uncaged
a story from the wild
Sometime in 1871 the great Breton folktale collector François-Marie Luzel sat down in front of a man called Guillaume Garandel in a village called Plouaret, ready to add another story to his bulging collection of traditional tales. Imagine his surprise when the story unravelled in a twisted tale of cross-dressing, attempted seduction and a huge hairy man in a story that defies catergories and leaps, hairy and smelly, out of the collective imagination, demanding to be heard.
“...in that hour, it felt as though we travelled leagues, into a different and strange world...He knows how to be theatrical, and in parts you could sense the poetry bursting out. But his way was chattier, jokier. And as he wove us a tale of royalty and wildness, he couldn’t stop the humour bubbling to the surface. There was a lively crowd in, more than ready to join in when invited, and sometimes when not. “Hurrah!”, someone cried when the hero appeared - and when, just as the giant’s head was cut off, there was a thud just behind me - well, the whole place burst out laughing. “You don’t know how long it took to rehearse that!” as he laughed too...Ah, this was excellent - I spent the night transfixed.”
