Springboard Creatives

The Bloomsbury Festival Springboard Creatives 2024 project has offered support to emerging theatre makers; a creative training scheme for local young people aged 16 to 25; global storytelling events; and Discovery Hub activities for local communities and schools. Alongside these activities the festival offered additional community engagement opportunities particularly focussed on wellbeing and participation, science and heritage.

This report brings together a snapshot of digital content created across strands of the project and includes photographs, video, podcasts and online streaming links.

Jim Osman in 'The Encrypted Forest'

Jim Osman in 'The Encrypted Forest'

Four writers and theatre makers were selected to present productions at the 2024 festival with the support of Arts Council England. The 4 productions were presented at City Lit and Holy Cross Church. An additional programme of theatre from specialist and emerging writers and theatre companies was presented at Westminster Kingsway College (now Capital City College King's Cross centre). Tramshed in Woolwich also offered development support and rehearsal space for 'the Daisy Chain'. Without the additional support of these venues this project would not have been possible.

SOGYA by The Avieli Arthouse. Performed at Holy Cross Church Friday 25th October 19:30, Saturday 26th October 18:30 and 20:30.

The Encrypted Forest by Jim Osman. Performed at John Lyons Theatre, City Lit, Saturday 20th October 20:30.

the Daisy chain by Princess Bestman. Performed at John Lyons Theatre, City Lit, Friday 25th October 18:30 and Saturday 26th October 20:30.

Attempts on a Birch Tree by IAMIAM Theatre. Performed at John Lyons Theatre, City Lit, Friday 25th October 20:30 and Saturday 26th October 18:30.

The productions received various types of coverage including interviews and podcasts on Bloomsbury Radio and the festival Spotify account, social media coverage, filming of interviews and theatre reviews.

https://open.spotify.com/episode/2fRzCM2vC3rcaAdyXz2mej

Link to a podcast/radio interview with Princess Bestman on Bloomsbury Radio - about 'the Daisy chain'

Podcast Princess Bestman interview

Ted-talk-gig-theatre styled performance looking into the realities of the Foster care system. the Daisy chain focuses on transformative approaches and the restoration of hope, whilst displaying the impact that children's social care workers could have on the lives of young people and families they engage with

Link to a podcast/radio interview with Jim Osman on Bloomsbury Radio about 'The Encrypted Forest'

Podcast Jim Osman interview

An evening of folktales for the digital age, "The Encrypted Forest" draws inspiration from post-internet art, weird fiction, cosmic horror, and traditional folktales. Combining storytelling, audio drama, and sound art, the show blends radiophonics with lo-fi hop sampling techniques to create a unique and immersive experience.

Link to a podcast/radio interview with Georgie Dettmer on Bloomsbury Radio about 'Attempts on a Birch Tree'

Podcast Georgie Dettmer interview

In 2015, Katie fell in love with the birch tree in her back garden. In 2019, they were married. By 2023, they were both dead. Join us as we attempt, over and over again, to fall in love with a birch tree too. A play about love, the climate crisis, and falling for things you shouldn’t.

Social media video post about SOGYA from the Avieli Arthouse

Video Post - SOGYA

An immersive, one-man show exploring the military experiences of colonial Gold Coast WWII veterans, based upon factual interviews, oral testimony, archival records and encounters.

Reviews were printed in a number of online spaces for emerging theatre work at the festival, and audience feedback gathered

London Fringe Theatre Review - The Encrypted Forest

REVIEW: The Encrypted Forest

LFTR review: A truly immersive experience that appeals to all human senses. Go in with an open mind as it's really unique in it's presentation, you do have to focus but it's worth it as you start to create your own images, it's nothing like we have ever experienced, the story telling really stood out and the use of static digital art really generates a modern art and storytelling feel that's eerie but dynamic too. We cannot wait to see more from Jim Osman, a rising star of this genre.
⭐⭐⭐⭐ Out of 5.

