The Forum page is the place to promote your events and take part in debates on topics that can be serious or whimsical. This month, Maxine Quintyne-Kolaru who recently featured in our Guest Spot section, shares her joy at being selected for a rehearsed reading at the Royal Court for her play Shredder.

May/June 2008

Shredding the competition

As part of the Royal Court Theatre’s Critical Mass Programme, which seeks to develop black voices for the theatre, 14 writers were selected to take part in the 11-week course. All participants were asked to write a play in 48 hours, or to develop an existing play for submission to the Royal Court with a view to securing feedback.

One play would also be selected for a rehearsed reading. I submitted one play (written in 48 hours!) and a second full length play that I’d been asked to submit by the theatre’s Literary Manager. The second play was one that I was able to continue to write while on the course and used learning and writing techniques to strengthen the piece. My play ‘Shredder’ was selected for the rehearsed reading, which took place on Friday 9 May 2008 at the Royal Court’s Jerwood Theatre.

It was a tight schedule, as I was informed about the selection on 1st May and casting took place between 2nd and 7th May, with rehearsals starting on Thursday 8th May. I enjoyed the rehearsal process, as the rehearsed reading benefited from having a professional director Indhu Rubasingham who directed Michael Bhim’s ‘Pure Gold’ and also managed to secure actors including Karl Collins, Jenny Jules and Ruth Sheen.

The reading gave me an opportunity to let the piece be heard out loud and live. The reading is essentially for script development, fuelling rewrites, to send in a stronger redraft to the Royal Court and other Literary Managers. All in all it’s an excellent opportunity, though I was nervous, but Indhu advice that it would be fun was the case.

The play as it stands is rather long so it was trimmed before the rehearsal stage. On advice from the Soho Theatre it had been edited down previously, which was a good thing as it was due to run for nearly three hours!

The Critical Mass ‘2008 Graduates’ are committed to trying to ensure that all the submitted plays are seen. To this end we have continued to meet as a group, with a view to staging a Festival at the Royal Court in the summer. It’s my aim to continue to be part of this ‘graduating’ group and work towards a vibrant festival that lets all of our voices be heard and stories be told.

Forum Listings

Poetry and Poppadums  

Perrier Nominee for comedy Simon Munnery, Nikesh Shukla and Kayo Chingonyi winner of the Roundhouse London under 21 slam in 2007 will be showcasing their talents hosted by or BBC2's 'Big Slam Poetry House' star Paul Lyalls. There will be an African and Caribbean buffet dinner.

Date: Monday 19th May    
Time: Show starts at 8.15pm
Venue: La Kera Restaurant, 4 Coburg Road, Wood Green, N22 6UJ
Price: £5 or £3 concessions 
Book: 020 8829 8962 / 020 8829 8989
Email: info@karamel.co.uk or info@lakera.com
Website: www.karamelclub.co.uk 

Thank U Celebrates Maya Angelou at 80
Baroness Ros Howells OBE and the Thank U Committee hosts the 7th Annual ‘Exclusive’ Pre-Launch Dinner in aid of The Maya Angelou (@ 80) Milestone Children’s Libraries in South Africa, Ghana, Trinidad & Tobago. Dr.Maya Angelou will be represented at the celebrations by her grandson. There will be a reception and dinner.

Date: Saturday 24th May 2008
Time: 6pm-11pm
Venue: The South African High Commission, South Africa House, Trafalgar Square, London WC2N
Tickets: £55 each on a first come, first served basis in advance – price includes raffle tickets.
Book:Sally Baffour @ 07889 859292
Email: sally.baffour@thanku-uk.org

Word from Africa

Africa Beyond in collaboration with SABLE LitMag explores Africa’s diversity and its cultures through literature, music and visual arts. There will be the book launch of Dreams, Miracles and Jazz: New Adventures in African Fiction, the mellow sounds of Sudanese oud player, Bashir Al Gamar, and the spellbinding voice of South African singer, Bhelakazi. Throughout the day, you can hear readings and discussions, see performances with leading African writers, poets, storytellers, playwrights and thinkers. There will be a creative writing workshop with publishing industry professionals. All sessions will have English translations or commentaries or will be in English. The event is supported by the British Museum and Arts Council England.

Date: Saturday 31 May
Time: 1pm-8.15pm
Venue: British Museum, Clore Education Centre
Price: Free (no pre-booking required)

Partition exhibitions opens in west London
An exhibition to commemorate the partition of British India is showing at the Dominion Arts Education Centre in Southall. Titled [PART][TION] it explores events of 1947 through the personal memories of survivors living in the UK today. The exhibition of images and oral collections has been assembled by the Slough-based social cohesion group Aik Saath.

Date: Run until 8 th June
Venue: 112 the Green, Southall UB2 4BQ
Price: Free
Website: www.1947partition.com

African Writers Evening

The African Writers Evening celebrates its fifth anniversary by bringing together emerging writers alongside a more established writer with Ghanaian writer, Nii Ayikwei Parkes, presenting. This event is headlined by Hisham Matar, Booker-shortlisted author of In the Country of Men.

Date: Thursday, 12th June
Time: 8pm
Venue: Blue Room, Spirit Level Southbank Centre, London
Price: £6 (concessions 50% off, limited availability)
Website: www.southbankcentre.co.uk

From Me To You

Part of Tottenham Untold Broadcast Festival, From Me To You is a revolving format where artists can present an introduction to their work and practice among other local artists’ networks and audience. It will focus on plat-forming artists of African Diasporas who are generating work and developing their practice in and around Tottenham. Tottenham Untold aims to unearth the cultural histories of Tottenham excavating the richness of its cultural clusters to discover the gems that make Tottenham a unique place, abundant with stories and storytellers alike.

Date: Saturday, 14 June 2008
Venue: Bernie Grant Arts Centre, Town Hall Approach Road, Tottenham Green, London N15 4RX
Book: 020 8365 5450 (box office)
Website: www.berniegrantcentre.co.uk

A Free Storytelling Workshop for Community Group

Do you run a community group in the West London? Are there members of your group who would like to develop or refine storytelling & performance skills? If the answer is yes, then you are invited to join award-winning author and performer Akuba in a storytelling workshop, and learn how to tell and perform a story.

Drawing on traditional Fairy Tales and African equivalents while using various cultural artefacts, you will be able to learn to tell and perform a tale.

Date: 25th June
Time: 10am-4pm
Venue: Pitzhanger Manor Gallery, Walpole Park, Mattock Lane, Ealing W5
Book: Jan Johnson on 020 8567 1227
Email: takingpart@googlemail.com

Sulaiman Addonia reading from debut novel The Consequences of Love

Westminster Library Services with African Writers Abroad (PEN) Centre are hosting this event. Set in Saudi Arabia in 1989, The Consequences of Love is a story about the price of pursuing true love in one of the most repressive societies in the world. Sulaiman S.M.Y. Addonia is in his early-30s and was born in Om Hajar, Eritrea. He is half Eritrean and half Ethiopian. The Consequences of Love will be published in the UK on 3 July 2008 by Chatto & Windus.

Date: Monday, 30th June 2008
Time: 6.30pm-7.30pm
Venue: Victoria Library, 60 Buckingham Palace Road, Victoria, London SW1W
Price: Free
Information: 020 7641 1300

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