Watch The Lotus Eaters Trailer here
The Lotus Eaters is one part of The Odyssey, a Greek epic story by Homer. In the original text Odysseus is a hero trying to return to his beloved home after 10 years at war in Troy. On his journey home, with his remaining crew, one of the first obstacles they face is on the island of the Lotus-Eaters. The people they meet here spend their days eating a fruit, the Lotus, which makes them forget where they have been and where they are going. Odysseus must convince his crew not to give in to the temptation of the Lotus fruit, and to continue their long and difficult journey home.
But here Odysseus is a female character - a hero trying to return home to her son. Instead of a life-sucking fruit, meanwhile, the Lotus is a nightclub, a place with its own temptations and perils.
THE LOTUS EATERS
A CONTEMPOTARY RETELLING OF THE ODYSSEY (2023)
Commissioned by The National Theatre and co-created with people in Stoke-on-Trent, The Lotus Eaters was part of a multi-venue National Theatre Public Acts production told in five episodes across the country. In this Restoke show, we used a blend of movement, song & story-telling. In the dual role of Odysseus and the writer, I took inspiration from Homer’s epic poem, the experiences of the cast and my own connection to The Odyssey to reimagine the tale of Odysseus and his crew.
The Lotus Eaters was a show about overcoming, resilience, about lives being blown off course and having to get back on track; about the flawed edges of human nature and how community can build us back up.
HAILSTONE OPTIMISM
A PUBLIC ART RESIDENCY IN THE TOWN OF STOKE (2019)
In response to renowned artist and poet Robert Montgomery's STOKE WORKS on buildings around Stoke-on-Trent, local artists were commissioned to create their own responses to his work.
I worked with estate agents, letting agents, and people in their homes to create Poetry Flyboards that explore the idea of change.
I commissioned two artists. Visual artist Laura Green talked to people in the town and created an exhibition of artworks in the window of Clayton Residential letting agent. Musician Brendan Davies created a series of 5 doorbells to live in public spaces around the town. Each doorbell was a musical meditation on a word.
ROAR OPEN WITH HOPE
A NEON ART INSTALLATION (2020)
Since 2020, the line ‘Roar Open With Hope’, a line from my poem ‘The Gift’ has lit up the night sky in Stoke-on-Trent City Centre, Hanley, as a bold and bright neon installation located on the roof of the Potteries Museum & Art Gallery.
Commissioned by Appetite Stoke, the line is a rousing message of hope to lift spirits and encourage people to look to the future with optimism.
Share your stories and thoughts about The Gift and the neon installation using the hashtag #RoarOpen on social media.
YOU ARE HERE
A SHOW ABOUT INTIMATE AND EXTRAODINARY JOURNEYS OF MIGRATION, CULTURE AND BELONGING (2016)
I was the lead writer on You Are Here, a promenade show devised and performed in the Wedgwood Institute, a former college for Science & the Arts in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent.
It was co-created over 12 months with 15 people from 15 different countries who had moved, or been moved to Stoke-on-Trent.
Read the photographers thoughts on the project
I AM A MAN AND A BROTHER
AN AUDIO POEM IN V&A PERMANENT DISPLAY (2022)
Commissioned by the V&A my poem ‘Black Man Cast in Clay’ is part of the permanent redisplay of the Wedgwood Anti-Slavery Medallion in an exhibition entitled ‘I Am a Man and a Brother’.
The display was launched in July 2022 after a live research project with young people (2021) examining allyship and the complex histories of objects such as the Wedgwood medallion.
Image by Muddy Publishing Limited
TAKING UP SPACE
A POETRY DANCE PIECE BASED ON THE EXPERIENCES OF BLACK AND BROWN WOMEN WALKING IN STAFFORDSHIRE (2020) .
During 2020, I created a poetry dance piece based on the experiences of Black and Brown women walking in Staffordshire.
I invited black women from Staffordshire to walk together in green spaces after the first lockdown in Spring 2020. I collected the experiences and transformed them into poetry. The women’s stories were shared simultaneously with Caribbean dance artists. Three separate dances were devised and rehearsed in isolation, and then performed and filmed on location in Hanley Park.
Find more images of the project here
Read about the project on the Social Art Library
Commissioner: Urban Wilderness CIC, Lead Artist & Poet: Gabriella Gay, Walk Leader: Monienne Stone, Choreographer: Caroline Muraldo, Dancers: Caroline Muraldo, Shona Muraldo-Parks, Shanice Harris, Filmmaker: Cynthia Coady, Composition: Paul Rogerson & Tony Reid, Support & Advice: Clare Reynolds, Restoke
MOTHER TO MOTHER
WORKSHOPS AND EXHIBITION CENTERING THE VOICES AND STORIES OF MOTHERS RAISING CHILDREN OF COLOUR (2021-2022)
Mother to Mother is an exhibition which centres the voices and stories of mothers raising children of colour. Developed through a series of creative journaling and wellbeing sessions with ten mothers in 2021, the exhibition combines poetry, photography, and audio to share the successes and challenges of women of different ages and races joined by their experience of mothering a child of colour in Staffordshire. The exhibition took place at Keele University with a programme of activity to support it.
Mother to Mother was a collaboration between Kwanzaa Collective UK and Restoke. It is part of Restoke’s MOTHER project funded by Arts Council England and Awards for All. All the women were photographed by Adina Lawrence.
TAPPIN’ IN
A TAP DANCING AND STORYTELLING PROJECT (2022)
Tappin’ In was a co-created mass participation tap dancing and storytelling extravaganza as part of the Birmingham 2022 Festival and Birmingham International Dance Festival.
