The Ramayana

This workshop links to The Ramayana: Love and Valour in India's Great Epic exhibition. The Ramayana follows the story of Prince Rama and his quest to rescue his beloved wife Sita from the clutches of the king, Ravana, with the help of an army of monkeys. More than 100 paintings will be on display from the British Library’s lavishly illustrated 17th-century manuscripts of the story. The vivid, brightly coloured scenes are packed with narrative detail and dramatic imagery.

Workshop Outline

Primary groups will look at the key messages of the Ramayana and how they relate to the lives of Hindus today. Participants will journey through the exhibition and, while uncovering the story, explore the meaning behind the characters and events. Through discussion and hands-on activities, participants will discover how Hindus express their faith through art and symbols.

Secondary, FE, HE and adult groups will focus on the relationship between the Ramayana and Hindu belief and practice, exploring the connections between history, myth and faith. Looking closely at the paintings and artefacts on display, participants will unravel some of the key themes of the Ramanaya, including love, duty and honour. We will also look at how the story has been represented and retold over the centuries.

Group tours for adult will examine the importance of the Ramayana in the Hindu faith through the manuscripts and artefacts on display.

Admission: Free

Age group: Primary (Year 3 upwards), Secondary, FE, HE and adult groups

Available: 19 May – 12 September 2008

Length: 90 minutes. Please allow more time after your workshop to explore the galleries and public spaces

Contact the Learning Team for more information/booking.

The British Library
96 Euston Road
London
NW1 2DB
Telephone: + 44 (0)20 7412 7797
Email: learning@bl.uk
Website: www.bl.uk

'How socially subversive could three sequined girl singers possibly be?' - Brian Chin

This exhibition presents the story of the Supremes: the most successful girl group of all time. It explores how Berry Gordy, founder of Motown Records, shaped their style to create a central place for African-Americans in what had been a white dominated popular culture.

The quintessential ‘rags-to-riches’ story, the Supremes rose out of the Detroit Projects to achieve international fame. Their unprecedented crossover success acts as a mirror to the tumultuous events of 1960s America as the Civil Rights Movement attempted to dismantle centuries of racial prejudice. The Supremes were always beautifully dressed and elegant, yet their music was unmistakeably hip. They came to epitomise the groomed, sophisticated and chic look and sound of Motown.

'Coloured people on TV! You never saw anything like it in the 1960s. Three women of colour who were totally empowered - creative, imaginative, beautiful, poised. To see the Supremes and know that it was possible to be like them, that black people could do that…' - Oprah Winfrey

The vestiges of their allure are here on display. These are dresses that helped make history: the work clothes of being a Supreme.

For exhibition opening times and ticket prices, visit www.vam.ac.uk

Victoria and Albert Museum
Cromwell Road
London SW7 2RL
Box office: 0870 906 3883
www.vam.ac.uk

The exhibition brings together major works by 12 artists who best represent the innovative and dynamic artistic practices across the African continent and the African diasporas and launches the book, Angaza Afrika – African Art Now - a highly visual survey of contemporary African art compiled by Christopher Spring, curator of the African Galleries at The British Museum, and published by Laurence King.

Gallery open 12.30pm-5.30pm, Tuesday to Saturday

October Gallery
24 Old Gloucester Street
Bloomsbury
London WC1N 3AL
Tel: (0)20 7242 7367
www.octobergallery.co.uk

My China Now tells the story of China today through a programme of short films by documentary makers, animators, artists and film-makers all of whom are defining contemporary culture in modern China.

Featuring short films by Cao Fei, Wang Bo and Liu Hao, My China Now features 33 films including 12 new commissions that premiere at Southbank Centre.

My China Now is part of China Now, the UK's largest ever festival of Chinese culture.

Outside The Hayward and Concrete Day Cafe Night Bar

Admission free

Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 9.00pm-11.00pm, Fridays, 10pm-1.00am

Southbank Centre
London
www.southbankcentre.co.uk

To coincide with the V&A’s major exhibition China Design Now, one of China’s leading architects -Yung Ho Chang - will create a specially designed installation, Poly & Chai, in the V&A’s John Madejski Garden.

