Storytime not just for kids

 

Talking books are moving out of the virtual and going live at Dargaville Library, with celebrated narrator, performer and past librarian Barb Adams telling tales to people aged 50-plus.

‘A cuppa and a story’ sessions will be running every second Friday, starting October 16.

Barb Adams, who was one of the founders of radio drama in Auckland with radio personality Merv Smith, brings authors’ work to life, from Roald Dahl to Katherine Mansfield.

“Barb’s experience and training shows, because she’s able to really pull listeners into the story,” says Dargaville Library manager Lisa Salter. “She’s great at maintaining suspense, really infusing the words with the personality of the characters involved.”

The idea of a cuppa and a story came from a discussion between Lisa and community wellness co-ordinator Bev Hart.

“This is a great way for older people to meet new people, have a cuppa and at the same time have the very real pleasure of listening to good stories, told well,” Bev Hart says.

Barb Adams’ experience in bringing characters to life goes a long way back, she says. “I’ve been talking into a microphone since about the age of four,” she says.

One of the first dramas broadcast on the national radio station was set in a grocers shop.

Because her voice was in a higher register, she’s played many children’s parts, of many nationalities, she says.

“Then, I was invited to do a programme with a puppet, on TV – Button On, Button Off. It was an awful voice to do, but great fun, because television was still very much in its infancy then.”

Barb Adams says reading short stories to adults will be a new experience, but one she’s really looking forward to.