Popular monthly storytelling event is taking part in the Women of the World Festival with an international cast, as well as celebrating its second birthday at Norwich Arts Centre.

Norwich Evening News: Paula Varjack coming to True Stories Live in Norwich. Photo: Nikolas LoukaPaula Varjack coming to True Stories Live in Norwich. Photo: Nikolas Louka (Image: Archant)

Norwich's popular monthly storytelling event True Stories Live is to mark the Women of the World Festival by welcoming an all female line up.

Women of the World - known as WOW - is said to be the largest women's movement across the globe. Norwich's inaugural Women of the World Festival will run from April 28 to 29 with talks, debates, music, activism, comedy, workshops, mentoring, pop-ups and shows that celebrate women and girls.

The special True Stories Live event will take place at Norwich Arts Centre on April 29. It will also see the event celebrating its second birthday.

The intimate monthly storytelling evening founded at Norwich Arts Centre has grown to become a regular sell out success. It has toured to great acclaim to London, around the country and to the Edinburgh Book Festival.

Norwich Evening News: Bec Hill coming to True Stories Live in Norwich. Photo: Steve UllathorneBec Hill coming to True Stories Live in Norwich. Photo: Steve Ullathorne (Image: www.steveullathorne.com 07961 380969)

Special guests for the WOW evening will be Australian born comedian Bec Hill and American writer, artist, filmmaker and performance maker Paula Varjack.

They will be recounting stories about one of their own true-life experiences in a bill that includes past participants, telling stories that relate to what it is to be a woman in the 21st century.

The theme for the event is 'Now's the Time' and storytellers are invited to interpret this as closely or loosely as they wish. As with all True Stories Live events the night will be compéred by Norwich based scriptwriter, poet and performer Molly Naylor.

True Stories Live producer and founder Lucy Farrant said: 'It seems a natural fit to coincide our second birthday event with Women of the World so we were so pleased that WOW programmer Rosie Arnold invited us to take part. To have inspirational women like Bec and Paula agree to be our special guests really is the icing on the cake.'

Norwich Evening News: The inaugural Norwich Women of the World Festival will run from April 28 to 29.The inaugural Norwich Women of the World Festival will run from April 28 to 29. (Image: Archant)

Lucy created True Stories Live after hearing about American storytelling event The Moth. She invited Molly Naylor to join the team in the joint belief that the people of Norwich have just as interesting stories to tell as those over the Atlantic – and the queue of eager participants and regular sell out audiences have proved them right.

Molly is the co-writer of Sky One sitcom After Hours. Her autobiographical show Whenever I Get Blown Up I Think Of You toured internationally and was adapted for BBC Radio 4. She recently directed her first short film, Callback and this year launched a new theatre show Lights! Planets! People!

Heartwarming, revealing, funny, shocking or sad, a True Stories Live evening has been described as 'like eavesdropping into people's stories in the pub or on a bus – only here you're allowed to!'

• True Stories Live – Now's The Time is at Norwich Arts Centre on April 29, 7.30pm, £11.50 (£9 cons), 01603 660352, norwichartscentre.co.uk • More about True Stories Live• More about Women of the World Festival