For the latest in the V&A’s summer garden commissions, Chang has devised a set of free standing screens inspired by traditional Chinese garden design that will be arranged around the space for visitors to walk through. The screens will be made from green recyclable plastic paving blocks, commonly used in parking lots and construction sites in China.

Yung Ho Chang established China’s first private architecture firm, Atelier FCJZ, in 1993. As well as overseeing a number of high profile architectural projects in China, Chang is Head of Architecture at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology). His work can be seen in China Design Now, which showcases the latest in architecture, fashion and graphics to emerge from China.

Victoria and Albert Museum
Cromwell Road
London SW7 2RL
Box office: 0870 906 3883
www.vam.ac.uk

An exhibition exploring the contributions made by Black Londoners during the Second World War. From Air Raid Precaution wardens to popular entertainers, Black Londoners carried out a variety of tasks on the Home Front during the Second World War. This exhibition will uncover stories from South London and beyond, exploring both the positive and negative experiences of Black Londoners from 1939 to 1945 through rare photographs, music and film clips.
The exhibition will reveal the voluntary roles on the Home Front of ordinary Black men and women. It will tell stories of wartime courage, hardship and service to the community. It will also show how bombing, evacuation and rationing affected Black people.
Discover the story of community leaders such as Dr Harold Moody, a Peckham-based doctor, who became an ambassador for Britain's Black community and a founding member of the League of Coloured Peoples. Learn about the role musicians and singers like Adelaide Hall and Ken "Snakehips" Johnson played in keeping up London's morale during the Blitz. The exhibition will also reveal how Caribbean and African Commonwealth countries contributed to the war effort.

Date: 1 April-1 November 2008 (Tuesday to Saturday only)

Time: 10.00am-5.00pm

Admission: Free

The Cuming Museum
The Old Town Hall
151 Walworth Road
London
SE17 1RY
Tel: 020 7525 2332
africanhistorymonth.ligali.org
www.southwark.gov.uk

Two London lovers. One African. One West-Indian. What’s the problem? Follow your heart or honour your family?

After the cult success of its work-in-progress production at Arcola Studio 2 last year, Torn transfers to the main house with an updated script and a new creative team. Kelle Bryan (Eternal), Jocelyn Jee Esien (Little Miss Jocelyn) and Wil Johnson (Waking the Dead) lead an all-star cast.

Sharp-tongued, witty, provocative and bold, Torn tells familiar story of star-crossed lovers against an unfamiliar backdrop - inter-ethnic conflict in our Pan African community.

Date: 24 June 2008- 2 August 2008

Tickets: £10.00/£15.00 (no concs Sat) / Tues Pay What You Can

Time: 8.00pm

Arcola Theatre
27 Arcola Street
London
E8 2DJ
0207 503 1645
07977 220 414
lilli@arcolatheatre.com
www.arcolatheatre.com

Photographs by Patrick Friday and Kwaku used in BTWSC's Heritage Lottery Funded Brent Black Music History Project form part of a year-long exhibition in the Brent Museum (Community Gallery).

Date: 26 November 2007 - 25 November 2008

Time: 11.00pm- 21.00pm

Admission: Free

Community Gallery
Willesden Green Library Centre
95 High Road
NW10 2SF
London
www.britishblackmusic.com

The first solo exhibition in the UK by Colombian artist Oscar Muñoz - a powerful body of work selected from the last ten years that evokes memory and loss to compelling and seductive effect.

Iniva also presents a series of events, talks and screenings during the exhibition period. The public programme includes talks, films selected by Oscar Muñoz, and video works by Colombian artists who have exhibited previously at Lugar a Dudas, the artist-run space established in Cali by Oscar Muñoz.