A Young(ish) Perspective - Attempts on a Birch Tree

REVIEW: Attempts on a Birch Tree

Attempts on a Birch Tree challenges its audience to fall in love with a tree. Production company I Am I Am does a great job of incorporating text and videography into this production in an illuminatingly fresh manner.

Georgie Dettmer’s writing feels delicate and introspective. Riddled with humor and complex narratives, Dettmer somehow keeps the audience on their toes even once we are completely aware of how the show will end. Performances by Morgan Beale as Michael and Adam and Dettmer as Katie Hastings were delightful.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

SOGYA - Audience Feedback

AUDIENCE FEEDBACK: SOGYA

SOGYA was fantastic. Originality, bravery, so vivid & memorable story and a great talented performance. Unique experience indeed, Patrick Bayele held us in his grip with a patient and controlled delivery of a well researched story so imaginatively told. I loved the audience involvement Patrick magicked so beautifully. The set was incredible and creative. I left the church with so many images and ideas & memories to explore. Well done.’

Audience Feedback - the Daisy chain

AUDIENCE FEEDBACK - the Daisy chain

'Phenomenal, healing, expressive, moving, raised & asked questions, critical, powerful, awesome, dynamic & focuses on care and on humanity.’

The support for these theatre writers and productions has made a substantial impact on the start of their careers.

[The experience was] "Transformative" Patrick Bayele

"It has been incredibly validating and supportive" Jim Osman

"A very affirming experience as a new and early career artist" Princess Bestman

“I think it's a really crucial step in artist development" Georgina Dettmer

Additional Support for Emerging Theatre Makers

Support was also offered to other emerging theatre makers including a shortlisted writer/production from 2022 festival New Wave programme - Parbati Chaudhury and Goodgirl. This was staged as part of a day of South Asian storytelling at Westminster Kingsway College as a full script rehearsed reading.

Goodgirl by Parbati Chaudhury

Goodgirl by Parbati Chaudhury

A day of four experimental theatre productions were also staged at Westminster Kingsway College theatre including The Jellyfish Enigma which was also reviewed by London Fringe Theatre Reviews

Review - The Jellyfish Enigma

Review - The Jellyfish Enigma

Bloomsbury Radio

&

Bloomsbury Festival Spotify

Bloomsbury Radio covered events across the festival over 10 days - podcasts of interviews from numerous productions are published on the Bloomsbury Festival Spotify account and highlights are re-broadcast on Bloomsbury Radio catch up

Bloomsbury Festival Spotify account hosts interviews from Bloomsbury Institute's Bloomsbury Radio coverage

Springboard Trainee Scheme

Filming workshop with Chocolate Films

Creative Trainee Scheme for Young People in Camden

With support from Camden Council, Westminster Kingsway College and as part of the Arts Council England funded Springboard Creatives Scheme, Bloomsbury Festival led a programme of cultural training for young people in Camden through September and October 2024.

The Springboard Collective and the Springboard training scheme offered 6 funded training opportunities to young people aged 16 to 25 to become involved in a pathway which introduced new creative skills, and an opportunity to benefit from professional skills sessions through a two month course of workshops, visits, curating and creative activities and an introduction into creative careers and opportunities with and beyond the festival.

Alongside the funded places, trainees opportunities were also offered to 3 Westminster Kingsway Placement Art & Design students, and two 2 placement trainees to work in social media and filming with the festival team.

The skills and creative training culminated in work experience and exhibition opportunities at the Festival and this aspect was a really important and appreciated opportunity for the young people.

As part of the creative skills programme the trainees were offered skills workshops in exhibition curation and producing; documentary film-making; photography; podcasting; live radio interviewing; creating an outdoor artwork; box office and event management during the Festival itself.

