“Sue Povall is an exceptionally fine and experienced storyteller capable of enchanting audiences of all ages with the enormous range of traditional tales that she brings to life in performance. She is also a skilled organiser of arts and storytelling events and has a fantastic track record of attracting and building up audiences for the benefit of local communities and charities.”

“Sue has a rare combination of gifts and qualities; she is not only creative – an excellent storyteller – but also an extremely adept organiser and co-ordinator.

I could not wish for a better person to look after finances: Sue has been treasurer for Transition Town West Kirby’s Mellow Yellow group for many years and brings to the work both joy and an unfussy attention to detail and keeping to schedules. This work includes keeping the accounts for National Lottery and other grants we have received, and the yearly Wirral Earth Fest.

The wider community benefits a lot from Sue’s work: she was a long-time, active member of TTWK’s Core Group and managed the monthly e-newsletter; as an active member of the Mellow Yellow group since inception as a community group in 2011, Sue has been a mainstay for its creativity and wellbeing work, again combining her organisational and storytelling skills.
The groups meeting at Making Space (TTWK’s community venue) value Sue’s giftedness as a facilitator; her sessions bring a deep connection with the Earth, with sensitive personal development and healing through storytelling. It’s an accessible, inclusive and fun approach.

Sue’s varied training, her determination and her care for the Earth and for the people around her have borne fruit in a number of new projects. To name just two: Making Space for Story Group and Quirky Tales are providing a safe space for people of very mixed abilities to grow personally as they develop confidence and skills.

Personally, I remain grateful to Sue for inspiring me to go through the fear and begin to share with others my innate love of story.”

“Sue is a talented and experienced storyteller. She is also a trainer and facilitator for those wishing to take up storytelling. As a storyteller I have found her to be very imaginative and resourceful, always choosing to tell stories which include a diverse and inclusive range of characters and scenarios and always fitting her storytelling to the setting she finds herself in.

As a facilitator she is extremely thorough and organised and encourages her students to take risks within the loose structures that she imposes, thus encouraging us to explore our own boundaries whilst always feeling that we have somewhere safe to land.

Sue has been nurturing Quirky Tales, a monthly get-together where storytellers can share stories on a particular theme or none. She has encouraged her students to take on storytelling tasks that delve into our own life experiences and combine them with items from a range of different genres.

I feel confident that whatever Sue turns her hand to she will make a success of.”

“I love listening to Sue, a great storyteller…”

“Storytelling comes into a special domain as a means to communicate through words and expression when in the hands of Wirral Wonderers MC Sue Povall who with hands raised told the tale of the ‘Woodsman and his wife who spun round the kitchen with joy. As they passed the cauldron, the wife caught her foot on her husband’s ankle and she flew into the air and down into the cauldron landing with a clatter, a rattle and a pop and pffffff…..ttttttt of pinky purple light’.”

“Sue is a wonderful storyteller!”

“I had the privilege of working with Sue Povall on a course I ran on Applied Storytelling. She is a workshop leader’s dream as she not only quickly integrates new aspects of the storyteller’s craft, but also, very skillfully comes up with her own creations and delivers overnight something quite astonishing. ”

“You have a gift … use it.”

“In order to promote the National Story Telling Week, we invited our own Wirral-based story teller, Sue Povall, to attend Wirral Met College to conduct two story telling sessions. Both sessions were very well attended, with Sue entertaining them all with story after story. The events were a great success, so much so that we intend inviting Sue back to carry out more story telling sessions in the near future. Well done Sue!”

“Our group loved the story telling and got some great positive feedback.”

“Sue is a lovely storyteller. She has a very warm and engaging manner and is expressive in her delivery (both verbally and non-verbally). Her stories are always interesting to hear and hold my attention.”

“We felt that the event was the best we had put on. Your contribution added another facet.”

“Sue is able to pitch her stories to suit a wide variety of audiences and keeps everyone engaged. She has experience in many different settings and her passion shows through in her performances. She is highly recommended.”

“Sue Povall is a lovely person. She is not afraid to explore new ways of doing things and has a beautiful voice for telling stories. Sue keeps you captured till the end. She is well worth listening to.”

“Sue came with another storyteller to ‘Holiday at Home’ as part of a 4 day event held in West Kirby for elderly people who have trouble getting out of their homes unaided. 18 ‘holidaymakers’ plus helpers were held spellbound once Sue stood up and started her first story. Her perfect storytelling voice held our attention right to the end. Comments afterwards over a cup of tea were “I was back by the fire listening to my Mother”, “I don’t know when I last had a story ‘read’ to me” and “How did they memorise it all?”. We all loved your stories, Sue. Please come again next year. Thank you, from all your listeners.”

“Good voice, and timing, acting skills. Pace of story steady. Story unfolds. Leads us into it. Waiting for punch line. A consummate storyteller.

Well done Sue. Very well told. Your enjoyment of telling came through. Good use of senses.

