ARACHNEVERSARY – Alex Smith – Devilskein and Dearlove

Editor Cherry Potts talks about Devilskein and Dearlove a young adult novel by Alex Smith, which was nominated for the Carnegie Medal on 2015. Includes Q&A with the author, animated trailer by Nick Page and a couple of readings by actors Greg Page and Peter Noble.

You can buy Devilskein and Dearlove from our Webshop. Use the discount code ARACHNEVERSARY at the checkout throughout August.

final Liberty Tales tour date Greenstead – Video

The last of the Liberty Tales events: Greenstead Library

Stories and poems inspired by Magna Carta
Cliff Chapman reading David Guy‘s The King and the Light, and three poems by Jeremy Dixon, Carrie Cohen (aka Carolyn Eden) reading her own Free White Towel  and Sarah EvansBothered, Jim Cogan reading his own story, Lag and Helen Morris reading her story, The Poppies.

Final Liberty Tales outing -Greenstead, Colchester

Essex! We are headed your way again, meet us in Colchester.

Wednesday 25th January at 6pm the final planned Liberty Tales tour date! This is the one that was delayed from November.

Join Jim Cogan, Helen Morris and Carolyn Eden in person for stories of liberation – from prison, by war and leaving an abusive marriage;

and Sarah Evans, David Guy and Jeremy Dixon virtually as their work (voting, or not; more freedom than you can cope with;  the right to be who you are) is read by Carrie Cohen and Cliff Chapman.

Sarah, David and Helen are locals, so come and support them!

Greenstead Library, Hawthorn Avenue, Colchester, CO4 3QE

FREE but please phone Greenstead Library to reserve your place 01206 865758.

Liberty Tales launch recordings and Human Rights Day

Our next reading event for Liberty Tales is at North Kensington Library, appropriately on Human Rights Day, Saturday 10th December at 2pm.

To get you in the mood, here are some snippets of recordings from the LAUNCH of Liberty Tales (I know, everything out of order.)

Alison Lock Dog’s Life

Anna Fodorova Fruit of the Sea read by Carrie Cohen

David Guy The King and the Light read by Cliff Chapman

Bernie Howley The Privilege of Departure or Dover Bound but Delayed

Cherry Potts Knitting for Demons

Carolyn Eden Free White Towel

Jeremy Dixon Flax, San Francisco and Pearls Over Shanghai

Katy Darby Character Study

 

Liberty Tales Tour Starts Today in Oxford

Here’s a quick snippet of Cliff Chapman reading Jeremy Dixon‘s Poem Tabernacle Lane, last night at the Liberty Tales Launch in Greenwich.

Had a problem with the camera again, so it will only be sound files for this evening. FRUSTRATING!

Thanks to everyone who read last night: Bernie Howley, Alison Lock, Katy Darby, Carolyn Eden, and to Carrie Cohen and Cliff Chapman for reading on behalf of Jeremy, David Guy and Anna Fodorova

You can hear Jeremy read Tabernacle Lane, and two others himself TONIGHT 7.30 at Albion Beatnik, 34 Walton Street Oxford OX2 6AA, alongside stories from Jim CoganCarolyn Eden, Nick RawlinsonKaty Darby and more poems from  Elinor Brooks and Bernie Howley,.

Explore an unusual Gaudy Night, fish weirs, walking out, when it safer to appear witless, finding yourself in San Francisco, religious intolerance, and exactly what the value of a passport really is.

Liberty Tales LAUNCH

TOMORROW… it begins. Is Freedom around the corner? Is it buried in our past? Are we busy frittering our rights away? And what on earth do fish weirs have to do with anything?

It’s been a slow process turning what was originally an ephemeral night of fun to celebrate the 800th Anniversary of Magna Carta’s first signing into an actual book, but we are officially launching Liberty Tales, stories and poems inspired by Magna Carta TOMORROW.

A year late you say? Hah! We’ll have no truck with your paltry dates, Liberty is for life, not just a date in June. Split no hairs with us, we have a big document and by god, we know how to use it.

To No-one will we sell, to no one deny or delay right or justice.

Or in this instance,

Cake.

Join us where it all began (for us, anyway, not asking you to go to Runnymeade) at

West Greenwich Library, Greenwich High Road SE10.

Tomorrow: Thursday 17/11/2016 at 7.30 for readings, drinks and cake.

Stories from Katy Darby, Alison Lock, Cherry Potts,  Anna Fodorova (read by Carrie Cohen) David Guy (read by Cliff Chapman)

katy-informalalison-lockCherry and Julian smallcarrie-cohen-0113

Cliff Chapman reading Hollow Manbernadette howleyJeremy Dixon

Poems from Bernie Howley, Jeremy Dixon, plus extracts… touching on prisoners, the right to roam, emotional freedom, going too far, passports, freedom of sexual expression, and more.

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Little Tricks – final Midsummer Night in the Garden video

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Our final posting from Midsummer Night in the Garden.

Katy Darby & Cliff Chapman introduce the song Little Tricks, with a scene from As You Like It.

Followed by Toby Hine and Rosalyn Miller singing the song written by Rachel Bellman & Elizabeth Charlesworth, accompanied on guitar by Mark Wainwright.

 

And so, Good Night!: Cliff signs off.

If you have enjoyed the videos of this event, you might like to sign up for our newsletter to find out when our next live readings are, or when our latest book hits the shelves.

 

Silence in Court! Midsummer custody battle video

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Crown versus Crown a prize-winning sketch by Carolyn Eden based on A Midsummer Night’s Dream, in which Titania and Oberon fight for custody of the Changeling.

Titania- Carrie Cohen
Oberon- Saul Reichlin
Cobweb- Katy Darby
Robin Goodfellow- Cliff Chapman
Judge- Mike Eden

Midsummer: Sonnet and Neighbour complaint Videos

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Our revels may be ended but we still have memories to look back upon.

We got a lot of poems in response to our Midsummer Shakespeare400 call out, here are just 2 of them!

Kim Russell sent us her Response to Sonnet 12 (read by Carrie Cohen), so we thought you should hear the actual Sonnet 12 (read by Saul Reichlin) before the response: it seemed only fair!

Sarah Lawson imagined what it was like to live Next Door to the Capulets. This poem is introduced with a little bit of Romeo & Juliet from Katy Darby & Cliff Chapman

There’s lots more to come, but my laptop is almost full, despite off loading vast quantities of files, so editing the videos is tiresome, and for some reason uploading is taking an age too. So patience will be required!

Update on Midsummer Night…

Keeping fingers firmly crossed for delicious weather, the banner is up and we only need to raise another £15 to be able to pay our performers, so if anyone would like to contribute to the crowd fund, the link is here. While I was looking for the link to copy, we hit our target! We could still do with more as we now have 2 more performers…

midsummer banner in situ2 midsummer banner in situWe have a late addition to the programme, Carolyn Eden (whose work we featured in Liberty Tales) has offered us an award-winning sketch based on A Midsummer Night’s Dream: Crown Versus Crown in which the dispute between Oberon & Titania reaches court, where arguments are put in doggerel. With very little persuasion we’ve roped in Cliff Chapman (another long-time collaborator) and Mike Eden to fill out our cast to sufficient numbers.

We are thinking about strawberries on the lawn… whatever the weather it will be a lot of fun.