During the course, the trainees created and produced a number of artistic outputs either as a group or individually:

A documentary on what Peace means - theme chosed to reflect. the festival's 2024 theme 'Human.Kind'
An outdoor artwork that was displayed in Bloomsbury Festival at the Cromer Street Family Day, Saturday 19th October
3 podcasts, which have been published on the Bloomsbury Festival Spotify
Individual presentations for their own exhibition idea responding to the theme of Human.Kind
Curating ideas for their own exhibitions with support for individual task lists and budgets for their own exhibition idea

The short film 'Peace' was made as a training exercise by the trainees with Chocolate Films.

As part of the skills workshops photographer Kois Miah led a a workshop with the trainees.

Below find the film Peace, photos from the whole programme, and some of the trainees photographs from the photography workshop.

Peace - short film produced as a training exercise with Chocolate Films

The Springboard Collective

The festival team worked with former trainees to commission new work. Yusuf Uddin coordinated young artists to create an exhibition of photographs displayed at Conway Hall under the theme 'Vices', offering a contemporary take on the Seven Deadly Sins, using a mixture of photography and digital editing.

During the process, the collective produced a presentation of the idea and their inspirations to the Festival and received mentoring from the Festival Team to put together and manage a budget for the exhibition. They shot, edited and produced this exhibition from start to finish, giving them valuable experience of the production process for an artistic exhibition

"Working on this project has been an incredibly fulfilling journey" Yusuf Uddin

Global Storytelling and Bookclub events

Lit in Colour at Conway Hall

A Spotlight on Drama and Education- in partnership with Bloomsbury Publishing

Lit in Colour is a campaign to decolonise the curriculum and bring rich and relevant works by Global Majority writers to schools around the country, so that students can study books and plays by and about people they recognise as similar to themselves.

This free event celebrated the publication of the 2024 instalment of Bloomsbury Publishing’s (Incomplete) Play List – a specially curated selection of plays by writers from Black, Asian, Jewish and other Minority Ethnic groups. These plays are all suitable for study at secondary school level and represent a diverse range of identities, narratives and experiences.

Schools Global storytelling and other sessions at Holborn Library

In partnership with Holborn Library, the festival shared a family ballet performance - Island Movements - which told an epic tale of the lives of a family from the Windrush generation

Workshops at Holborn Library

We offered school workshops with Wendy Shearer at Holborn Library - Wendy is a Professional Storyteller, Oral Historian and Author of African and Caribbean Folktales, Myths & Legends.

Artist Mei Lock alongside her exhibition Memories of a Take-Away, Mei ran a story sharing workshop about memories of family life in Hong Kong

Book Club Newsletter - written by Tamera Heron

Reading The Mermaid of Black Conch by Monique Roffey

Tamera here, Creative Consultant for Bloomsbury Festival and Founder of Cold Islanders, a community-focused initiative celebrating Caribbean culture and creativity. I’m delighted to share that Bloomsbury Festival and Cold Islanders will be hosting two book clubs discussing Monique Roffey’s The Mermaid of Black Conch.It’s a book that captured my heart the first time I read it and for my fellow fans of magical realism, I can confidently say that you will love this story. Often heart-breaking and yet also soul-restoring, this is a captivating tale of friendship, love and transformation.

In the Grip of Change: the Caribbean and its British Diaspora
For lovers of Caribbean literature, I would also suggest popping along to Senate House Library’s stall at the festival’s Discovery Day at Holborn Library on Saturday 26 October (which will be sat next to our book club). The team will be giving a taster of what to expect at their latest exhibition at Senate House Library, titled In the Grip of Change: the Caribbean and its British Diaspora opening on 29 October. This exhibition traces British Caribbean colonies’ paths to independence, highlighting the work of transnational activists. It also explores the Caribbean diaspora in Britain and how successive changes to immigration and nationality laws have culminated in the ‘Windrush’ scandal.

