Michael has stories to tell in Matlock

Venture into the vibrant and liminal world of Breton fairytales, and a landscape filled with encounters with beauties, beasts, strange companions, bizarre marriages, and ruthless atonement.

In a charm-your-socks-off performance, Michael Harvey draws on the collections of François-Marie Luzel, to recast and retell these grown up tales of wonder with a disarmingly light touch.

These stories come from a place where everyday life and the fantastic collide – somewhere simultaneously earthy, ethereal and real... with a decidedly comedic twist.

Michael has told stories both as a solo performer and with other artists throughout the UK and Europe as well festivals in North and South America. In 2011 he was awarded a Major Creative Wales Award and in 2012 he won a coveted BASE (British Awards for Storytelling Excellence) Award for Hunting the Giant’s Daughter.

Tickets cost £7 and can be bought by calling Storytelling Cafe on 01629 580023 or you can pay on the door. Delicious cakes and savoury snacks are available, and you can bring your own bottle.

The café is in The Imperial Rooms, Imperial Road, Matlock. Doors open at 6.45pm and the show begins at 7.30pm.

n A documentary screening at QUAD, Derby, entitled The Lost Pubs of Wirksworth, reveals some rather unusual history.

Filmmaker Gavin Repton, originally from Wirksworth, started the project when he found a list from 1840 which included over 50 different pubs. Combining a fascination with the history of the town with snippets of stories, he traced the ‘pubs’ listed to existing buildings to tell a bizarre tale of a small town with big thirst for beer.

Gavin said: “While at a loose end one day I decided to start tracking down all the pubs on a list on the wall of The Royal Oak and finding out what had happened to the buildings, I thought it would be an interesting subject for a film.”

The Lost Pubs Of Wirksworth (PG) screens on Tuesday, February 10, at 6.15pm. All tickets are £5. To book, call 01332 290606.