Category: News

My new show ARIADNE AND THE MINOTAUR premieres at the mighty Hay Festival next Tuesday.

‘Hay is the most important literary festival in the Western world’ said The New York Times – and I would agree! It’s a wonderful, wonderful festival, and it’s always massively exciting to perform there.

ARIADNE is a re-imagining of the Greek myth of Theseus and the Minotaur, this time told from the point of view of Ariadne. She is normally seen as a lovelorn victim: she gives Theseus a thread to help him find his way back out of the Labyrinth once he has killed the Minotaur. They elope, but he abandons on the island of Naxos.

My version tells a different story 🙂 My Ariadne is a determined young woman, passionate and strong. But she is tormented by the howls coming from the Labyrinth. The Minotaur is her half-brother, Asterion, and she has promised to save him from the darkness. Years have gone by, and she hasn’t been able to do it. But then a black-sailed tribute vessel from Athens arrives, and the spindle of her destiny starts to unwind…

It’s a gorgeous show, if I say so myself! I am very pleased with it and can’t wait to take it in front of an audience. There are dazzling images and lovely music: I sing  and play a shruti – an Indian instrument like a mini harmonium.

Here’s the info:

CAT WEATHERILL

ARIADNE AND THE MINOTAUR

WHAT A NIGHT! I told Bluebeard in Barcelona the other week, in the legendary Harlem Jazz Cafe. What was extraordinary for me was the stage floor…. The audience couldn’t see it, but the red lights behind me made it appear  it was stained crimson with blood! It looked like a slaughterhouse floor – perfect for Bluebeard’s bloody chamber 🙂

This is Astana in Kazakhstan – what an amazing looking city! I will be going here at the beginning of April to do some schools work for the British Council. After a few days here, I will fly to Almaty. It promises to be quite an adventure 🙂

Introducing my new full length touring show for children & families!

It’s a winning combination of scary stories and whacky science experiments with a bit of steampunk thrown in too. And it’s very interactive… The youngsters help me do the experiments 🙂

I am working on a new website…

It’s aimed at children, and it’s all about my books. I’ve always felt uncomfortable about children coming here, to this site. Sometimes, when I visit a school, I slip past a classroom and see the teacher has it up on the big screen. Aargh! It’s not intended for kids. It’s a business site, not a fan site.

The new one WILL be a fan site!

I’ve had this problem for years. It’s because I do so many different things. Are there any other children’s authors who do bawdy stories for adults? Probably not! At least – not under the same name 😉 But I do, and I need to advertise them both.

So at last, I am separating things out. From now on, all my school sessions will point children clearly in the direction of www.catweatherillauthor.com And this is the address that will go on all my book marketing and family storytelling stuff.

SORTED!

I’ve just had a wonderful weekend at the spectacular Blenheim Palace, telling ghost stories to families. Now we’re talking of maybe doing something for adults… I’d love to do Bluebeard!