Crafting & Grafting

Across two meteorologically fickle September weeks, Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter witnessed what could almost be called a happening. Not a common occurrence, it had done well to court a range of reactions from onlookers: bafflement, delight, flitting interest, scorn, intrigue. And that’s to say nothing of what the paying audience thought. This was Gem of a

Open Door at The REP

In 2013, BOLDtext Playwrights initiated discussions with Birmingham REP about presenting New Writing nights, and the OPEN DOOR initiative emerged. We pioneered it by presenting eight individual pieces of work-in-progress to a growing regional audience hungry for new work that reflected their lives. Click ‘continue reading’ or scroll down for older posts about the shows.

Power of Invention

Lockdown and the closure of Birmingham museums meant a nine month postponement for this site-specific production about Matthew Boulton’s ground-breaking Lunar Society. We reconfigured the show as an outdoor production in the gardens of Soho House in Birmingham, to make it covid secure.  Click ‘continue reading’ or scroll down for older posts about the show.

Follow Me

In summer 2019 it was anounced that the Birmingham Weekender would be going ahead. Planned for the beginning of October, it left us with less than three months to devise, pitch, and produce a show for the festival. To find out what we came up with click ‘continue reading’ or scroll down for older posts.

Behind Bars: Ghosts of the Lock-Up

Our first site-specific production, Behind Bars took place within the walls of a 130 year-old Victorian prison. Kicking off with nine performances in October 2018, the show’s notoriety got it sent back to the clink for a further twelve performances the following year. Click ‘continue reading’ or scroll down for older posts about the show.

The show that almost went wrong

What could possibly go wrong, quipped our unflappable producer Julia as she signed up to her duties on Power of Invention back in 2019. Turns out, pretty much anything. The original plan was for a promenade show inside Soho House where the audience would meander through the house and encounter the industrial giants of the

Theatre is back!

Postponed from last year due to the pandemic, rehearsals are now underway for BOLDtext Playwright’s latest site-specific show, Power of Invention, celebrating Birmingham’s Lunar Society – with a wonderful all-female cast, stage manager and director.   The RSC’s Katy Stephens is joined by Adaya Henry, Itasha James and Simran Kular, with direction from Janet Steel, stage

Minted

Birmingham was riddled with forgers in the late eighteenth century. Some were so cocky that they even advertised on street signs.   Copper coins were in short supply. They were made by hand presses and so easy to forge that The Royal Mint didn’t bother making them. Its own study revealed that 92% of halfpennies were

Life is complicated

Like life, writing is about decisions and dilemmas. Especially when writing about characters from history. What do we know? Who were they really? Do the characters have to speak in ye olde worlde language…? James Watt undoubtedly is remembered for his extraordinary inventions. Mainly his steam engine, which he came to invent after trying to

Its rightful place in the world

I love writing but sometimes I wonder if I love the research for my writing more… Erasmus Darwin or Mr Enlightenment (1731-1802) was a complete joy to discover – what a mind! A founding member of the Lunar Society, Erasmus was a larger-than-life polymath, a doctor, inventor and published poet. The trouble was, it was