Robert Johnson, John Henry, Stagger Lee ... City Hall theatre resounded with the intertwined stories of blues and black American history last night as storyteller extraordinaire Jackie Torrence cast her own brand of ancient magic over a spellbound audience.

Superbly backed by Phil "Harmonica'' Wiggins and John Cephas on guitars and vocals, Ms Torrence, seated and resplendent, struck right at the heart of the blues with her opening tale recounting the brief and tragic life of Robert Johnson, the delta journeyman who, despite his death at age 27, is now considered the father of modern blues.

The evening began earlier with a simple, but lengthy role call of bluesmen and women through the years. Messrs Cephas and Wiggins, dapper in suits and fedoras, then took the stage and rattled off a half-dozen vintage numbers, including two penned by themselves, which ran the gamut from ragtime to the hot guitar licks of 1930s blueswoman Memphis Minnie.

In "Roberta'', a piece written by Mr. Wiggins -- and the only time, unfortunately, he sings -- there is a moment when he turns to the guitar player and asks, "Let me try and call Roberta'' ... and then lets his harp place the call. And call it does. Call, talk, cry, scream and sing. To hear this man's harmonica alone would have been worth the ticket price. But there was much more.

John Cephas's mastery of blues guitar was evident from the first few notes.

When the subject is blues nowadays, the screaming electric sounds of Eric Clapton or Stevie Ray Vaughan are among the first to come to mind. Mr.

Cephas's delicately fingerpicked acoustic guitar was a throwback to when the power of blues flowed from a pain within, not stacks of Marshall speakers behind. His voice, deep and mellifluous, captured the traditional blues spirit and set it loose upon the appreciative (but far too well-dressed) crowd.

But the name of the show was "Bluestory!'' and for that, a storyteller was needed. Jackie Torrence, started out telling tales in her local library in North Carolina and is now, according to the programme notes anyway, "arguably the most celebrated storyteller in the English language''.

She held the audience with nothing more than a wonderfully expressive face, a captivating voice and a presentation that was dramatic without being theatrical. Though the subject was blues, there were plenty of laughs and heroics. Of the three main stories, the second, of "a steel-driving man'' named John Henry, who refused to be beaten by modern technology, was most effective. (And Mr. Wiggins's harmonica introduction, in which he filled the theatre with the sound of an approaching train, was spine-tingling.) "Bluestory!'' plays for one more night (tonight). Parents who want to pick up a few tips on how to spin their kids a good bedtime yarn or just relax and be entertained without special effects, commercial messages or a battle over the remote should try and check it out.

---- Steve Mundy THE STORYTELLER -- Jackie Torrence, at City Hall theatre tonight.