SILKWORKS

A four-day festival of new plays and creative arts from East London

SILKWORKS
14th-17th July 2010

Southwark Playhouse, London

A four day festival of plays and creative arts from East London, curated by Fin Kennedy and Luke Kernaghan for Mulberry Theatre Company.

Since 2006, Mulberry School for Girls in Tower Hamlets has been pioneering long-term collaborations between students, staff and professional artists. SILKWORKS was a celebration of what has been achieved so far.

Including one world premiere of a brand new Fin Kennedy play, two revivals of his previous Edinburgh Festival hits for the school, documentaries, short play readings, film installations, sound art and food – SILKWORKS saw East London’s young women transform Southwark Playhouse as you’ve never seen it before...

MEHNDI NIGHT
14, 15, 16 July 4.30pm, 17 July 2.30pm
All tickets £6!

“Life is a samosa.”

At a traditional Bengali celebration the night before a wedding, the women of the community gather to sing, dance and bless the bride-to-be. But when an uninvited guest turns up bringing painful memories from the past, everyone present is forced to confront their own fears, prejudices and longings.

Mehndi Night was Mulberry Theatre Company’s first show at the Edinburgh Fringe. This all-new production is the first time it has been revived since 2007.

“A cracking piece of community theatre … light, bright and blessed with theatrical verve.”
The Herald

THE UNRAVELLING
and
THE URBAN GIRL’S GUIDE TO CAMPING
performed as a double bill

THE UNRAVELLING

“Stories, like fabrics, are lessons in living.”

WINNER: Scotsman Fringe First Award 2009

In an east London fabric shop, a dying mother challenges her daughters to weave her the greatest tale, using nothing more than pieces of cloth. Little do they realise that their prize is far more than the shop itself – it is the power to write their own futures.

As the daughters’ Unravelling begins, the shop fills with their creations – demons, zombies, talking fish ... and some sinister reflections of themselves. Eventually their imaginations begin to strain at the fabric of reality itself ...

A bold existential fable about one mother’s legacy to her daughters, and the power of mythology to change your life.

‘Stunning’
**** The Scotsman

‘Glowingly imaginative’
**** British Theatre Guide

 THE URBAN GIRL’S GUIDE TO CAMPING

WORLD PREMIERE!

 “This time, we’re going properly into the forest. ”

With Uni over and adult life about to begin, four young friends leave the city behind to re-live the school trip of a lifetime – to Ashdown Forest, home of Winnie-the-Pooh and a clutch of childhood memories. But a summer storm heralds the confession of a burning secret that threatens to tear their lives apart, while the forest holds an eerie mystery of its own...

A groundbreaking new play developed with former students now in their 20s, this bittersweet comedy about life, love and friendship is east London’s young women in their own words.

All four plays are published in The Urban Girl's Guide To Camping and other plays, by Nick Hern Books

“To say Fin Kennedy and the Mulberry School for Girls are one of the best writer/education partnerships there is doesn't do them justice. To say they're one of the best companies at the Edinburgh Fringe comes closer.”
The Scotsman

This event has now completed its run.