Jack Tales

Jack, the delightful, mischievous, big-hearted hero of so many Newfoundland folktales, is worried about his parents. They aren’t getting any younger; in fact, they’re really quite old. So, Jack and his brothers Bill and Tom decide to set out and find a magic fruit that will make the old young again. Told with the humor, warmth, and sly wit that have made Andy Jones one of Newfoundland’s finest and best-loved storytellers, The Queen of Paradise’s Garden follows Jack on his way to the land of the Queen of Paradise, three miles this side of the end of the world.

Jack and the Manger retells the story of Jesus’ birth as if it were a Newfoundland folktale. It’s all seen through the eyes of Jack, the hero of many a story, who befriends a young couple on their walk to Bethlehem. There’s a bit of "angel talk", some gravel pit camping, an edge-of-your-seat birth drama, and the low-down on how Caesar Augustus’ "count-and-tax plan" brought them all together.

Jack and Mary in the Land of Thieves finds Jack, that everyman of folktales, married to his sweetheart, Mary, the best woman ever born and a mighty fine baker to boot. Their lives are as happy and successful as can be, until an underhanded sea captain and Jack’s own bragging get the better of our hero. Jack is sent at once to work on Slave Islands, and Mary is turned out of house and home. But Mary is resolute and resourceful and has plans to find Jack and restore their fortunes.

This time Jack, the “King of Ashes”, spends all his time hove off in the coal box, until one day he shakes off his ashes and sets out on an adventure that includes sneaky robbers, a “famous missing princess with reward attached”, an always-surprising canine sidekick, a royal wedding, a lovelorn rooster-puppet, a conniving ship’s captain, corpses, curses, kisses, a coat, and a whole lot more!

Jack o’ Hearts is the top card player in the parish and is feeling pretty sure of himself. When he is challenged to a card game with stakes higher than high by a mysterious green man, well, Jack can’t resist. Sure, he’s never lost a tournament yet, has he? A hilarious reimagining of a traditional Newfoundland folktale, Jack and the Green Man is jam-packed with magic, romance, transformations, impossible tasks, unforgettable characters, a love ballad or two, and the ever-present threat of Jack’s head ending up on a spear.