The past three months has been a whirlwind for everyone at Arc. As I have already blogged about I spent four weeks attending the Stephen Lawrence Murder trial, alongside Neville Lawrence who is our Patron, and to whom one of our studios at the Malthouse is dedicated. It was extraordinary to witness the human drama as it unfolded, and the resulting guilty verdict which marks a significant landmark in British history.
I was very
touched when, just a week before the verdict, sitting in the cafe at the Old Bailey, Neville asked me whether we would
be happy to host a private event, Some
Justice for him at the Malthouse. He wanted to say thank you to his family,
friends, campaigners and supporters for being alongside him for the past 18
years. It truly was a special party. On Friday 17th Feb we had
almost 200 guests packed into our
small studios, including the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Bernard
Hogan-Howe, Jon Snow (ITN) and Reeta Chakrabarti (BBC). The events’ sponsors
included the Daily Mail and ITN. As part of an evening of dancing, great food,
and live entertainment we also performed our play Pact by Clifford Oliver, the second in our Blade Trilogy, whose themes resonate particularly for Neville.
Meanwhile it
was business as usual at Arc too.
Last week we were invited by the Barbican Centre to contribute in a small way to the
development of a new hip-hop dance piece by Blue Boy Entertainment to be
created for their 2013 international premiere. On a personal level this was a fabulous opportunity
to work within a different art form from my own, and to be inspired by the
artistic directors’ exquisite imaginations and choreography. I am really looking forward to the next
stages of the project’s development, and hope that we may continue our artistic conversations.
Our newest
play Girl E by Clifford Oliver has
been touring to schools in the Borough with support from the Community Safety
Partnership. This piay takes an emotional and hard-hitting look at the
experience of young women who are or might become involved in gangs.
It sits
alongside its sister project Girls Have
their Say a ten-week programme for women, funded by the Home Office. We
have 41 young women who come together once a week to have tea and to work on
the creation of a documentary film about girls experience of gangs and domestic
violence, which will be launched on March 1st
at the Malthouse studios. Neville Lawrence OBE will be in
attendance to speak and award certificates. If you would like to join us please
get in touch info@arctheatre.com or 0208 594 1095
