A new season of ‘Literary London’ on Resonance 104.4fm.
Nick Hennegan talks to Torin Douglas about the Chiswick Book Festival in West London. This event features workshops and sessions with Jeremy Vine, Jeremy Hunt, Reeta Chakrabarti, and Jeffrey Holland. You can also attend sessions with Gill Hornby, Lyse Doucet, Fee Man, Sam Cullen, and others.
The Lyric Hammersmith Theatre Bar, before the crowds arrive. A great place to write. Sir Kenneth Branagh cut his acting teeth here and our own Nick Hennegan is a regular writer here too! 📕🍺
The Brilliant Birmingham cast of our first People’s Theatre Company. Henry V by William Shakespeare. Adapted and directed by Nick Hennegan. Original music by Robb Williams.
A Dramatic Headline, right?
(But it really IS dramatic. Also I’m learning about this social media thing! Even though this is an email!)
The R.S.C., National Theatre and others will be tutoring our BIG production that ANYONE can be involved with in London in early 2026!
As you may know, the Maverick Theatre Company is all about access to the arts. And this is a unique way for ANYONE who wants to have a go at ANYTHING to do with theatre: on stage, backstage, front of house, set design, marketing, producing, directing, music-making, social media, acting, etc. to have a go!
No qualifications or experience are needed – just a desire to have a go! If you want in – you’re in!And you will be tutored by some of the best names in the business, including the National Theatre and the R.S.C. – FOR FREE!
BUT we need to raise the funds to make this happen. AND WE’RE NEARLY THERE! I know things are tight at the moment. But if everyone who receives this newsletter was able to commit just £2, we’d be fully funded! But again, I know things are tight so please don’t worry if even £2 is a stretch at the moment.
But the Birmingham People’s Company produced some brilliant experiences, stories and encouragement to future artists. Many of that company are now working in theatre and the arts. We now want to repeat that experience in West London. Please click here for the video and more information or click the link below to go to our Peeps Co page on our website.
Well that’s a wrap on the 2025 Edinburgh Festival Fringe!
Our Edinburgh Literary Pub Crawl went well and we have hundreds of new ‘Crawler’ friends. So it’s goodbye to Bobby Davro and John Slater for a bit. Although spare a thought for Slater and all the other crew folk who now have to put Edinburgh ’back to normal’!
It happens every Edinburgh Festival Fringe. I start with good intentions of blogging, posting pics, writing reviews… but by about the end of week one, I’m embroiled in the everyday of the Fringe, marketing, flyering, finding times for normal ‘life’ stuff.
So a day off isn’t really a day off. I didn’t have to meet a group of lovely strangers at the bar in the Pleasance Dome today and have to summon the Spirit of Charles Dickens from the ‘Astral Plane’ to talk about how Edinburgh changed his life, or check whether the prize for our Pub Quiz is £100,000 – or a celebratory beermat! Or talk about how Dylan Thomas met his wife in a pub, why George Orwell felt he had to carry a gun in Scotland and Anthony Burgess’s connections to the Edinburgh International Book Festival.
But I did go to The Oxford Bar, local and invented setting for (Sir!) Ian Rankin and his creation D.I. Rebus. They kindly let me put a poster up and leave a few flyers. So it wasn’t REALLY a social, day off, kinda thing to do.
And then I thought I’d check on Bobby on the way home. Look! No Crowds!
And end up, sadly predictably, at the new local near my digs. The Abbey Whisky Bar. Although I’ve not done a whisky yet. Even though it was a day off!
Join us if you can at 3pm every day from the Lower Dome at the Pleasance Dome. (It’s the little bar in the middle! I put out deckchairs most days…)
So days off finished, I might see you this week. Our last show in Scotland is on Sunday 24th August. After that, you’ll have to come and find us in London! www.LondonLiteraryPubCrawl.com
Another brilliant, fun crew (and a dog!) for our @edfringe @londonliterarypubcrawl from the USA, Russia, Germany, Croatia, Canada, England… and Scotland!
Join us on Wednesday for our last week! Pub Quiz prizes guaranteed!