Reflections on the Stephen Lawrence Murder Trial and Business as usual at Arc.

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 17^th 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