Vinland by Jack Dean and Company

Vinland by Jack Dean and Company is playing Wolverhampton’s Arena Theatre 21^st April as part of its regional spring tour. This Viking saga adventure show merges history and mythology with storytelling, animation, and live music created by Jack Dean and Company suitable for ages 8+. Narrator and poet Jack Dean brings the audience into a world where myth and history collide with ghosts, monsters, and wild gooseberries.

Jack Dean & Company is a disabled-led non-profit organisation set up to help tell stories of how things could be. They collaborate with inspiring and exceptional artists to create new work across many artforms. Founded by Jack Dean in 2020, they are committed to offering people across the UK the chance to dream of a different world, whatever the current one may hold.

 Vinland

A family-friendly Viking saga adventure show that merges history and mythology with storytelling, animation, and live music
Written by Jack Dean | Directed by Ellie Taylor
Touring 11th February – 6th May 2023

@mcjackdean | #Vinland | www.jackdean.co.uk

“Artists like rap storyteller Jack Dean make us excited about what they might do next” Guardian

Jack Dean & Company are to return in Spring with their high-intensity cinematic theatre experience, which reimagines the little-known historical tale of Erik the Red. Alongside animation, visual and audio effect, narrator Jack Dean tells the story of the Vikings' final voyage to North America, where mankind lived for a brief period in the early 11th century, nearly 500 years before any other Europeans. Using lyrical storytelling and original live music, the family show, suitable for ages 8+, brings the audience into a world where myth and history collide with ghosts, monsters, and wild gooseberries. The tour begins in Solihull in February before dates in Cornwall, Bristol West Sussex and other West regions.

Young audiences will set sail with Freydis and her son Snorri on a Viking adventure that’s fun for all the family. They will join her crew of explorers as they find out they’re not alone in this strange new land and follow Snorri as he confronts an ancient spirit set on revenge, while learning the truth about himself.
Jack Dean said, “What fascinated me about the Sagas was the way they blend historical events with things we would call fantastical. Battles and cattle trading are reported alongside demonic possessions, ghostly apparitions and giant sea-beasts. For the Vikings, all of these things were equally real. It is this world of unreliable narrators and mythical histories that we try and evoke with the storytelling, animation and music of the show."

Jack Dean & Company is a disabled-led non-profit organisation set up to help tell stories of how things could be. They collaborate with inspiring and exceptional artists to create new work across many artforms. Founded by Jack Dean in 2020, they are committed to offering people across the UK the chance to dream of a different world, whatever the current one may hold. Their podcast series, Fogland Lighthouse, shines a light on the obscure, overlooked and downright weird stories from British History, with words and music by Jack Dean. Sometimes funny, sometimes tragic, often a bit of both. It is available now on major platforms including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts as well as their website https://shows.acast.com/foglandlighthouse/episodes.

Jack Dean is a poet, playwright, performer, emcee and composer. His work tells stories that wander the lands between myth, memory and history. He has toured internationally, including at Latitude Festival, the South Bank Centre and the Bowery Poetry Club in New York. He is the creator of the Fake Town Fables and Infinite Hex podcasts. Previous touring shows include Grandad and the Machine, Nuketown, Horace and the Yeti and Hero & Leander.