New Histories The Pilot | Worldmaking Beyond SOAS Conference Event

This event is part of the Worldmaking Beyond SOAS: Unlocking A Racially Just World Conference

Playwrights Fin Kennedy and Titilola Dawudu will discuss the results of their pilot project New Histories, funded as part of Worldmaking Beyond SOAS.

Working with Dr Eleanor Newbigin in SOAS History department, Fin, Titi and a small team recruited and trained a group of students from across SOAS as community workshop facilitators. Together, they designed a two-hour workshop, unpacking the history of statues from Britain’s past, and inviting community attendees to make their own creative responses. The results of each workshop informed a 5-minute audio drama by a professional writer, with the scripts performed by community casts.

The pilot of New Histories used the statue of William Gladstone outside Bow Church in East London as its inspiration. Workshops were held with teenagers from a local college, a mums' group at a nearby school, and a public workshop in an art gallery. Fin and Titi will play clips from the plays produced, audience responses, as well as sharing workshop materials including a ‘Gladstone bag’ full of props unpacking his life, and some of the creative community responses.

New Histories was a pilot via Fin Kennedy’s company Applied Stories, specialising in place-based audio drama with social impact. The workshop design is intended to be replicable with statues across the UK in years to come.

Zoom link - https://soas-ac-uk.zoom.us/j/98489887172

Find out more at the Worldmaking Beyond SOAS website.