Sunday 13 March 2011

runnymede

The Tory government’s decimation of the public sector (decimation in its etymological sense) must leave a university extension called the Centre for Creative Collaboration more than a little worried. On Saturday afternoon this Centre held a series of readings in connection with the Runnymede Festival. I went to two of the three sessions and came away with more than enough to occupy my thoughts; this despite the frequent rumble of the tube just below and occasional footsteps in the upstairs office (the Gods wore Doc Martens). The first bracket featured Ian Patterson, Harry Gilonis and Amy De’Ath. I’m continually intrigued and delighted by Harry’s often very free translations from Chinese and Gaelic. The second bracket featured a collaborative reading by Emily Critchley and Tim Thornton (seen below). The materials were often dense, making use of the poetry of Drayton, Fletcher, Shakespeare and at one point John Clare, yet the performance was engagingly loose, not rehearsed to death. The piece would (should) make a very interesting book.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

'not rehearsed to death' is generous of you Laurie!
(Emily)

Laurie Duggan said...

Well I liked the 'provisional' feel of the reading. Sometimes over-rehearsal can turn poetry into theatre, which is not always a good thing. Publication is another matter but I'd welcome it on the page.