By Sarah Stephen
HOBART — Over the past year, Mecca Performance Cafe has become one of the most popular venues for alternative political and cultural performance, as well as alternative political scene and discussion. Political groups such as the Wilderness Society and Green Left Weekly use it for events and discussions, newly emerging bands play there, poets recite, there are slide shows, and you can even surf the internet.
On June 2, a cold and misty Sunday, 60 people crowded into the Mecca, seated on cushions and rugs, the room lit with candles, to hear the second evening of storytelling, WaffleTall Stories, which is fast becoming a regular event and contributing in its own unique way to the revival of the ancient tradition of storytelling.
Waterfall, one of the imaginations behind the mix of ancient fables and original and warped adaptations, spoke about the importance of storytelling and the motivation for the production.
"Storytelling as we know it today has become something that's only meant for children, but that's not how it began. Storytelling was used for centuries by people to pass on knowledge, and for entertainment. Our aim is to recapture the magic and mystery of storytelling, and re-win it as something for people of all ages. WaffleTall Stories is the beginning of that."
The next night of storytelling at the Mecca is June 23.