When you’re a moth, fluttery will get you everywhere.
But when you’re at The Moth, you’ll need to speak from the heart: it’s a New York-based not-for-profit organisation dedicated to storytelling. They host frequent live performances, and luckily for us, they occasionally pop across the pond to bring their stirring storytelling events to English shores too.
The Moth specialises in true life stories – the kinds that might make you laugh, gasp, cry, feel inspired and probably cringe a bit too. Although they don’t go to extreme lengths like wheeling out a lie detector for the entrants, the general rule of thumb is that what you’re hearing has really happened, making for a more intimate and emotive evening.
The Mainstage event is, in their words, ‘the quintessential Moth experience’. It’s taking place on September 27th at a venue that’s already heard its fair share of confessions: Islington’s Union Chapel. Five storytellers will take to the stage and share, without any notes, personal true stories that will likely take your tear ducts out for a quick spin before a musical interlude.
It does take guts to get up on stage in front of an audience of complete strangers and share these potentially vulnerable and/or embarrassing situations, so you have to admire the bravery of these people – particularly because they’ll all be recorded for the award-winning Moth podcast, which only gets downloaded 100 million times or so each year.
You’ll probably want to make an evening of it, with dinner before, either at the venue itself (in the chapel’s Margins Café), or at one of Islington’s best restaurants. Which one?
That’s another story…
NOTE: The Moth Mainstage takes place on 27th September at Union Chapel. Tickets cost £37 + booking fees, and can be booked at the Union Chapel website.
Union Chapel | 19b Compton Terrace, London, N1 2UN
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