Biography

Powerful and bold, Jan Blake is an outstanding storyteller, who performs in theatres and festivals the length and breadth of Europe. Jan was born in Manchester to Jamaican parents. Inspired by recordings of ‘Miss Lou’ (Louise Bennett) she came to telling stories in 1986, and rapidly gained an international reputation for witty and exhilarating performances. Specialising in folktales from West Africa, North Africa, the Arab world and the Caribbean, her repertoire is full of tales of powerful women and her versions of Ananse’s exploits are definitive. she was awarded the Thüringe Märchen Preis for devoting her life to this art form.

‘ONE OF THE WORLD’S GREATEST STORYTELLERS’ André Naffis-Sahely

‘Jan Blake’s storytelling is among the best in the world’ EVERYTHING THEATRE