The Forum page is home to debate and opinion. To inspire you to reach your aspirations throughout 2010 we thought it best to ask some of the most creative people in the arts to let us know what their plans are. Interviews by Mesha Mcneil.

January/February 2010

Star spotlight on 2010

Adaora Nwandu

Film Director (Rag Tag, Say My Name)

What was your creative high point of 2009 and why?
Taking my short film Say My Name to OUTFEST in Los Angeles.  As one of LA’s longest running and most prestigious film festivals, it was such an honour to be officially selected. Like everyone else, OUTFEST felt the impact of the global economic crisis and they had chosen to sacrifice quantity rather than quality. I know of many excellent, better funded films that weren’t chosen for their pared-down line-up so I especially cherished our selection and the enthusiastic audience that got to see Say My Name as a result. We have now completed the remaining two parts of the Say My Name trilogy, and they are an even better showcase of our work.

What are your main artistic plans for 2010?
I have two feature film scripts I have been working on for the last few years. I will finish writing them this year. One is a romantic comedy set in a Management Consulting firm, the other is a drama set in a prisoner of war camp during World War II. I also hope to direct Chimamanda Adichie’s Half of a Yellow Sun. She and I are from the same generation, with similar world views and her Biafran war tale is extremely reflective of my own family’s experience of the war.  My mother’s father was murdered in the Northern pogroms in 1966, and she, her mother and siblings spent years fighting to survive any way they could. All I have to do now is find the producers with the same conviction that no-one can direct the film better.

Photo by Alastair Robinson

Kwame Kwei-Armah

Actor/Playwright(Elmina’s Kitchen, Statement of Regret)

What was your creative high point of 2009 and why?
The production of my latest play Seize the Day at Tricycle theatre. Largely because I wrote it in the two months prior to the production. I only had 17 days to direct it and it spoke to audiences in the way that I wished it to.  You can ask for no more as an artist.

What are your main artistic plans for 2010?
That's a hard one. I have a few play commissions that I have to get through, but mainly it is to try and up my game.  Try to get to my work to the next level.

Courttia Newland

Author (Society Within, Snakeskin)

What was your creative high point of 2009 and why?
My creative high point of 2009 would be completing my novel and a book of short stories. The stories hadn't been my intention. I just got a few good commissions and before I knew it I had another book. It's always good when work isn't forced or rushed to meet some deadline.

What are your main artistic plans for 2010?
My main artistic plans for 2010 would be finding a home for both these projects and also to be as prolific as possible in terms of my writing. My goal is to spread my work as far and as wide as I am capable. I would also like to complete the novel I'm currently working on. All these projects would help to achieve my overall goal, which is to highlight the diversity of the Black British experience.

Jackee Holder

Author/Life Coach (Soul Purpose, Be your own best life coach)

What was your creative high point of 2009 and why?
The most creative thing I did last year was when under pressure with a two week deadline before I was due to set off to America to run a retreat, I managed to produce a workbook for the programme. I carried around a small Moleskine notebook for two weeks and every day I would write a piece for the workbook and then type it up when I had the time. It was extremely pressurising but as it drew closer to my finish date the workbook began to take shape from messy pages of writing to more polished pieces which the organisers of the retreat put into a lovely pack. I took copies of the e-pack with me on the flight to New York to graze over. I suddenly got a really warm lovely feeling as I noticed that not only was I enjoying what I was reading but that it wasn't half bad.

What are your main artistic plans for 2010?
My main plans are to write a small book on self care and to spend some time away in nature. I also plan to create a more interactive website which I am looking forward to developing. Finally my intention is to continue carving time out during the week as much as I can where I get up at 5am, write my morning pages and spend some quiet time with myself. It is the most reflecting and delicious moment in my day and this year in particular it has yielded me some amazing insights and creative ideas for my work and life.

Dreda Say Mitchell

Author (Killer Tune, Geezer Girls)

What was your creative high point of 2009 and why?
Seeing my novel Geezer Girls displayed in the front of store promotion at WH Smith at Gatwick Airport. What a moment!