“The Mermaid of Black Conch is a new Caribbean myth that feels as ancient as the very beginning of oral storytelling. Its modernity comes from the way it weaves in fresh ideas on gender, sexuality, ecology, history, migration, transformation and transfiguration. The monumental task of finding that liminal space between the ancient and the modern is done so seamlessly that Monqiue Roffey will have you think that always knew this story somehow, deep down in the marrow of your bones.” Roger Robinson

Recommended Reads by Caribbean authors
When We Were Birds by Ayanna Lloyd Banwo
Mr Loverman by Bernardine Evaristo
Love after Love by Ingrid Persaud
Hungry Ghosts by Kevin Jared Hosein
People Person by Candice Carty-Williams

Exhibition Curator pick
Toussaint Louverture: The Story of the Only Successful Slave Revolt in History by C.L.R James
This is the impassioned and beautifully drawn story of the Haitian Revolution and its incredible leader: Toussaint Louverture. The text of this graphic novel is a play by C. L. R. James that opened in London in 1936 with Paul Robeson in the title role.

South Asian storytelling at Westminster Kingsway College

Black Shalwar at Westminster Kingsway College

Black Shalwar

Tamarind Theatre presented a reading from a short story The Black Shalwar by Manto, which tells the story of Sultana, a prostitute who wanted a Black Shawl to celebrate the religious festival of Muharram. It highlighted how women were surrounded by social and cultural hypocrisy prevalent in 1940s Indian society.

Empathy at Westminster Kingsway College

Empathy

Mukul and Ghetto Tigers told the story of the captivating artistry of Noel Datta as she weaves a tapestry of emotion and expression through body poetry, set to the soul-stirring melodies of Sufi and devotional songs performed by Marina Ahmad

Goodgirl at Westminster Kingsway College

Goodgirl

Lit Path Productions presented a rehearsed reading of a new play by Parbati Chaudhury on a radical, tender reimagining of parenthood and family. ‘Hold the hands of Suhana, Padma, and Brinda as they push through the final few weeks of Suhana’s longed-for pregnancy’. Parbati was shortlisted for the festival’s theatre New Wave theatre makers scheme in 2022 and has previously presented scenes in development in 2023, and this year presented a rehearsed reading of a full script. She is moving from her career as a dancer to writer with the support of Bloomsbury Festival and others.

Discovery Hub

Activities were held across 2 sites - Holborn Library for workshops and activities during the week and for the main family Discovery Day, and an additional venue was arranged for schools visits to visit a Coral Reef VR experience at UCLs Grant Museum exploring coral and sea-life through interactive technology.

Discovery Hub - VR, Robotics, Cutting Edge Healthcare and Creative Activities

The festival added an additional layer of community engagement with the mental health choir Dragon Cafe singers and their choir leader Vivien Ellis.

We experimented with a new type of evaluation based on theManchester Colour Wheel, which measures the mood of participants before and after singing and creative activity.

The singers took part in two open workshops leading up the festival and additional rehearsals in their regular meeting time.

The first workshop was held at City Lit as part of their Mental Wealth Festival, and the second as an outdoor performance followed by a public workshop as part of the festival's Cromer Street and Bramber Green Family Day.

This led to participation in a multi-choir project (for which the festival raised additional funds from National Lottery Heritage Fund) and which was live streamed on Youtube, and then a Premiere of the filming was screened at the Mental Fight Club (of which the Dragon Cafe is part).

The mood of the participants was reported before and after on a colour wheel, which feeds into a graphic display. This experimental evaluation builds on earlier research at Manchester University where the colour wheel shows that the mood of participants softens during creative outreach activities and singing.

Dragon Cafe Singers led by Vivien Ellis

Mood from Colour Wheel evaluation fed into before and after heads to display mood change

Before - Colour Wheel

Colour wheel mood evaluation with mental health Choir Dragon Cafe singers - before participation in singing shows harsher colours.

After Colour Wheel

Colour wheel mood evaluation with mental health Choir Dragon Cafe singers - post singing event shows gentler brighter colours.

Live stream of singing event including Dragon Cafe Singers