Saturday, 14 June, 4.00-6.00pm: Oscar Muñoz in conversation with Sebastian Lopez, Iniva Director

Thursday 19 June, 7.00-9.00pm: Video work by Colombian artists

Thursday 3 July, 7.00-8.00pm: Gallery talk by Sebastian Lopez

Saturday 12 July, 2.00-3.00pm: Gallery talk by Melanie Keen

Thursdays 10, 17, 24 July, 7.00-9.00pm: A programme of films selected by Oscar Muñoz that have influenced his artistic practice such as the work of filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky

All events are free.
Advance booking is essential. Call 020 7749 1240.

Iniva
Rivington Place
London EC2A 3BA
020 7729 9616
iniva@iniva.org
www.iniva.org/

This year Nelson Mandela will be celebrating his 90th birthday. To honour this occasion Museum of London is remembering his first visit to London in June 1962 with a small photographic display. This collection of 17 striking black and white photographs show a youthful Mandela in London during what was to be some of his last days of freedom.

Museum of London
London Wall
London EC2Y 5HN
0870 444 3850 (Box Office)
0870 444 3851 (General Enquiries)
info@museumoflondon.org.uk
www.museumoflondon.org.uk

Celebrating the life of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, widely known as Mahatma, meaning 'Great Soul'. This small exhibition of facsimiles looks at the influence of the Jain tradition of non-violence on his ideas, his philosophy, his time in South Africa, and his involvement in the Indian Independence movement.

Date: 14 July - 30 July 2008

Admission: Free

Leicester Central Lending Library
Belvoir Street
Leicester
LE1 6QL
Telephone: (0116) 299 5402
www.leicester.gov.uk

Sampad and Concord Youth Centre presents

Slippin

Made by Birmingham filmmakers with participants from the Concord Youth Centre, and as part of My Endz film project, Slippin is a hard-hitting and powerful portrayal of life in inner-city Brum. The film dramatises real life experiences in order to explore conflicting youth sub-cultures, including allegiances to turf and territory, in which the hood is divided by geographical borders creating ‘no go’ areas and thereby segregating communities by postcodes.


Alien Asian

Made in the 90’s by Black Multimedia collective. Working with Asian youths from Oldham Youth Clubs, the film makers based the script on the lived experiences of the young people and got them and members of the wider community to devise the script and act in the film.

Set against a backdrop of drug dealers, corrupt leaders, false preachers and the hostile racist streets of Oldham, this powerful and moving drama looks at the dayin the life of two young friends and their daily struggle for survival.

The screening will be followed by a post show discussion with the filmakers and the cast.

Age Restriction 15+

Time: 7.30pm

Date: Thursday 24 July 2008

Tickets: £4.00 (£3.00)

The Drum
144 Potters Lane
Aston
Birmingham
B6 4UU
England
Box Office: 0121 333 2444
www.the-drum.org.uk
info@the-drum.org.uk

This lecture will discuss Black people living and working in the UK before the First World War as well as class structures and diversity across the Caribbean.

As part of the From War to Windrush Exhibition (13 June 2008-29 March 2009) which marks the sixtieth anniversary of the arrival of the MV Empire Windrush in Britain in 1948, this exhibition will tell the personal stories of the involvement of Black men and women from the West Indies and Britain in the First and Second World Wars.

Among the exhibits on display will be pages from the MV Empire Windrush passenger list; the MBE belonging to Sam King, who returned to Britain on the Windrush after serving in the RAF and was later the first Black mayor of Southwark; and the telegram announcing the death of Walter Tull, the first Black British Army officer.

Date: Saturday 26 July 2008

Time: 1.00pm

Admission: Free

Imperial War Museum
Lambeth Road
London
SE1 6HZ
United Kingdom
Email: mail@iwm.org.uk
General enquiries: +44 (0)20 7416 5000
Website: www.london.iwm.org.uk

The world's most exciting continent explodes onto the Almeida Theatre stage.

A major tour de force in Black British theatre for over a decade, Tiata Fahodzi takes residency at the Almeida Theatre for the first time to present its annual new writing festival Tiata Delights.

The festival will fill the theatre with a vast company of actors, covering Ghana & Nigeria and illuminating the exciting and heart rending links which fuse Britain with Africa.

