Martineau Society Conference - 26 July 2018

Harriet Martineau Society
Conferencein London 2018

Picture of Matilda Thorpe on left and Catherine Harvey on right in the Dr. Williams's Library, Bloomsbury. They were performing a sketch Val wrote, 'Harriet Martineau & Charlotte Bronte: A Sketch of their Relationship'.

This was an after dinner entertainment for The Martineau Society conference. This was the first time Val had worked with Matilda since directing her as a student in 'Rosmersholm' at the then Central School of Speech & Drama. Val's sketch will be published in May 2020 on Amazon, ISBN number 979-8644014408.

English PEN event for Centenary of Nelson Mandela's birth - 17 July 2018

English PEN event for Centenary of Nelson Mandela's birth

Val was one of the people at this PEN event at which the prison letters of Nelson Mandela were read aloud to the audience. It was a deeply moving and profound evening.

The event marked the centenary of Nelson Mandela’s birth and the publication of The Prison Letters of Nelson Mandela, published by Liveright. It was directed, produced and hosted by the acclaimed performer and director Josette Bushell-Mingo OBE.

A selection of Nelson Mandela’s letters were passionately read by a group of wonderful writers from the UK and South Africa, including Jay Bernard, Jackie Kay, Kwame Kwei-Armah, Ben Okri, Sahm Venter (editor of the book), Zoe Wicomb and Gary Younge. Award-winning composer Errollyn Wallen MBE performed a new piece of music inspired by the letters, composed especially for the event.

You can listen to this below.