests to come to tea. 

As the path continues, clocks begin to tick, and the trees are littered with a bizzare washing line of assorted battered clocks. Great sails billow in a tall tree, and a rope ladder emerges, ready to be climbed high to the crows nest in search of seas above the skies. When the path begins to get so bumpy that you almost give up hope, a den appears with a mysterious lurking figure... a great protector of the forest; the woodland king. A fire is crackling in his hollow and he shows you to a door... a door to the other world. 
Once through the door, the kingdom of the Fae world opens up and a great bustling party is taking place. A disillusioned actor sits in Pans throne strumming his acoustic guitar, a cauldron bubbles and steams in the corner cooking up a storm, and an eccentric array of characters from 1930's flapper girls, a Raven Woman and wild wolf boy dance and flit in the background. Ready to take their places for the show, and re-enact the stories from the Moons Book. 



Yes, I'm a sap for these things, but I have to say the show was flawless. The stories were brilliant, humor for both the adults and the kids, some witty punchlines. All the music was performed and played by the theater troupe themselves, and they had created and imagined some wonderful endearing characters who you cant help but to fall in love with. When they say the refreshments are "reasonably priced" they aren't joking. Whenever something says "Reasonably priced" I raise an eyebrow, but £2.00 for hot woodland stew really isn't that bad, and I was expecting to pay alot more than £2.50 for a Deadly Nightshade beer.
They included face painting and a (speedy) craft workshop in the price, and yes, being a ball there had to be a dancing part. I have to say, I was extremely impressed at their music choice; Johnny Flynn and Caravan Palace. Me and George had been waiting for the chance to whip out our Lindy Hop Swing Routine in public, although being the clumsy flatfoot I am; I was caught out a fair few times by roots and brambles :P 

A party in the woods? I give them 10/10. A real value day out at £7.50 a ticket :) They run a Sunlight daytime Ball at 2.30 and a Twilight ball at 7.30pm. Me and George did both (Took his little brother the second time) But I will recommend the Twilight Ball without hesitation if you can only do it once. In the dark moonlight it was magical, the fires were flickering and the candles alight and it felt so secretive and magical. 

And here, I attach you a variety of pictures I took the second time round in the day time :) Im really sorry about the darkness and grain; my lens doesn't work properly anymore and it was extremely dark so a high ISO = molto grainy :( 

Get your tickets here!

Some guests dressed up in their woodland attire

A glimpse of the party through the forest 

are we there yet? :P

                                               Don't eat the mushrooms!

Louis decided he was going to be a "Celtic Fairy"

Dinner! Wild Woodland broth :)

                     Louis the celtic fairy 

           Making head dresses out of willow :)

Dancers "Edd the banker"

Pirates!

George did a great job with the focus here :P lool  v