Return to Author index                              Return to Title index

New Age Gawain and the Green Knight (audio cassette) told by Diane Edgecomb. Wilderwalks Productions, 1995. ISBN 0-9651669-1-0 46 mills. $10 + $2 shipping.

Here, from WiIderwalks Productions, are two tapes, one for the family with children 4-8 years of age, the other for adults.

The title track on side one of Pattysaurus, is an original story about a little girl who is dinosaur crazy. She is also greedy, selfish, and pretty rotten to her little brother. When she finds herself turned into a dinosaur, the whole family must deal with the consequences. Side two of the tape includes two stories adapted by Edgecomb. One is based on 'The Three Apples" by Carolyn Sherwin Bailey, and the other on a Japanese folktale about the origin of fireflies. The tape won an Honors Award from Storytelling World Magazine in April of 19% in a nationwide contest.
New Age Gawain is a modernization of the traditional New Year's story of Gawain and the Green Knight. In this version, the Green Knight bungee jumps into Arthur's men's group conference in the Sheraton Tara to issue his challenge. Diane Edgecomb has a background in professional theatre, and she has a lot going for her as a storyteller. She has a wonderful voice, both speaking and singing.

She is adept at doing voices, she is clever, and energetic. However, if your preference is for the more traditional, intimate style of telling, you will probably find yourself overwhelmed by her high energy style of contemporary comedy.

These are performance tapes, theatrical versions complete, in the case of Pattysaurus, with sound effects. Some of the sound effects are done vocally by Edgecomb, others are added by various studio means. At one point in Pattysaurus the listener hears Diane's voice doing Patty, playing and singing, in the background, and her voice narrating the story in the foreground. My nine year old was bothered by this, as she was by the fact that some narrative words (ie "she said") were done in character voice.

This tape is graced by the Celtic harp and wooden flute music of Margot Chamberlain. Additional music and musical direction are supplied by Tom Megan.
Order from WilderwaIks, PO Box 422, Hyde Park, MA 02136
(617) 455-1926

The Second Story Review, Vol 1, No. 3, September 1996