A New Map of Wonders

UPDATE: Due to illness this workshop has had to be cancelled. Sorry for any inconvenience.

About Bernadette

I am an author of five books for children and adults and eighteen plays. My most recent book was “How To be Hopeful” published by Elliott and Thompson and most recent play was the musical “Hope” commissioned by English Folk Dance and Song Society.  I’m also a storyteller and theatre maker, and an award-winning activist. I’ve written and created shows for many organisations including Royal Albert Hall, Southbank Centre, Museum of London, Museum of the Home, Natural History Museum, Birmingham Rep, National Trust, BFI, Turner Contemporary, People United, Deptford X, Tate Britain, Freud Museum and LIFT Festival. I’m interested in finding the magical in the mundane, and this year I am proud and privileged to be lead artist at the Southbank Centre- creating a new immersive arts club called “The Skylark Café”.

 

About the workshop

“A New Map of Wonders”

What we will do

I rehearse, cook up stories, hunt for stories and develop ideas whilst walking, and have done for many years. Many writers and artists have used walking to create, from Baudelaire to Bronte – wandering is an accessible and affordable retreat many of us can manage at any time.

 

With this in mind, this workshop is a playful creative writing session suitable for anyone from absolute beginners to professional writers. Using the flâneurs 

 and flâneuses* as inspiration- we will wander and wonder together in a circular route, stopping at various points to observe and collect material, ideas, and inspiration on route, focusing on the magical in the mundane and the extraordinary in the ordinary- to co-create a new “map of wonders”- with a playful mixture of fact and fiction. There’ll be time to write on your own too with plenty of prompts and ideas- plus a chance to share work (but no obligation to do so). The purpose of this workshop is to have fun writing together, and for you to leave with lots of beginnings of pieces to develop and work on in your own time should you wish to.

 

*Flâneur : a stroller, a wanderer, a literary type, whose only purpose was to observe life.

 

You will need

• Something to write on- but this can be whatever you like! So could be a notebook and pen, or your phone, iPad, laptop – whatever you like!
• Ideally something you can record onto such as your phone. You might want to test out the sound record function if you haven’t used it before. If you have a different kind of portable recording device, you can use that of course. Don’t wort if you don’t have anything- we can work around that (by sharing mine!)
• Some comfortable walking boots or shoes if you are on foot- I’ll make sure the route is wheelchair accessible.

 

Please be mindful that we will be wandering at night, and the roads may be slippy, it may be cold- so wrap up warm and if you’re on footwear sensible shoes! We will have a backup contingency plan for if it ends up raining cats and dogs- the workshop will still go ahead!  

PLACES ARE FREE, but as places are limited please book here: