The producers of Ghost From A Perfect Place are delighted to present a programme of free post-show events and workshops to accompany the production.
All events are free to show ticket-holders with first priority given to ticket-holders for the evening in question. Each talk starts 10 minutes after the performance with an approximate running time of 40 minutes.
Wednesday 17th September: ‘Lovesongs for Extinct Creatures’ with Philip Ridley
Philip Ridley’s performances of his own poetry have become something of a cult hit over the past few years. Here, for one evening only, he will read his sequence of poems that chart the journey of a love affair; from wanting love, to finding love and then the grief of losing that love.
Ridley is a visionary.Rolling Stone Magazine
Monday 22nd September: ‘Skets. Hood Rats. Wifeys. Women.’
with Laura Butterworth, Rosemary Parker, Natalie Allison and Rhiannon Sawyer
This panel discussion explores the disempowered but crucial role of women in London’s gangs with a close look at the dangerous ways in which they are targeted, violently and sexually exploited and most importantly how they survive and succeed out with the confines of gang oppression.
Laura Butterworth is a Safer London Foundation Project Manager, currently working on Empower, a multi-strand support programme addressing young women’s experiences of sexual violence and exploitation. The Empower teams are co-located with gangs units and multi agency partnerships in Hackney and Croydon and support young women experiencing sexual violence due to their association with gang members. She has also recently returned from the USA having been awarded a personal 2014 Winston Churchill Memorial Trust (WCMT) Fellowship, enabling her to travel overseas and bring back knowledge and best practice for the benefit of others. The focus for her visit and research is gender-based violence service delivery and prevention programmes.
Rosemary Parker is a support worker for the charity Refuge. As well as working with young women who have had experience of gang culture and abuse, she also provides confidential, non-judgmental and independent support for anyone experiencing gender violence in the London. The types of gender violence Rosemary works to reduce, includes, Domestic violence (physical, sexual, financial, emotional or psychological abuse, Rape and sexual assault, Stalking, Prostitution, Trafficking, Female genital mutilation or female ‘circumcision’, Forced marriage, So-called ‘honour’-based violence.
Natalie Allison is the Development Programme Manager for Ghost From A Perfect Place. After graduating from The University of Aberdeen in Law she moved into theatre producing and development to aid the work of companies and specialist organisations in the community, helping raise the profile of their work and ultimately allow for open discussion that could influence art and theatre across the industry.
Rhiannon Sawyer is a Leaving Custody and Care Groupworker at Safe Choices, the Children’s Society. Safe Choices works with young women who are leaving care or custody who have experienced serious youth violence, gang violence, sexual exploitation and violence or who are violent offenders. They deliver resilience-building group and 1:1 work looking at anger, VAWG, feminism, identity, consequences and self-esteem.
Wednesday 24th September: Interview with Philip Ridley
with Aleks Sierz
Playwright, artist, screenwriter and children’s novelist Philip Ridley returns to the Arcola stage to discuss the long awaited revival of one of his most controversial works, Ghost From A Perfect Place. Hosted by the renowned theatre critic and author Aleks Sierz, who coined the term ‘in-yer-face theatre’, this is an essential evening for fans of contemporary British theatre.
Monday 29th September: Q&A with cast and creative team
A relaxed and engaging post-show discussion with members of the cast and creative team as part of the Arcola Student Night. For those unable to attend there will be the opportunity to submit questions by email beforehand.
Friday 3rd October – Directing Ridley
A panel of acclaimed directors of Philip Ridley’s work discuss the different approaches to staging his plays. Guest speakers include David Mercatali (Dark Vanilla Jungle, Tender Napalm, Feathers in the Snow, Moonfleece), Ned Bennett (Mercury Fur) and new collaborators Zoe Ford (Artistic Director of Hiraeth Productions) & Max Barton (Associate Director Jermyn Street Theatre).
Wednesday 8th October: ‘UK Gang Culture – Media Myth or Troubling Truth?’
A panel of specialists and leading voices in the campaign against gang crime discuss how much our understanding of the UK’s gang culture is a generated myth or a harsh reality. Speakers are:
- David Cohen, the Campaigns Editor of the Evening Standard, who leads the paper’s Frontline London investigation into gangs
- Sophie Lindon, the Deputy Mayor of Hackney who is responsible for crime and community safety
- Laura Butterworth, who manages Safer London Foundation’s Empower project addressing young women’s experiences of sexual violence and exploitation.
- Tracey Ford, who set up JAGS Foundation to provide opportunities for young people to positively engage in the community in memory of her son James who was a victim of gang crime. She is a Churchill Fellow and a finalist for Lorraine Kelly’s Inspirational Woman of the Year award.
Drama Workshops
An exciting month-long project has been undertaken in collaboration with our educational and specialist partners for young people exposed to the continuous threat of gang violence in and around London’s schools and communities. Participants are invited to watch the show and receive a copy of the playtext and a Development Pack to aid drama workshop and exercises run by their supporting organisation. This initiative has been designed to facilitate the work of charities and groups working to educate young people about the associated risks of gang culture and to enable them to develop their creative skills and build confidence.
For further information or to register as one of our community partners please contact office@sarahstribleyproductions.com