Date & Time: September 20th 8pm - doors at 7pm
A romp through the untold myths of the Celts with astounding Irish storyteller, Clare Murphy. These are not your regular myths. Expect wicked tales of badass deities, feral fighters, unorthodox sex, hairy bodies, mastery, and goddess-on-goddess battles.
Experience Clare effortlessly exhume the Celtic canon and bring the wild women who never made the cut, into the light. Not for the faint-hearted. Definitely for grown-ups.
“Clare is an astounding storyteller.” - Blindboy
“Masterly storytelling!“ - Culture Whisper
Read FANTASTIC reviews!...
The Wardrobe Shows – Bristol 2025
Stage Talk Magazine
https://stagetalkmagazine.com/p/35663
"This was a sell-out show last night at The Wardrobe Theatre, and deservedly so, for Clare Murphy is a remarkably gifted storyteller who has dug deep into the darkest corners of Celtic myth and legend to find tales of long-forgotten deities and of heroes with supernatural powers.The title of the show hints that her material might be decidedly bawdy, but while her stories are certainly for grown-ups, they are chiefly memorable for their sense of fun, their strange beauty, and for the beguiling way in which she brings each tale to life.
With no props and no technical trickery, this is theatre pared back to its earliest form. Murphy is part of that great oral tradition that dates back long before the growth of literacy, when tales were passed down through the generations by storytellers who relied on memory, not the printed word. Tales changed with each re-telling, and there is more than a touch of that fluidity in this performance, as she engages very directly and spontaneously with her audience: ‘There’s no fourth wall here!’
Dressed casually, her weird and wonderful stories are expressed with a sprightly, supple physicality that matches the rhythm and the twists and turns of the narrative. The language employs a range of poetic devices, not the least being repetition. So, whenever the tales feature a vigorous carnal embrace, and they often do, she uses the same animalistic image to depict it. Eventually the audience anticipates the phrase, merrily chorusing ‘Like otters!’ the next time one such sensual encounter is described.
There is often a kind of no-nonsense wisdom in the ancient myths she recounts. We learn that Partholón, one of the first kings of Ireland, had an adulterous, unrepentant wife called Delgnat who told her husband that when he left her alone with her handsome servant Topa, what did he expect? It was like leaving milk before a cat, or tools before a craftsman, so his stupidity was solely to blame for her misbehaviour!
The Spanking Goddess And Other Discarded Tales is packed with memorable images, my favourite being that of a fierce warrior forced, out of courtesy, to consume an enormous cauldron of porridge. I will long remember Clare Murphy’s vivid and very funny depiction of him struggling to eat the very last spoonful. This show is a superbly crafted and often deliciously naughty example of storytelling at its very best. Catch it if you can."
★★★★☆ Mike Whitton, 5 March 2025
Bristol 24/7
https://www.bristol247.com/culture/theatre/review-the-spanking-goddess-the-wardrobe-theatre-
celtic-myths-with-hairy-bodies-and-badass-deities/
Review: The Spanking Goddess, The Wardrobe Theatre – ‘Celtic myths with hairy bodies and badass deities’
By Isobel Higley Monday Mar 10, 2025
It is clear from the moment Clare Murphy steps onto the stage that she is a highly skilled and charismatic storyteller – seamlessly weaving humour and depth into each tale.
Sitting in the audience at The Wardrobe Theatre, you can feel the whole room is captivated by these forgotten Celtic myths that are in equal parts entertaining and thought-provoking.
She warns: “these are not your regular myths... Expect wicked tales of badass deities, feral fighters, unorthodox sex, hairy bodies, mastery, and goddess-on-goddess battles – not for the faint-hearted and definitely for grown-ups”.
The show was fitting for International Women’s Day weekend, given its themes of female empowerment and resilience, featuring mighty female warriors, motherhood, female friendships and of course... the eponymous Spanking Goddess. Murphy’s charming and expressive delivery of these cheeky stories resonated strongly with the audience. This combined with the fabulously intimate venue, made the event a communal experience as well as a performance. I left the show feeling both entertained and inspired by the vibrant artistic talent thriving in Bristol.
Edinburgh Fringe 2025
The National - (Review Behind Subscription Wall)
https://www.thenational.scot/news/25416975.5-final-reviews-edinburgh-fringe-finishes-2025/?