 

What are your main artistic plans for 2010?
I hope that the readership for my next novel, Gangster Girl, increases. I’d like to complete my fifth novel. I've also set up my own freelance education consultancy, which I hope starts to fly. I would like to do more presenting work for BBC radio and write a play with my partner, the fabulous Tony. Go off to New York - I haven't been in 20 years - to attend ThrillerFest, the festival hosted by the International Thriller Writers Association where I’d like to meet some stateside crime authors. I will start my role as the programme Chair of the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival for 2011, which is one of the biggest crime writing festivals in the world. And, as always, I’m looking forward to all those surprises and gems that always seem to pop out of nowhere.

Photo by Joseph Kaler

Bola Agbaje

Playwright (Gone Too Far, Detaining Justice)

What was your creative high point of 2009 and why?
My creative high of 2009 was working on my first feature film Gone Too Far. Writing for film is different from writing for theatre. I had to learn to tell a story visually rather than through big chunks of dialogue. It took a while for me to get the hang of it, but it was a blast. I also wrote and co-produced three short films with director John Dayo who owns a production company Day Zero Productions. Another creative high was working on my second play Detaining Justice at the Tricycle theatre. It was a part of the Not Black and White season. The play was very well received and I was pleased with the response I got from the audience. I was honoured to be asked to be a part of the season. I have admired Roy Williams and Kwame Kwei-Amah’s work for years.

What are your main artistic plans for 2010?
I aim to continue writing. My play Off the Endz will be at the Royal Court Theatre downstairs from 11 February 2009. I am very excited about this play. I have been working on it from 2007. I am currently working on two commissions. A play for Tiata Fahodzi and Paines Plough as well as developing my film script Gone Too Far. I have also been developing a series idea with John Dayo as we aim to make films and programmes independently.

Diana Evans

Author (26a, The Wonder)

What was your creative high point of 2009 and why?
My creative high point of 2009 was the publication of my second book, The Wonder. It has taken me a long time to write and I was very unsure at times that I would get it finished. Witnessing it being sent out into the world was a huge release from a long period of anguish, and liberated me into other stories, projects and possibilities.

What are your main artistic plans for 2010?
My main artistic plan - there is only one - is to progress with my third book. I have just completed a short story and it's time to get back to the novel. I like the feeling of being engrossed in the world of a novel and surrounded by all the space there is in the form, which I feel is my natural habitat in words. It's important, though, to try other things as well.

Forum Listings

Re:Play 2010
The Library Theatre Company’s Re:Play is an annual festival that selects and showcases the best small scale theatre seen performed in Manchester and Salford over the previous year. Strong on drama there are plays from the 24:7 Festival, a bundle of short plays around 15 minutes long and a passionate piece about homophobic bullying.

Date: 26 January - 6th February 2010
Time: Check website for times
Venue: Library Theatre, Central Library, St. Peter’s Square, Manchester, M2 5PD
Box Office: 0161 236 7110
Price: Check website for prices; concessions available
Website: www.librarytheatre.com

Slaves
HMP Wandsworth, 1665. Rising star prison officer Chris Jackson knows nothing is simply black or white. His superiors don’t trust him, the prisoners suspect him, and his girlfriend is being stalked. Confronted by Paul ‘Jenks’ Jenkins, an inmate whose fingers reach far beyond the prison walls, the two men begin a fight for survival on opposite sides of an indifferent system that makes a slave of everyone. Slaves is by Rex Obano.

Date: 26 January - 20 February 2010
Time: Tues-Sat 7.45pm; Sun 5pm
Venue: Theatre503, The Latchmere, 503 Battersea Park Road, London, SW11 3BW
Box Office: 020 7978 7040
Price: £14 / £9 
Website: www.theatre503.com

The first Himalaya Film & Cultural Festival
Celebrating the rich and varied cultures of the world's mightiest mountain range this festival will showcase film, music, art and photography in venues across London. Screening highlights include UK premieres of films such as Kashf: The Lifting of the Veil, which explores issues of identity in Pakistan, Nepal's magical tale Kagbeni, alongside old and modern classics such as Kite Runner and Oscar-nominated short The Little Terrorist.

Date: 28 January - 12 February 2010
Venue: Several venues; check website for details
Price: Check venues for pricing and concessions; festival passes are available for £20
Website: www.himalayafest.org.uk 

Preview Screening - Baker Boys: Inside the surge
An intimate inside look at Baker Company, an elite group of Army soldiers on an extended tour in Iraq as they 'surge' into an Al Qaeda stronghold.