Six new plays by established and emerging African playwrights resident in the UK will be presented for the first time in performance readings underscored with live music integral to the African story-telling experience.

This year's season opens with a brand new play written by 2008 Olivier Award winner Bola Agbaje with live music composition from James Lascelles.

Tiata Fahodzi's recent work includes the critically acclaimed Joe Guy by Almeida writer in residence Roy Williams, and directed by Tiata Fahodzi
artistic director, Femi Elufowoju, jr.

The week concludes with a concert bringing together some of the UK's finest African musicians. The evening includes Jamiroquai's Sola Akingbola, contemporary Gospel sensation GK Real, Sierra-Leonean harmonica player Leon Maddy, James Lascelles and African Classical Music Ensemble's Tunde Jegede.


Programme:

Mon 28 / Tues 29 July Plays 1 & 2 at 7.30pm

Wed 30 / Thu 31 July Plays 3 & 4 at 7.30pm

Fri 1 Aug / Sat 2 Aug Plays 5 & 6 at 7.30pm

Sat 2 Aug Concert at 9.00pm


Ticket Prices: £10.00

Special Offer: See all 6 plays, plus the Saturday concert for just £35.00


Almeida Theatre
Almeida Street
London
N1 1TA
Booking Office: 020 7359 4404

For updates on further plays and further festival details visit:

www.almeida.co.uk or www.tiatafahodzi.com

Following sell out seasons at the Theatre Royal Stratford East and The Barbican, The Harder They Come is now moving to the West End’s Playhouse Theatre.

Based on the iconic seventies film that launched Jimmy Cliff onto the world stage, this exhilarating production tells the story of a country boy who makes for the bright lights of Kingston, Jamaica. With a head full of songs including 'You Can Get it if You Really Want', 'Many Rivers To Cross', 'Higher and Higher', 'Rivers of Babylon' and 'The Harder They Come' he dreams of becoming a reggae star.

When the harsh reality of the music scene drives him into a fast and furious life as an outlaw, he would rather die than kill his dream!

Tickets: £10.00-£32.50

Playhouse Theatre
Northumberland Avenue
London WC2N 5DE
Box office: 0870 060 6631
www.theambassadors.com/playhouse/index.html

Saturday night outside the tube; god, strip bars, weed, crack, lost old men, unemployed actors and vegans all collide in a riptide of chaos on the streets of London. There’s Beth the reformed Christian and Erkenwald the hot-dog seller, old Ragdale on a quest to find his daughter, Mordechai Thurrock the actor-playwright and egomaniac, and Cockburn, Elliot and Carlton the dealers and junkies, whose trade both sustains and destroys the lives of those around them.

In this vibrant and blackly comic new play, a dozen private stories emerge, and their voices give utterance to a storm of subjects and feelings: pop culture and sexual fantasy, the ruins of empire and the delusions of religion, foreign oil and prehistoric London. Ché Walker, winner of the George Devine Award and playwright for the Royal Court, brings to the Globe stage a panorama of contemporary London, encompassing the cruel and the tender, the gutter and the stars.

Contains bad language, and strong content.

Shakespeare's Globe
21 New Globe Walk
Bankside
London SE1 9DT
020 7902 1400
Box office: 020 7401 9919
info@shakespearesglobe.com
www.shakespeares-globe.org

Toronto Talent Lab and Skillset are excited to once again present an opportunity for two talented Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) filmmakers to participate in the Talent Lab programme.

Talent Lab is an artistic development programme held during the Toronto International Film Festival that provides emerging talent with an unparalleled creative experience through an introduction to the global community of filmmaking. Over a four-day period, selected participants will be given the opportunity to interact with, and learn from, internationally acclaimed filmmakers.

Participants benefit from the guidance and expertise of Talent Lab guests who have previously included: Terry Gilliam, Gus Van Sant, Gurinder Chadha, Kevin Spacey, Neil Jordan, Atom Egoyan and Paul Haggis.

