Polis Loizou
Storytelling

Photo by Tomáš D’Aradia.
I love getting in front of an audience to tell folktales from around the world. Though I can deliver a wide range of moods and styles, I do have a preference for the darker stories…
I have performed at festivals, in bookshops and even in a tower. While I can tell a yarn with nothing but myself on stage, I’ve also collaborated with experimental sound artists for evenings of multisensory fun.
I have also given talks to schoolchildren on folklore and storytelling.
“Loizou has the most masterful
Stephen Walker, Buxton Fringe
pacing to his stories.”
Bloomsbury Festival:
The Old Black Door
(Sinister Masterplan, with Laura Sampson)
Join storyteller Laura Sampson, accompanying sound artist Sam Enthoven and special guests for a selection of grown-up folk and fairytales on the theme of mortality.
15th October, 2pm
RADA Studios
16 Chenies Street, London WC1E 7EX

Inn Crowd
In 2020 I was commissioned to write a biographical storytelling show as part of Inn Crowd – a great initiative to tour pieces to rural pub venues. The pandemic delayed this a bit, but my piece is now available for booking.
Polis Loizou’s Love Island
Life feels a bit like a movie when you grow up on The Island of Love. Especially when there is a vendetta being waged around you, brides are kidnapped from their homes under cover of night, and you find you have suspiciously famous ancestors. This is the Cyprus of Polis Loizou’s childhood, and he weaves it into an hour of funny, surprising, and unforgettable storytelling.
Past Performances
31st March, The Art Bank, Shepton Mallet
1st April, The Black Swan, Langport
28th May, The White Lion, Selling
18th June, First Light Festival, Lowestoft

The Off-Off-Off-Broadway Company
The brilliant Jaacq Hugo and I co-founded this award-winning theatre company, for which I’ve written, directed and produced several shows.
We first hit the Buxton Fringe in 2009, became a trio with the fabulous Laura Louise Baker in 2010, and have had a string of successful pieces across the UK since. Peaceful has seen a number of sold-out performances, while Back Door picked up two awards.
More recently, I’ve performed two one-man shows incorporating my love of folklore storytelling: A Curse of Saints and Mr Fox.
Mr Fox

WINNER: Best New Writing (Buxton Fringe 2021)
Be bold, be bold
But not too bold
Lest that your heart’s blood should run cold
From the award-winning Fringe favourites that brought you the chilling hits Peaceful and A Curse of Saints comes Mr Fox, Polis Loizou’s one-man take on the gleefully wicked old folktale.
It’s the tale of Lady Mary, a sharp, beautiful and almost shockingly wealthy young woman, who discovers that her fiancé, the dashing and mysterious Mr Fox, harbours a deadly secret…
Awards & Nominations
- BEST NEW WRITING (WON): Polis Loizou, Mr Fox (Buxton Fringe 2021)
- BEST ACTOR (NOMINATED): Polis Loizou, Mr Fox (Buxton Fringe 2021)
- BEST PRODUCTION (NOMINATED): Mr Fox (Buxton Fringe 2021)
- JOHN BEECHER MEMORIAL AWARD (WON): Back Door (Buxton Fringe, 2014)
- BEST COMEDY SHOW (WON): Back Door (Greater Manchester Fringe, 2014)
“Expertly told […] deliciously dark”
Buxton Fringe review of Mr Fox
★★★★
Fringe Guru on A Curse of Saints
“Enthralling storytelling.”
“Thrillingly tense and well acted”
British Theatre Guide on Peaceful