Edition 173 - Alison Williams-Bailey - Project Great Grandmother, The Ancient Vanir

Alison Williams-Bailey is a talented, versatile and creative theatre practitioner who has worked with many companies as a performer, workshop leader, choreographer and assistant director. She is the artistic director of Root and Branch Theatre Company and also performs as a folk singer and a songwriter. She has performed internationally, recorded her own CD albums and performed on radio (UK & international). Since graduating from her MPhil (Brunel 2006) & MA (Middlesex 1996) in performing arts Alison has taught in higher education (Brunel, Winchester & London University) as well as leading workshops and giving lectures at festivals (Tommy Makem International Festival of Song, Northern Ireland) and academic conferences (Winchester & Cambridge University, British Forum for Ethnomusicology). She has performed as a folk singer at festivals (Sami Indigenous Music Festival, Kautokeino, Norway; Broadstairs and Tenterden Folk Festivals UK) and has toured in international theatre with Optik Theatre Company & Dudendance. amongst others. In 2006 Alison set up Root and Branch exploring ideas from her MPhil and encounters with the Sami indigenous people in the Scandinavian and Russian Arctic. The Sami have a story-based culture passed through the generations by oral tradition. This year she founded Project Great Grandmother as a Root and Branch Theatre Project to explore mythology, legend and lore in Britain with storytelling performance of the Norse Creation Myth. Related Links: www.rootandbranchtheatre.co.uk https://www.facebook.com/Project-Great-Grandmother-1041163536013638/