Nearly a week ago since I watched San Francisco receding into blue distance: touchdown in Frome has been hectic but pleasant, beginning with a meeting of
Frome Scriptwriters whose latest scripts will be performed next month at the Cornerhouse.
When She Imagines is a trio of monologues, directed by
Nevertheless producer Rosie Finnegan, which was commissioned as 'fringe' to the
Imagine events at Rook Lane. Are
Frome Scriptwriters resting cosily on their laurels? No of course not: they're already deep into the next project,
Tales of the Tunnels, for Frome Festival.
Apropos things dramatic, here seems a good place for the link to my newly launched
theatre blog: for some reason that now eludes me, I thought a good title would be
Apart from that, Mrs Lincoln...
And while I'm at the self-promotion,
Frozen Summer is now out on Kindle ~ it costs a quid, but think of the postage saved! And the trees... I've been recommending this free-to-use form of self-publishing for ages so it seemed only reasonable to try it. Provided you have a correctly edited Word file (no page breaks except for essential separation like new chapters and acknowledgements etc) publication takes literally only a few minutes ~ I did it in the departure lounge at San Francisco. I know some writers fear the stigma of 'Vanity Publishing' but self-publishing these days is not only respectable, it's a valuable contribution to diversity. 'We are the Farmers' Markets in a supermarket world' I like to say, with suitable fervour, and there's now even a major award solely for 'indie' writers, as non-commercially published authors are now termed. The Guardian
Books Blog quotes wonderful Kate Tempest as good practice: she self-published her
first collection and subsequently hit the headlines by winning the Ted Hughes Award for her poem-play
Brand New Ancients. Kate is interviewed in
ideas tap, and her philosophy is one I completely relate to:
If I felt something, I’d write it down. I never knew what it was for but actually all that writing has enabled to me know my palate and my writing style. If you’re a writer, then write constantly. Not for anybody to judge it but so you’re more comfortable at the page than away from it.
On Wednesday
Writing Events Bath organised
A Gathering Of Writers talking about their work in support of Dorothy House, a cause as popular as the six authors contributing so the BRLSI was crammed. Debby Holt, Lindsay Hawdon, Andrew Miller, Lesley Pearse,
Nathan Filer and Tania Hershman proved a very successful medley of different voices, each with an interesting take on their personal craft, and all picking fascinating extracts to share. I liked especially Debby's view that 'writing is a way of making sense of our lives', and Nathan's reading from his debut novel. I've been a fan of Nathan for nearly a decade, since he came to Frome to contribute to
Urban Scrawl ~ a night of performance poetry I organised as the climax of my year as Writer in Residence at the Merlin Theatre ~ and it's no surprise that now he's turned his writing hand to prose there was an 11-way auction battle for
The Shock of the Fall. HarperCollins won. It's out in hard-back - but you can get it on Kindle at half the price...
Shortly after the start of Napoleon - A Defence, the new production by Devon-based clown group Le Navet Bete at The Brewery, the man in the seat next to me murmured to his companion "I don't think we can rely on this for historical accuracy." The cast were at the time enacting a motley group of french supporters learning to march in a manic cancan, while Wellington despatched his 'master of disguise' Major Blunt to capture the Emperor disguised as a standard lamp. History's loss was audience gain: fast-paced slapstick, impressive circus skills, hilarious costumes and cross-dressing, fireworks and french fancies. All fabulous fun ~ definitely a company I'll be watching again when they bring their next show to Bristol.
The Bristol Old Vic website has a charming trailer for Complicite's Lionboy which gives the impression of exquisite visuals to support a hero's journey of the imagination like Pi's travels with his tiger. It's actually more bland than that and less fantastical: an adventure yarn with a good oldfashioned Wizard of Oz ending ~ home is where the heart is. Based on a trilology for children by Zizou Corder, the story of Charlie Ashanti's quest to find his kidnapped parents and save the world from the evil Corporacy is largely narrated direct to audience by the cast of six (four men and two women, and a male drummer. I mention this because there's quite a blokey feel overall despite the female writer and director.) Sometimes there's a spoofy James-Bond-meets-Dr.Doolittle charm ~ with a touch of Harry Hill in the fight!-fight! showdown between Charlie and the Corporacy ~ but apart from a genetically modified cat called Sergei there's little humour and the script tends to repetitive explanational simplicity. Best bit is a dazzling sequence in the first half when Lisa Kerr as a pirouette creates the glamour and glitz of the circus, and atmospheric shadows often enhance the action but I'd have liked a little more tension and verve... it's a family show of course and I had none of that target audience with me, but I did wonder if they might have agreed with the little boy in the audience who, when comments were encouraged from the stage, suggested 'boring.'
In Frome, Toolshed's intimate little gallery is featuring Our Turn, Georgie Manly's collection of little fluffy balls on a catlit base, while the new exhibition at Black Swan Arts is Mark Karasick's intriguingly entitled show if you could see what i see through your eyes.
Words at the Black Swan poetry group will gather under the guidance of Rose Flint on Sunday at 3.30 for a one-and-a-half hour workshop ~ this session costs just £4 and is open to new members or interested droppers-in so do come if you're in Frome for the Cheap Street Fun Day.
