The Beautiful and the Damned – at 40 Winks Hotel

On the nights of June 15 and 16 I will be performing at the gorgeous 40 Winks Hotel, telling stories on the theme of  ‘The Beautiful and the Damned’ . I am sharing the night with storyteller Nell Phoenix.

Bedtime Stories at 40 Winks is a spoken word event curated by Rachel Rose Reid that takes guests on a fairytale journey. There is strict dress code of nightwear. There are dreamy bedrooms for guests to get changed in. Guests wear everything from pyjamas and dressing gowns with their favourite teddy bears tucked into their pockets, to silken lingerie, false eyelashes and yards of petticoats. Guests meet in the kitchen for tea cups of cocktails, and are taken through the house to see two magical performances. The evening ends with music and going-home gifts.

The title  The Beautiful and the Damned is taken from F. Scott Fitzgerald’s dark novel. It describes the decline of a glamorous couple, who spend, borrow, drink, and lie their way to damnation. It is a satirical, moral commentary on life in 1920’s America. It has inspired me to tell an old Grimm’s fairytale that I’ve not told for years – Bearskin – about a soldier’s pact with the devil. I am re-making it, snipping and clipping it with images from other devil tales, and drawing on Fitzgerald’s imagery of dancing, hotel rooms and mirrors.  But if you want to find out if the soldier is beautiful or damned by the end of the story – you need to come along and hear it!

June 15 and 16  7.30  for 8.00 start

40 Winks Hotel, 109 Mile End Road, Stepney Green , London E1 4UJ.

Tickets need to be bought in advance. Email for details about how to book: reservations@40winks.org

Telephone +44(0)20 7790 0259