Applications will be assessed and participants chosen through a jury process. On the jury Janine Marmot, Skillset’s Director of Film, will be joined by Lenny Crooks and Sally Caplan (UKFC), Chris Collins (producer, My Summer of Love and Brick Lane), Marc Boothe (Bullet Boy) and Noel Clarke (writer/director of Adulthood) amongst others yet to be confirmed.

Eligibility requirements: We seek applications from highly-motivated, passionate writers, directors and producers who have demonstrable professional experience and credits within their field through the production of the following;

-a feature length fiction or documentary film, or
- two short films, either commissioned by television or which have screened in festivals in the UK and/or abroad.

You must be available from 2–7 September 2008 inclusive to travel to Toronto, Canada. Your travel and accommodation will be paid, supported by Skillset and the British Council.

The joint Skillset and Talent Lab initiative is delivered under clause 37 of the Race Relations Act which allows training organisations to run programmes for people from black and ethnic origin groups which have been demonstrated to be under represented in a particular industry.

How to apply: You can download an application form from our website at www.skillset.org/talentlab. Alternatively you can call 020 7713 9855 or email simong@skillset.org to request a form to be emailed to you.

The closing date for applications is 12.00pm Tuesday 29 July. Applications should be delivered or posted to:

Simon Greenacre
Film Team
Skillset
Focus Point
21 Caledonian Road
London
N1 9GB

This summer take in one of the triumphs of the American music theatre.

Set in 1947 in a tenement building over a long hot summer’s day and night, Street Scene is a musical melting pot of working class New York - scintillating show tunes, operatic arias, jazz, the blues, spirituals...

Kurt Weill called it 'a simple story of everyday life in a big city - a story of love and passion and greed and death.' Alongside The Threepenny Opera, it confirms Weill as one of the 20th century’s giants of popular musical theatre.

Street Scene won the first ever Tony Award for Weill's music, but the experience is only completed with Elmer Rice’s adaptation, based on his own Pulitzer Prize-winning play, and lyrics by the great poet of Harlem, Langston Hughes.

This first UK production in nearly 20 years includes a cast of 15, an orchestra and two choruses of local young people.

Tickets: £22.50/under 26s, £10.00 subject to availability/concessions £5.00 off

Young Vic
66 The Cut
London SE1 8LZ
020 7922 2922
www.youngvic.org

Appearing to Be features two music video artworks created by members of London-based Latin American collective Nuevo Generacion in collaboration with Colombian artist Juan Pablo Echeverri, alongside a new commission by the artist.

Presenting playful and poignant recreations of music videos, Appearing to Be combines contemporary music with traditional Colombian folk to explore notions of personal and cultural identity, musical self expression and the popular music industry.

This project forms part of Iniva's public programme and accompanies the current exhibition at Rivington Place of Colombian artist Oscar Muñoz - Mirror Image (13 June-27 July).

Opening times:
Thursday, 12.00pm-9.00pm (last entry, 8.30pm)
Friday and Saturday, 12.00pm-6.00pm (last entry 5.30pm)

Iniva
Rivington Place
London EC2A 3BA
020 7729 9616
iniva@iniva.org
www.iniva.org/

DJ Spooky, aka conceptual artist, writer and musician Paul D Miller with guests Scanner (aka Robin Rimbaud) and Andrew Missingham talk about Sound Unbound, Paul’s new book discussing the art of the remix. The book examines the ways in which music, art and literature cross-breed as Miller questions various artists and their compositional strategies. Expect personal and insightful reflections upon all things musical from this renowned figure alongside technological demonstrations with turntables, laptops and projections.

Tickets: £9.00/£8.00 ICA members

7.00pm
Nash Room
ICA
The Mall
London SW1Y 5AH
Box office: 020 7930 3647
Tel: 020 7930 0493
www.ica.org.uk

Amardeep Singh Dhanjal is Magic Singh. As a member of the Magic Circle, he epitomises wondrous magical entertainment for all.