Date: Mon 1 February 2010
Time: 7pm
Venue: The Frontline Club, 13 Norfolk Place, London W2 1QJ
Box office: 020 7479 8950
Price: £10 (early booking £8)
Website: www.frontlineclub.com/events

In the picture with David Hoffman: War on photography
British photographer David Hoffman, who has dedicated his career to documenting racial and social conflict and policing, will focus on the war being waged on photography through oppressive policing and privacy laws that limit press freedom. It will be followed by a Q&A moderated by photographer Chris Steele-Perkins.

Date: Tue 2 February 2010
Time: 7pm
Venue: The Frontline Club 13 Norfolk Place, London W2 1QJ
Box office: 020 7479 8950
Price: £12.50 (early booking £10)
Website: www.frontlineclub.com/events

Be-Longing: Travellers Stories, Traveller’s Lives
An Exhibition of Photographs by Eva Sajovic
For centuries travellers have suffered extreme levels of prejudice and rejection and for some it has been necessary to hide their identity to survive. Eva Sajovic’s exhibition Be-Longing, photographs of people from Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities, is a small part of the necessary reaction.

Date: 4th February - 20th March 2010 (private view, 3rd February 2010)
Time: 6pm-9pm
Venue: 198, Contemporary Arts and Learning, 198 Railton Road, London SE24 OJT
Box office: 0207 978 8309
Price: Make a donation to benefit the gallery
Website: www.198.org.uk

First Wednesday
February's First Wednesday will include a discussion on the future of Haiti in the wake of the 13 January earthquake and the Chilcot inquiry. See www.frontline.com and blog for updates. The event will be hosted by Paddy O'Connell, presenter of Broadcasting House.

Date: Wednesday 3 February 2010
Time: 7pm
Venue: The Frontline Club, 13 Norfolk Place, London W2 1QJ
Price: £12.50 (early booking £10)
Website: www.frontlineclub.com/events

Not in my Name
Saturday afternoon. In town with your mates. Doing some shopping or maybe watching the match when the bomb goes off. Then there’s horror, fear, anger, blame. And you’re likely to be thinking, not in my name. Written and directed by Alice Bartlett, Not in my Name is a bold and challenging play that allows young people to openly, safely and productively discuss issues around terrorism and extremism. The play is a direct response to the government’s Prevent Agenda, which from September 2009 asks all schools to explore the topic as part of the citizenship curriculum.

Date: Tuesday 9 February - Friday 13 February; public performances: Thursday 11 & Saturday 13 February
Time: 10am and 1.30pm; 7.30pm for public performances
Venue: Unity Theatre 30, 1, Hope Place Liverpool, L1 9BG
Box office: 0151 709 4988; group bookings call Rachael Treacher on 0151 702 7366
Price: Free but must be booked through the box office
Website: www.fusetheatre.co.uk

Macka B and the Roots Ragga Band
In celebration of Bob Marley's birthday, RichMix presents a wonderful night of vibrant reggae. Headlined by the legendary Macka B and featuring Jimmy Screech - a southeast Londoner fusing rap, freestyle, MCing and vocals.

Date: Saturday 6th February 2010
Time: 8pm
Venue: RichMix, 35-47 Bethnal Green Road, London, E1 6LA
Box office: 020 7613 7498
Price: 15 (£10 in advance)
Website: www.richmix.org.uk/aandc_mackab.htm

Every Year, Every Day, I am Walking
Aggie and Ernestine are sisters and best friends. Playing together in their rural idyll, life couldn't be happier. That is, until their lives are shattered by violence.  Aggie and her mother are forced to flee their homeland, leaving behind the rest of their family. Travelling from their central- African village, they make their way to the promise land: South Africa and its metropolitan hub, Cape Town.

Two actresses trace the story of Aggie and her mother as they travel across Africa to an alien environment. This production by Magnet Theatre, Cape Town is physical theatre and uses very little spoken dialogue, some in English, some in French.

Date: 24 February - 13 March 2010; Preview 24 February
Time: Tues - Sat 7.45pm (no performance 23 Feb); matinees 4 and 11 March 4.30pm; audio described 12 March 7.45pm
Venue: Oval House Theatre, 52-54 Kennington, Oval, London, SE11 5SW
Box office: 020 7582 7680
Price: Tickets £12 / £6 concessions and on preview night. £6 Book a full-price ticket for Saturday 27 February and the theatre will give you another absolutely free: please quote PLUSFRIEND when booking over the phone or online.
Website: www.ovalhouse.com

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