Shonaleigh Cumbers returns to the Story Café at Bridport Arts Centre on Thursday, May 24 at 7.30pm with The Sapphire Staff, the final tale from the Gem Cycle which she has brought to her audience over the past five years.

In this story an ancient warlord with an iron tongue, an eye of stone and an arm of bronze stands at the gate.

He is looking for three objects that will give him possession of all the kingdoms of the world; a Sapphire Staff that part the waters of the world, a Snakeskin Cloak and the Book of All Things which contains the song of the sun and the thoughts of the rain.

Described as ‘a modern day Shaharazad’, Shonaleigh is an oral storyteller with an extraordinary cache of hundreds of tales learned as a child in the Drut’syla tradition of stories handed on from grandmother to granddaughter.

She is a spell-binding storyteller, one of the foremost on the British scene, appearing at venues around the country as well as travelling globally.

  • Shonaleigh Cumbers, Story Cafe, Bridport Arts Centre, Thursday, May 24, 7.30pm.

The evening is suitable for adults and older children.

Advance booking is advisable and tickets are £10 (£6 concessions).

They are available from Bridport Arts Centre box office or from the website.