SELENE is a storytelling show created by North Yorkshire-based Wright&Grainger and Meg Drury, that revolves around an ancient myth about the moon. It’s a story about the light sides of us, the dark sides of us, and the things we grow up in the orbit of.

Can you tell us a bit about Selene?

SELENE is a solo storytelling show that weaves poetic spoken word with cinematic music. It’s a contemporary reimagination of an ancient myth – all about the moon. The story follows a young person growing up in rural North Yorkshire (where we, the creative team, live). It is a dynamic, gentle, funny, moving, captivating piece about all that the moon embodies – identity, change, what we reveal about ourselves and what we keep hidden, what is projected onto us or what we reflect, and what we hold to be true within us. Including all the brilliant, wild stuff inside us.

Where did the idea come from?

SELENE is the sibling show to Wright&Grainger’s acclaimed HELIOS (a story about the son of the god of the sun), likewise a contemporary reimagination of ancient myths. Once HELIOS was out and about in the world, SELENE’s creation as a show felt inevitable really. And the rich world of Ancient Greek myths about the moon proved wonderfully ripe for regenerating.

Why did you want to tell this particular story?

I am, and always have been, entirely mesmerised by the power of the moon and all it represents. I have worked in various capacities with Wright&Grainger on multiple projects and love the nature of the work, particularly how we connect with audiences. Wright&Grainger specifically wanted to make SELENE with me. As such, it is written to be particularly personal to me. As a storyteller that is a real gift and means I can share the story in a way that resonates with all who come to experience it.

Can you tell us a little bit about your own story and who inspired your passion for theatre and performing?

My own youth, growing up in a rural region on the east coast of Australia, was peppered with what I now consider to be the most special opportunities to take part in live performance, and experience the beauty of sharing stories with people in the immediacy of time and space. So, I have been lucky enough to engage in theatre and share it with audiences from a young age. Each new step took me to the next bit of learning and training. The performing arts have been my life and career ever since – across many forms and more recently across many continents!

Are the Greek myths still relevant in today’s modern world?

Myths tend to be relegated to something that happened a long time ago. However, myths – which is to stay stories that filter deeply through the ways in which we live and relate to each other – are woven into the very fabric of our culture, societies, communities, relationships and can govern us in ways we are both aware and unaware of. We cannot escape them.

What is important, when we look to specific ancient mythological narratives, is to ask vital questions about the context, content, and form of those stories and what purpose they serve. This is how ancient stories remain relevant. We can learn from them, any which way. By identifying what still holds resonance, what has changed, what needs to change, and what needs us to dream up something entirely new! We need to consciously and actively keep myths evolving – for the wellbeing of all.

What do you hope audiences take away from watching SELENE?

A sense of shared experience. A sense of connection and hope. A sense of joy in the wild, and beauty in the becoming.

Why is it important that stories like this are told?

To bring us closer together, to engage in collective experience. To connect and inspire. To keep us imagining and reimagining what is possible. To encourage us to always be active participants in our own lives and world, in all the little and big ways. To hold each other in all it means to be alive.

For tickets for SELENE at St Bartholomew’s Church, Armley, Leeds, Sunday, June 21, 7pm click here.