Dave Tonge

Dave Tonge has been telling tales since 1999. Prior to that he was a jack of all trades, but, unhappy with the road he was travelling, went back into learning, studying for a BA & MA in English history and the first year of a PhD focusing on the relation between Tudor men and women. It was then that he discovered storytelling, formed Past-Imagined, Historic Tales Tellers with another storyteller, Stewart Alexander and ran away from his PhD to become an Itinerant teller of tales! They fused history with traditional folk tales, adding some authentic costume into the mix and told stories at museums, heritage sites, festivals, fairs and schools. Since then Dave has travelled all over the UK telling stories for both Adults and children at storytelling festivals and as 'the Yarnsmith of Norwich' works regularly for English Heritage, the National Trust, the British Museum and Ashmolean. Having published his first collection of Tudor Folk Tales he'll also be sharing them in Stratford Upon Avon for the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust and for the Historic Royal Palaces. He has published two other books: Norfolk Folk Tales for Children and Medieval Folk Tales for Children.