Nawal El Saadawi's writing features at WOW Festival and Live Lit Co Amnesty evening

Val took the above photo of Nawal at the WOW Festival
on the Southbank where she was interviewed by Jon Snow.

Val chose Nawal’s writing to be part of the New Spring Without FGM performance evening which was given at Amnesty International by The Live Literature Company and the creative writer’s group attached to Amnesty. The insight of Nawal’s writing on women in contemporary Egypt was a very important part of this programme.

Please click here to be taken to The Live Literature Company website.

Singing to help rebuild Battersea Arts Centre - Summer 2015

Valerie preparing for her performance

Val sang in this fundraising performance of The Messiah in support of Battersea Arts Centre, which has recently been devastated by fire.

Please click here to be taken to The Live Literature Company website.

The Live Literature Company attends The Concert of Peace

The Concert of Peace (above)

Val was invited to The Concert for Peace held on January 31st at The Egyptian Cultural Bureau, London. The Egyptian Ambassador greeted the audience. 

The concert honoured Muslim, Jewish, and Christian practices. The Live Literature Company is linked to The Egyptian Cultural Bureau through the prose poem Val wrote, 'First Love', which was performed at Amnesty International in May 2014. Val hopes to further develop these International Cultural Company links.

One of the further Education courses that Val has studied is World Religions, at Birkbeck, London University.

Please click here to be taken to The Live Literature Company website.

Live Literature Company's First World War Commemorative performance

On January 23rd 2015 Val is invited by the Centenary Partnership to a review of the First World War work in the Government Building, Cardiff.

This publicity was also posted at 1914.org and on the Culture 24 website. The Live Literature Company is a member of the Imperial War Museum's Centenary Partnership.

Please click here to be taken to The Live Literature Company website.

The Live Literature Company attends the Visiting Arts Producer's Breakfast at Edinburgh Festival

Yvette Vaughan Jones, CEO Visiting Arts

Fergus Linehan speaking with Ben Twist in chair listening

Val was delighted to attend the Visiting Arts Producer's Breakfast at the Edinburgh Festival again this year.  The Live Literature Company chimes very closely with the Visiting Arts logo you can see in the photo below, 'Strengthening intercultural dialogue through the Arts'.

Also this year Ben Twist (Director, Creative Carbon Scotland) spoke on the importance of sustainability in the arts, this also chimes closely with The Live Literature Company work focusing on sustainability. Please do click here to visit our Annual Summer Party page to find out more about our work on sustainability.

The incoming Director of the Edinburgh International Festival, Fergus Linehan, spoke on his vision, and emphasised the importance he thinks independent producers will play in the Arts in the future. As  many of The Live Literature Company membership will know, a considerable amount of Val's time running the Company is spent working as an independent producer on behalf of the Company.

The Live Lit Co and Amnesty International Tackle Female Genital Mutilation Through Theatre and Discussion - May 2014

Val Doulton, with her colleague and friend Catherine Suggitt, were among the first decades ago to try to bring action at Amnesty International against Female Genital Mutilation. Val is immensely glad to be staging this Forum Theatre event against Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) with her Company and in collaboration with Amnesty International's Creative Writers Group.

Please click here to be taken to The Live Literature Company website.

Romeo and Juliet Performance and Workshop Day. Your chance to play falling in love like Romeo and Juliet - April 2014

Rehearsal photo of Val watching Maeve O'Sullivan as Juliet on the V&A balcony

Join us to celebrate Shakespeare’s Birth Anniversary and participate in our experiential workshop. See below for details.

The Live Literature Company offer everyone this experiential workshop opportunity. The Victoria and Albert Museum Theatre & Performance Galleries with The Live Literature Company, present a workshop day on Saturday April 26^th 2014, in celebration of the 450^th Anniversary of Shakespeare’s Birth.

The focus of the workshop will be the Balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet. We will watch the scene played by Deaf actor Lee O’Brien, opposite a hearing Juliet, and then follow an experiential workshop exploring the scene physically, emotionally, and psychologically, from three perspectives:-

• Film and Sign Language – workshop led by Lee O’Brien.
• Dance – workshop led by Lucy Casson and Barry Grantham.
• Acting – workshop led by Valerie Doulton.

Film material to include Margot Fonteyn and Rudolph Nureyev dancing the balcony scene and Lee O’Brien’s performance in Sign Language.

Performance specialists leading the workshops:-

Valerie Doulton is Founder and Artistic Director of The Live Literature Company established in 2002. This is a Performance based company unique in fusing Theatre, Literature, and the Humanities. She trained as a Director on the Post-Graduate Directing course at The Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, where her mentor was Nat Brenner. Her degree is in English Language and Literature, with study in philosophy, from Newcastle University. She has staged work at The National Theatre, The Lyric, Hammersmith, The Welsh Millennium Centre, and other venues including the staging of many classics in the leading drama schools.

Barry Grantham studied with Stanislas Idzikowski and worked with Massine on The Red Shoes and The Tales of Hoffman, so is one of the very few who still have a direct link to the Diaghilev Ballet. An authority on Commedia dell’Arte, he is author of Playing Commedia and Commedia Plays published by Nick Hern Books. He also lectures on Commedia dell’Arte and the Diaghilev Ballet.

Lucy Casson trained originally as a classical dancer at The Royal Ballet Lower School and Central School of Ballet.  With a performance career spanning 20 years, she has worked with companies including English National Ballet, The Royal Opera, English National Opera and The Live Literature Company. The choreographers she has worked with include, Robert North, Lynn Seymour, Wayne Macgregor, Will Tuckett, Rob Ashford and Susan Stroman.

Lee O’Brien was born Deaf. He is a graduate of the Master of Arts, Filmmaking course, at the Northern Film School, where he specialised in screen acting. Lee has acted for fifteen years and also works in media and production. Born in Liverpool, U.K. His acting career began as a teenager at the Mersey Sign Deaf local community theatre. His most recent acting work is a short film Locked In produced for world wide film festivals.

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