One of the UK's great magic talents, Magic Singh started performing at the age of eleven. He began with passers-by on the street, leaving them in awe within just a few minutes. His talent was unmistakeable and at the age of fifteen Magic Singh was accepted as a member of 'The Young Magician's Circle'.

Magic Singh was invited to perform at the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Celebrations and at the Lord Mayor’s Dinner at the London Guildhall.

Enjoy a chat with this truly mystifying magician, as he delivers his modern style of 'close-up' magic in New Street Square. Guaranteed to leave you wondering how on Earth did he do that?

Free event

Pary of the City of London Festival. For more information, to to www.colf.org

12.00pm
New Street Square
London EC4A

Singer and multi-instrumentalist Nila Raja performs a one-off set to celebrate the launch of her debut EP, Unattached to Desire, which Nitin Sawhney describes as, 'overflowing with wistful innocence and grace'. Backed by the swirling acoustics of strings including santoor, kora, chapman stick and guitar, as well as drone-inspired electronics, Nila’s soaring vocals encompass a range of influences from Arabic folk and jazz to classical Indian music, and evokes a young Joni Mitchell meets Natacha Atlas.

At just 22, Nila is currently an Emerging Artist in Residence (EAR) at Southbank Centre and has collaborated with Nitin Sawhney, Mad Professor, Max Moya (Ojos de Brujo) and as a soloist with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra.

The evening features henna body art, vintage Bollywood vinyl, and a special performance by a full band.

Admission free

7.00pm
Front Room
Queen Elizabeth Hall
Southbank Centre
London
Tel: 08703 800 400
www.rfh.org.uk

To celebrate the music of Harold Arlen, composer of The Wizard of Oz, Southbank Centre launches a summer season of the very finest singers around with two specially created and intimate shows from the brilliant David McAlmont. Long-time creative partner of Bernard Butler, McAlmont's career has spanned the worlds of pop, soul and jazz, collaborating with the likes of Craig Armstrong, Jools Holland, Terence Blanchard and Courtney Pine. A vocal legend and national treasure, McAlmont is one of the most distinctive singers of his generation.

Admission free

6.00pm
The Clore Ballroom
Royal Festival Hall
Southbank Centre
London
08703 800 400
www.rfh.org.uk

Featuring artists Mario Lewis (Trinidad), Annalee Davis (Barbados), Ewan Atkinson (Barbados)

MAS-SAMple is an artist-led initiative that seeks to open dialogue and provide a platform for artists working at the intersection of visual arts, live performance and literature throughout the Caribbean Diaspora.

In Conversation is a new series of critical debates providing a space for artists, organisations and creative networks to explore the challenges of collaborative practice and international exchange.

Tickets: £10.00/£5.00 for artists based in the North East of England and a-n AIR subscribers.

For tickets call Live Theatre's box office on (0191) 232 1232 or visit www.live.org.uk

For further information, please contact mas.sample@gmail.com

2.00pm-5.00pm
The Studio Theatre
Live Theatre
Broad Chare
Quayside
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE1 3DQ

A poetic look at how violence and tragedy shape the lives and minds of children, from Iranian director Hana Makhmalbaf (daughter of Mohsen, sister of Samira and at 19 the youngest of the remarkable clan). Set in the Afghan town of Bamian, where the Taliban blew up the Buddhas in 2001, the film follows the trials of a little girl who wants to go to the school for girls across the river from her home. The everyday obstacles she faces turn this small ambition into an epic struggle, with unexpected emotional and political resonance.

Dir Hana Makhmalbaf, Iran 2007, 81 mins, Cert tbc, subtitles

Tickets: £8.00/£7.00 concessions/£6.00 ICA members

ICA
The Mall
London SW1Y 5AH
Box office: 020 7930 3647
Tel: 020 7930 0493
www.ica.org.uk

Opening a new box, beginning a new story...

A culmination of twelve months' creativity, ending in a week long cultural exchange in London; From Here to Malaysia is two evenings of intercultural, collaborative theatre that will inspire and engage.

