Stories of my Bones
How does a young man become himself when the world around him has never shown him that his life is possible?
Frank Malaba
18th September 2026 at 6.00 pm
(event duration: 60 minutes and 15 minutes discussion)
Venue: Karol Pádivý Primary School of the Arts, Nám SNP 2, 911 89 Trenčín, Slovakia
In collaboration with the City of Trencin as a part of the activiy: Festival of Stories in the EEA and Norway Grant's financed bilateral initiative TREBØ MORE CULTURE - TREBØ MORE KULTÚRY (FBRPP01).
We would like to thank our partners for their support and for providing Free Admission.
The event will be in English. Short summaries of the stories will be provided in Slovak.
Meet the storyteller
Frank Malaba is a Zimbabwean-born multidisciplinary artist and storyteller based in Oslo, Norway. Rooted in Southern African oral tradition, his work brings together personal memory, ancestry, song, humor and direct audience connection. His storytelling explores migration, queer identity, belonging and the histories carried in the body.
Why tell stories
For me, storytelling is a living connection between the present, the people in the room and those who came before us. It carries memory across generations and allows experiences that may have been hidden, silenced or forgotten to be witnessed again.
Storytelling can also awaken new ideas in people who may be afraid to express their thoughts or tell their own stories. I believe everyone is a storyteller. Some people simply need encouragement, guidance and the right space to discover how their story wants to be told.
Storytelling is not merely the repetition of a fixed text. It listens and responds. The same story may reveal something different depending on where it is told, who is present and what needs to be spoken about in that moment.
My story
Stories of My Bones is an autobiographical storytelling performance rooted in Southern African oral tradition, ancestry, queer memory, migration and the search for belonging.
It is also a testament to the journey of a young man born into an oppressive society who learns not merely to survive, but to thrive. Without seeing anyone like himself or being shown that his life is possible, he must imagine his own future, find his own path and become someone he has never seen modelled around him.
Through spoken story, song, humour and direct audience encounter, the performance explores family, identity, exile, survival and the courage required to become oneself. It follows a clear structure but remains alive and responsive, allowing each performance to shift according to the audience, the place and what the story asks of that particular moment.
Umuntu Ngumuntu Ngabantu - I Am Because You Are