Song of the Crow

Riddlestick Theatre, an acclaimed Bristol-based company, is bringing its new summer show, "Song of the Crow," to Cornwall in August 2026. This folk theatre production will be performed at The Acorn Theatre in Penzance on Thursday, August 20, and at Blisland Village Hall, Bodmin, on Saturday, August 22. The event marks the company's 10-year anniversary tour.

The show is a bewitching narrative of ritual magic and misfortune, set against the backdrop of Cornwall’s Lizard Point in 1917. The audience encounters two travelling storytellers who unfold a sinister tale about a troupe of deserters practicing ritual magic to communicate with loved ones lost in the war. Unforeseen consequences arise from their engagement with the dead, leading to a dark and surreal chain of events when a shell-shocked soldier appears on a nearby beach.

Inspired by the surge of interest in the occult during the First World War, "Song of the Crow" is described as a dreamy exploration of loss, love, and the misty realms of the unknown. Riddlestick Theatre, founded by Kate Stokes and Thomas Manson, specializes in musical comedy and folk theatre traditions. Their actor-musician troupe uses playful performance and enchanting live music to tell peculiar stories, blending past and present, fact and fiction.