Inspired by their immediate environments and boxes of treasure exchanged by participants in Kuala Lumpur and London, young artists come together to showcase new, challenging theatre.

The Final Cut by Soho Theatre Young Writers and Cloudbreak

Twenty voices, one collaboration, a new piece of intercultural theatre.

Handle with care by Soho Theatre Young Writers
A new piece inspired by exploring the Malaysian box.

Do our objects define who we are? What makes a home? If we are stripped of the world we have created for ourselves, what is left?

Kotak Otak (Box of Brain) by Cloudbreak

Two boxes fly and collide. Their contents spilt on some distant shore. Found things. Picked up and sniffed. We turn these strange things in our hands with opposing thumbs and we wonder... We wonder and the sense we make of all of this is Kotak Otak.

Tickets: £5.00

7.00pm
Soho Theatre
21 Dean Street
London
W1D 3NE
Box office: 0870 429 6883
Administration: 020 7287 5060
www.sohotheatre.com

Enjoy a night of warm and soulful futuristic dance music in Concrete, the bar and cafe located in The Hayward. Nick Luscombe's Flomotion has been constantly at the forefront of modern electronic music with his popular and long-running weekly radio show, live events and DJ club nights. Luscombe is highly regarded as one of the UK's most influential selectors, pioneering a blend of 'deep club music'. Once described as a restless musical soul, his DJ sets are always varied, fresh and uplifting with Dubstep, Deep House, Detroit Techno, Jazz and Broken Beat all forming part of the mix. Expect a night of warm and soulful futuristic dance music.

Admission free

8.00pm
The Hayward Concrete
Hayward Gallery
Southbank Centre
London
08703 800 400
www.hayward.org.uk

'Urban novels are nothing new but their popularity has become something of a phenomenon for mainstream publishers especially in the States. Unfortunately we haven’t been so forward thinking in the UK. It has been a long, sometimes disheartening journey, fighting with agents and publishers along the way, having novels shelved or simply being away from you for too long without my presence lighting up your bookshelves.'

Author of urban lit novels and independent publisher, Anton Marks discusses his work and shares his experience in the book industry.

Admission: £5.00/£3.00 conc. (redeemable with any book purchased)

6.30pm-10.00pm
Centerprise
136 Kingsland High Street
London E8 2NS
Tel: 020 7254 9632
www.centerprisetrust.org.uk

Join us as we light up the timeless and enduring world of the Ramayana with the flame of enchanting storytelling and the incense of music. Meet a magical eagle, an amazing flying monkey who shrinks and expands, a ghastly many-headed demon king and mythical warriors; visit a mirror palace under the sea, enchanted gardens, and a monumental bridge over the ocean between India and Sri Lanka.

Acclaimed storyteller Vayu Naidu re-imagines this much-loved story for all ages, and cultures.

Tickets: £7.50 (£5.00 concessions, including 18 years and under)

Monday at 2.00pm and 6.30pm, Tuesday at 6.30pm

Conference Centre
The British Library
96 Euston Road
London
NW1 2DB
Telephone: 020 7412 7797
www.bl.uk

In celebration of the Raffles Family Collection, artist Aviva Kartiningsih provides a hands-on introduction to painting on glass in an Indonesian style. Participants will be provided with all materials. Please wear clothes that can get dirty.
Suitable for children aged 11-16 years.

Tickets free (must be booked in advance via the Box Office)

Daily, 10.00am-12.30pm and 2.00pm-4.30pm

Meet at the Information Desk The British Library
96 Euston Road
London
NW1 2DB
Telephone: 020 7412 7797
www.bl.uk

The daughter of an exiled writer and comic from Iran, Shappi's upbringing has been in no way conventional. From mental illness to opium dens, it's all gone on in the Khorsandi household.

Shappi’s back to recount it all with wit, warmth and hilarity.

Tickets: £12.00 (£10.00 concessions)

8.00pm
Soho Theatre
21 Dean Street
London
W1D 3NE
Box office: 0870 429 6883
Administration: 020 7287 5060
www.sohotheatre.com