It may be storyteller Eric Borrias’ first time at Castlefest; that's not to say he's a new face in the world of storytellers. No, he has been wandering around with his stories for over 30 years, having first engaged in cabaret and theatre.
In 1990, the storytellers' collective oRare started in the Betuwe. In the next 13 years, the collective will grow into a much-wanted company in the Rivierengebied, making city storytelling walks and large storytelling performances in the local theatre. The first story he tells is a dragon story and it is still one of his favorites. In 1999, he quit his job to focus entirely on storytelling. He is developing into one of the most wanted storytellers in our country and is praised for his adaptations of well-known books into narrative theatre performances: Letter to the King, King of Katoren, Travel around the World in 80 Days, to name a few.
He also impresses with his performances about the Second World War. For one of these, he was awarded the Rachel Borzikowsky medal in 2007. He regularly participates in exhibitions and commemorations in The Westerbork Memorial Centre and National Monument Camp Vught.
He worked on various radio plays and for two seasons in the program “Wagen vol Verhalen” of Omroep Gelderland, in which each episode ended with a short saga of legend.
It doesn't matter to him whether he's in theatres, schools, or outdoors; As long as he can dive into a story with the audience. "Sculpting in fantasy", he calls his profession. That's what makes storytelling so beautiful; The audience must also actively work to shape the images for the story.
His craftsmanship is appreciated; in 2016 he was elected Storytelling Ambassador for the Netherlands and Flanders.
For Castlefest he will undoubtedly get the dragon stories out of his storytelling backpack, but perhaps also something from the Edda, Celtic stories, love and oh well… whatever pops up.
Photo by Jaap Koole.
