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Performance, Ritual, Magic Workshop

13 February 2020, 4:00 pm–6:00 pm

ritual

Join Rowan Evans and Maisie Newman, Creative Fellows at UCL's Institute of Advanced Studies, for a workshop on performance, ritual and magic.

This event is free.

Event Information

Open to

All

Availability

Yes

Cost

Free

Organiser

Francesca Brooks

In this interdisciplinary workshop, we will explore the context of early medieval magic and ritual writing that surrounds the poem ‘Wulf and Eadwacer’: from the Old English herbal charms to the pan-European tradition of ‘Women’s Songs’ in Old High German, to the Old Norse galdr and runic inscriptions. What do poetry and the history of magical language have in common? How might terms like ‘charm’ and ‘spell’ alter and complicate our own ‘poems’ and the ways in which we translate them into the voice and body? Discussion of modern and contemporary texts by poets and artists including Maggie O’Sullivan and Linda Stupart will invite us to think about how the forms of instruction, procedure, wordplay and mythical symbolism can inform contemporary writing. As with our previous workshops, no prior experience with medieval languages, poetry, theatre or performance is necessary. This will be a relaxed and collaborative space where we can take a playful approach to what our writing might be.

Maisie is a Bristol-based director, choreographer and visual artist. She was recently an associate artist for Gecko Theatre’s ‘The Wedding’. Her work has been presented and supported by companies and venues including Bristol Old Vic, Bristol Ferment, Tobacco Factory Theatres, Headlong Theatre, Hauser and Wirth Somerset, Arnolfini, Gecko Theatre, The Egg Theatre, Theatre Deli and Camden Peoples Theatre.

Rowan is a poet, composer and sound artist whose recent books include The Last Verses of Beccán (Guillemot Press, 2019) and cante jondo mixtape (If a Leaf Falls Press, 2017). He received an Eric Gregory Award in 2015 and a selection of his work appears in Penguin Modern Poets 7: These Hard and Shining Things (Penguin, 2018).

All welcome. Please note that there may be photography and/or audio recording at some events and that admission is on a first come first served basis. Please follow this FAQ link for more information. All our events are free but you can support the IAS here.