Hugh Lupton’s interest in traditional music, in street theatre, in live poetry, and in myth, resulted in him becoming a professional storyteller in 1981. 

     For twelve years he toured Britain with the ‘Company of Storytellers’ (with Ben Haggarty and Sally Pomme Clayton). Their work was instrumental in stimulating a nation-wide revival of interest in storytelling.

     Since the mid-nineties he has worked as a solo performer and collaborator. In 2006 he and Daniel Morden were awarded the Classical Association Prize for ‘the most significant contribution to the public understanding of the classics’ as a result of their performances of the Iliad, the Odyssey and the Metamorphoses.

     His work with musician Chris Wood has resulted in commissions from BBC Radio 3 and the ‘Song of the Year’ at the BBC folk awards.

     He tells stories from many cultures, but his particular passion is for the hidden layers of the British landscape and the stories and ballads that give voice to them.

     He has published several collections of folk tales for children and two novels ‘The Ballad of John Clare’ and ‘The Assembly of the Severed Head’. Most recently a collection of his writings on myth ‘The Dreaming of Place’ has been published by Propolis Books (2022)

 

    He is also a poet and lyricist.