Alice Coleno lived in Brittany and Paris and was a writer, poet, and author of stories for children. She travelled extensively in the USA and Canada, and drew much of the inspiration for her stories from the landscape and the natural history of the wild places of North America. She died in 1993, and there is a street named after her in Lorient, Brittany.
Simon McBurney studied at Cambridge and then at the Jaques LeCoq school of theatre and mime in Paris. A renowned actor and theatre director, he is best known as a founding member of the theatre company Complicité, now Britain’s leading exponent of visual drama. He has also appeared in many films, including The Last King of Scotland, and The Duchess.
The stories were translated and adapted by Andrew Fielder from “Le Forêt de Cristal” by Alice Coleno.
I knew these stories as a child, from a large beautifully illustrated book called Crystal Tales, by Alice Coleno, now long out of print. Many years later when I was living in Paris I met the author – in fact we lived only a few streets apart. By then she was an elderly lady, and she gave her permission to adapt the stories into audio tales. I had a small recording studio and I remember her visiting and being happy and enthralled at the adaptations.
I was very fortunate to find Simon McBurney – then a talented drama student – to bring the stories to life. The stories were made in 1983, with a TEAC A3440 4 track tape recorder. The music & effects used an ARP2600 synthesizer.
The stories are available for free on CD by using the contact page, or are available to listen to on this site and on youtube.
The Secret of the Crystal Forest – Video – The Stolen Pearl – Home