Storyteller Clare Murphy leads a romp through the untold myths of the Celts, exhuming the Celtic canon to bring the wild women who never made the cut, back into the light. A
shapeshifter spanks her opponents, a queen balances on the point of a spear, heroes are defeated by mother-daughter warriors. Breaking the fifth wall, as every show I went to the Scottish Storytelling Centre did, she brought you on the journey with her. Her words and humour, as well as sheer passion in the stories carried the performance, along with her non-stop movement.
I very much look forward to discovering more stories the world has been deprived of now, with Murphy opening a whole world of empowered, feral and unapologetic women. Rating: 5/5
Fringe Website Audience Reviews
Catherine Heinemeyer(Audience member)
23 Aug 2025
"These tales are not just discarded but deeply buried in Irish mythology and legend - undoubtedly deliberately! Clare not only excavates them but holds them up in a radiant light. Lots of joyous laughter and exuberant surprises (who knew otters were so sexy?) Lilian Kennedy(Audience member)
23 Aug 2025
"Oh my, was this such a lovely hour. So glad I bought tickets on a random whim. Clare is such a skilled and captivating storyteller, and the stories she told were delightful, funny, interesting with just the right amount of raunch. Highly recommend.
Kinza Drewett(Audience member)
22 Aug 2025
"A beautiful hour of captivating stories and inspiring tales, told so wonderfully. I always get so emotional at Clare's shows and tonight's was the best yet."
Angela(Audience member)
21 Aug 2025
"So many great ingredients in this show. I enjoyed much of it a lot. My only suggestion is for the performer to keep up her dbs - announcements at the start were super clear, but sometimes delivery dropped in volume to a conspiratorial whisper, and I missed it. Maybe be - but perhaps I wasn't alone."
corra(Audience member)
21 Aug 2025
"Captivating! A superb show. What a talent!"
David Campton(Audience member)
21 Aug 2025
"Murphy's rapport with her audience, her physical stage presence, and her captivating delivery made this one of my favourite events of the Fringe so far this year. These reworked or forgotten tales gave all important lessons for us today in an increasingly reactionary and misogynistic world. Get to see it before its gone!"
Irish Tour 2025
Review from audience member – September 5th
, Hotel Doolin, Ireland
@craiclystories
"The magnetic force that is @storyclare had a gang of us cross the island to catch the opening night of this much awaited tour ? It’s Magical. It’s thrilling. It’s funny. It’s daring. It’s mystical. It’s all this and more and it’s a treat to experience. A huge Thank You to StoryClare for her artistry. Cannot wait to see this again." Grab tickets and info www.claremurphy.org
Please Note: This performance contains descriptions of sex, bodies, sexual threat and death within mythic narrative, archetype and metaphor - NOT for children.
Dublin Storyteller Clare Murphy has performed all over the world from San Francisco to Singapore. Her audience is wide, including President Mary Robinson, firefighters and NASA scientists. She was recently featured on the Blindboy Podcast in The Art of Storytelling.
Telling ancient myth at the Globe Theatre, Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatres in London, Clare continues to bring myth and folklore alive into our modern lives. Her audiences range from 5-5,000. Not only a force to be reckoned with onstage, she delivers her brand of storytelling magic in castles, whiskey cellars, volcanic caves, in forests, and in front of spaceships.
Her sparkle onstage has garnered her invitations in festivals around the world and Ireland including Kilkenny Arts Festival and Cape Clear Storytelling Festival. She was always ready to create good trouble.
'Clare is one of my favorite guests I've ever spoken to on this podcast...deeply knowledgeable and passionate about storytelling as an art form and an astounding storyteller and an incredibly interesting person.' Blindboy
Clare is an internationally renowned Bristol based Irish storyteller who has made waves in the UK and US with 10K+ followers and countless likes on Instagram. She's bringing her new show to Ireland in September and I'm thrilled she's asked me to book it for her.
As you'll see/hear from the links below, she's pretty special and with storytelling as an art form taking off again in Ireland and worldwide, this is an exciting opportunity for Irish venues to host her first Irish tour.
You can see a selection of her work including trailers for The Spanking Goddess HERE.
Clare on Michael Rosen, BBC Radio 4
Irish Examiner article on the re-emergence of storytelling last Saturday 15th featuring Clare