Going through the process of workshops, a sharing and a show live in Brindley place, Birmingham, the project celebrated the stories of the West Midlands and the people who call it home.
Tappin’ In brought people together to tap dance and chat about themselves, whilst having a good time. In Stoke-on-Trent we formed the Six Town Tappers who have gone on to perform a range of dances at different events around Stoke-on-Trent.
TELEPOETRY
TELEPHONE POEMS REACHING ISOLATED PEOPLE DURING LOCKDOWN (2020)
Telepoetry was a poetry project I devised, produced and ran during May and June 2020, to enrich the lives of isolated family members, friends and strangers during the global pandemic lockdown. It was made possible by a micro-grant from Voluntary Arts for resources and the devotion and generosity of The Roaming Poets and the public in Staffordshire. The project was nominated for an Our Hero award.
In May 2020, The Roaming Poets led two open online poetry workshops for the public to write short poems suitable to be texted (160 characters) and heard on a telephone or mobile phone. On Telepoem Thursday, 28th May 2020, a made up day created for the project, people all over Staffordshire were encouraged to share a poem with someone they know. This could be their own poem or their favourite poem. Poems were texted too.
On ‘Telepoem Thursday’, we also launched an 0800 number that people could call to hear a poem by a Staffordshire poet, record a poem or get through to a Roaming Poet to hear a poem live. The line was live for a month, and publicised and supported by Stoke-on-Trent City Council, BBC Radio Stoke, Babababoon and Appetite Stoke, who put the Telepoem phone line on their Appetite Bites programme of art to engage with during lockdown.
Telepoem Thursday was celebrated in 2021 too.
THE BOOTSALE POET
WRITER IN RESIDENCE AT HANLEY CAR BOOT SALE (2019)
I have a love of markets and car boot sales. In 2019, I became the Writer In Residence at Hanley Car Boot Sale (formerly called Valentino's). I am still the unofficial poet in residence there.
Selling items I no longer wanted to fund the residency, I wrote a proposal and completed a 6 week residency. At the end of the residency I wrote an academic report and created a pamphlet celebrating the people, stories and things at the car boot sale. The private view for the car boot sale artworks and pamphlet was held back in the car boot sale. People haggled for items, drank fizz and enjoyed the poems. I worked closely with artist (and relationship manager at ACAVA) Dan Southward.
The project was showcased at Keele University, in the Sentinel and was at Stoke Literary Festival where Emma Bridgwater bought one of the final pieces.
Read about the project in Stoke Sentinel
Read a Babababoon article about the project here
Photograph by Adina Lawrence.
TEDX TALK
TEDX TALK ON SOCIALLY ENGAGED ART (2020)
I gave a TEDx talk at Keele University on the importance of writers working with and for their community. Reflecting on my work in settings such as a car boot sale, or working with an estate agency, I unravel the intertwining threads of work, identity, community and place.
TED is a non-profit organisation devoted to spreading ideas usually in the form of short, powerful talks called "TED talks."
This TEDx was created in the spirit of TED's mission, "ideas worth spreading."
ACME WHISTLE
TELEVISION ADVERTISMENT (2018)
This ACME Whistles TV advert first aired in October and November 2018 to commemorate the WW1 Centenary – the 100th Armistice Day on November 11th, 2018. ACME Whistles was founded in Birmingham, England in 1870 and the brand's proud military history has played an important role in shaping the company.
The full history of ACME Whistles is rich and diverse. The origins of the Metropolitan Whistle, and indeed the company itself, can be traced back to 1870 when Joseph Hudson patented and produced the first Metropolitan Police Whistles for use by the Victorian police force.
This commercial celebrates the heritage of ACME Whistles as well as being an ode to some of the major events in British history where ACME Whistles played a part.
FESTIVAL ECHOES
A RESIDENCY BRINGING POETRY INTO EVERYDAY SPACES(2018)
'You don't expect to see an exhibition that looks like it should be in the Tate in Stoke' - Exhibition visitor
During the month of January 2018, I was commissioned to bring poetry and words into everyday spaces in Stoke as part of Festival Stoke Festival Echoes.
I hosted friend and artist Leah Thorn’s Older Women Rock The Potteries, an exhibition that highlights, inspires, empowers and unites older women. The exhibition was held in my empty vintage shop. Each of the many garments exhibited had poetry and words on them.
Watch the Older Women Rock Documentary
Read about Older Women Rock The Potteries
I created Poetry At The Bus Stops and the (Un)Offical Tour of Stoke - a ramble around the town of Stoke sharing curious stories of fact, and possibly fiction, along the way.
Here is a BBC video about the project
THREE COUNTIES
A TRAILER FOR AN ANNUAL ART EXHIBITION (2021)
Three Counties Open Art exhibition takes place in the beautiful and historic Burslem School of Art throughout July and August in partnership with the Burslem School of Art Trust, The City Learning Trust and Barewall Gallery. The show offers a platform for artists based in Staffordshire, Cheshire and Shropshire.
There are a range of prizes usually announced at busy and buzzing preview event. The exhibition is then open during the summer for the public to visit.
FERAL SPACES
WORKING WITH YOUNG PEOPLE TO EXPLORE THE CREATIVE POTENTIAL OF URBAN GREEN SPACES (2016)
In 2016, I was the writer on the Feral Spaces of Middleport project led by artist Laurel Gallagher. Funded by the Arts Council, this project connected a team of artists and young people with the creative potential of disused urban green spaces.
There was an exhibition, published publication and the project was featured in the local news and on ITV.