Excellent telling, great visualisation. Nice aside with the TARDIS / handbag. ”

“Sue’s storytelling group has taken me from not being able to think of anything to make up a story and not feeling able to tell a story from memory to being able to spontaneously make up a story, along with others, and tell a story from memory.

My listening skills have also improved as well as my presentation skills. I started off looking at my shoes as I thought about what to say and now, I can give good eye contact with an audience and feel more confident. The journey thus far has stretched me and, being 71, has livened up my mind a great deal. It has also been a pleasure to get to know my fellow story group members better as a result of the exercises that we have done. The various different approaches to analysing storytelling have also been very interesting and the stories that Sue and other group members have told have been really entertaining and thought provoking. I cannot praise Sue’s approach and abilities enough.”

“I have enjoyed being part of story group and learning the techniques of telling an effective story. Sue has always been very encouraging to the group particularly when delivering stories to a public audience. This has helped me since I started in 2022.”

“Story Group has been working for me on several levels. It’s helped me to build up my confidence and to develop my ideas in storytelling. Sue is very thorough and inspires the group to work through the varied aspects of the storyteller in small stages which make it extremely accessible. I started the group after being part of a workshop with Malcolm Green, which Sue organised. I feel much more able to talk in front of a group and at the different open stage events we have attended. A few years ago I realised after hearing some of Sue’s stories at Earth Fest, the art of the storyteller is not just about reading a story, or reciting from memory, but something much more organic and creative , and I’m very pleased to be part of the process of learning to become a storyteller. ”

“Sue Povall is the facilitator of a Story Group taking place in West Kirby. I have been a member of the group for almost a year.
Sue outlines to us the creative skills that are necessary for telling stories to listeners. She defines these qualities to us and gives us chances to practise them. She explains things carefully and in doing so she shows patience and forbearance.
In this group I have learned to use expression in my description and in the way I use words to write eloquently, and most of all, to love storytelling.”

“I have known Sue through our volunteering with Transition town West Kirby for more than 10 years and have experienced her as very reliable, conscientious and not shying away from taking on lead roles.

Since becoming a storyteller and tutoring her “making space for stories” students, I have had the pleasure to witness the developments, especially with one of Sue’s newly emerging storytellers.

Under her leadership and with her skilful support, a student, who read a story from a sheet of paper with his eyes glued to the script and on the ground 2 years ago, is now able to write his own story, can tell it without script and is able to have some eye contact with us listeners.

What a difference thanks to a wonderful teacher!”

“It is great to see storytelling taking place in different settings on a regular basis. I have been to and taken part in Quirky Tales which is fun. ”

“Always a great afternoon at the Williamson Art Gallery. 2 hours of great entertainment – stories, poetry and humour – pure escapism. An opportunity to meet up with friends too, have a cuppa and sit back and enjoy. All for a great cause, Claire House. I love it … must go to more venues too.”

“‘Once upon a time’ or should I say ‘this afternoon in time’ I came across the Wirral Wonderers happily ensconced in the Williamson Art Gallery in Birkenhead raising funds for Claire House Children’s Hospice.

Lo and behold I was treated to a Saturday afternoon of interesting characters in the performance of Music, Poetry and Storytelling.

Storyteller and host Sue Povall and writer and comedian John Gorman have encompassed this event to showcase the creative talents of local artists in an intimate room surrounded by great visual art...”

“I have attended the Wirral Wonderers shows in the Williamson Gallery several times. They are very special events, bringing together storytellers, musicians, poets and other speakers in a much-loved Wirral venue.

The events are very well attended and are hosted ably by John Gorman and Sue Povall, who create (and indeed curate) an atmosphere of wisdom, wit and warmth.

As well as providing entertainment, these events create a feeling of togetherness and community, as storytelling has done throughout the ages. The material often resonates with life experiences that many of the audience members will share, and I have often seen people genuinely moved by the material presented.

In addition to a regular team, Wirral Wonderers also feature new performers, giving upcoming talent the opportunity to widen their audience.

The event is also a valuable source of fundraising for Claire House Hospice.

I feel there is much potential for events of this kind within the borough, and I would definitely attend any future events organised by the Wirral Wonderers team.”

“Sue Povall is a storyteller and practitioner whom we have employed as part of Life Rooms at the Playhouse - a partnership between Mersey Care and Everyman Playhouse to provide a community/social model for mental health and wellbeing. Sue has regularly led story-focused sessions and performed stories over the last year as both live and digital on-line activities. She draws from a wide experience base, providing diverse starting points for the development and performance of story.”

“It has been a pleasure and a privilege getting to know Sue better over the last year. We have found her extremely easy to work with, knowledgeable, confident and diplomatic, pragmatic and practical. Her expert facilitating and story telling skills have proven hugely valuable in developing both our local research group, and also our large and potentially challenging multi-disciplinary, multi-centre research consortium.”

“Sue has facilitated our workHORSE project workshops and Team Away Days for the last couple of years. She is always professional and friendly and a brilliant storyteller and timekeeper. She always provides imaginative, engaging and entertaining activities, icebreakers and warm ups.”