Clapton Pond Blog

Pages Of Shakespeare

At a loose end on Thursday evening? Here's something from the Pages of Hackney website:

To celebrate the publication of a new edition of his widely acclaimed Rough Guide to Shakespeare, join Hackney author Andrew Dickson on a fascinating tour of all things Shakespearean. From the recent discovery of a sixteenth-century theatre buried in Shoreditch to Shakespeare's turns at the nineteenth-century music hall, he'll explore the significance of east London in Shakespeare's story - and reveal why the birthplace of English theatre might be right under our feet...

Starts at 19:00 and costs £3, which is redeemable against the price of the book. Could be full of Guardian types. Yes, that good.

Pages Latest

Your local independent bookshop is expanding its operations both on the street and online. From now on, Pages of Hackney will open seven days a week and if you click here you'll find that its website is in full and glorious working order. Upcoming events include an exhibition throughout April by local oil painter Elaine Breinlinger (special late night opening on 2nd) and, on 5th at April at noon, a reading of poems and stories for children aged three to ten by Chad Gething. The roughly 20 available spaces will be allocated on a first come, first served basis. "Bring a cushion," it says here.    

Urban & Rural At Pages

A belated Happy New Year to my no doubt dwindling clique of readers. Hope you like my new, green look. This blog has made a slow start to 2009 for what can only be described as Guardian reasons: Boris has been keeping me particularly busy and while we're on the subject of the London Assembly, you might be interested by my recent audio interview with Dalston resident and Tory AM Andrew Boff, publisher of this local magaqzine. I intend to ensure that Clapton Pond Blog gets at least a little of my attention on most working days from now on, and my mind has been concentrated by news of the next event to be held at Pages Of Hackney. It's an exhibition of collage and print work by the artist Andrew Lane. Entitled Urban And Rural, it opens on Saturday at 3.00 and will run until January 30th. Support your local bookshop.

Tonight At Pages Of Hackney

Authors Sarah Wise and Ken Worpole make a joint appearance at Pages of Hackney this evening. Proprietor Eleanor writes:

Sarah's newly published and much acclaimed history, The Blackest Streets, deals with 'the Old Nichol', the former slum district of Shoreditch, which came to international notoriety through the publishing of Arthur Morrison's novel, A Child of the Jago in 1896. Ken's well known study of radical fiction, particulary in the East End, Dockers and Detectives, is back in print in a new edition. 

Both will briefly talk about how writers and social commentators have described this part of East London, with Ken concentrating on the post-war fiction of Hackney-born writer, Alexander Baron, one of whose best novels, King Dido, was inspired by Achild of the Jago. Sarah Wise is also the author of The Italian Boy, a history of body-snatching in London. Ken Worpole is the author of a number of books on landscape and social history.

It all starts at 7.00, tickets cost £3 and you get a free glass of wine. 

Live Music At Pages Of Hackney

Better late than never I hereby draw your attention to the latest evening event at Pages of Hackney. It's tonight at 7.00 and features klezmer music from Ilana Cravitz (violin) and James Siverly (accordian). There will be hot drinks and an opportunity to buy Ilana's instructional book on the art of klezmer fiddling.  

Michael Rosen's Hackney Streets

I wasn't too impressed by one of his recent comments here but that doesn't make Michael Rosen a bad person or, indeed, a bad writer or creator of, "Soundscapes of poetry and prose," which "conjure up the streets of Hackney past and present." His "play for voices," entitled Hackney Streets was first performed last year by students from Brooke House and tonight is rendered by professionals for the first time. Producers Maya Productions describe it as follows:

"An auditory extravaganza where four choruses surround the audience in a live quadraphonic experience, taking them on a journey though time and Hackney. The cast of characters includes: Shakespeare, James Burbage, Parkes – the inventor of plastic, Anna Laetitia Barbauld, Anna Swell, Morris Beckman and the street cries of Ridley Road market. Poetry highlights are: 'Evening falls between the trees', The Turkish Baber and the much loved 'Number 38 Bus'."

So there you have it. Hackney Streets is on at the Rosemary Branch Theatre, 2 Shepperton Road London N1 3DT up to and including Saturday. Tickets £6.50 (£5 concessions), 24-hour Box Office 020 7704 6665. I can't be there, but if you go let me know what you thought of it.  

Capture Hackney

This looks good:

"Shoot London is running a photo treasure hunt in Hackney next weekend. Ten clues will take you to different corners of Hackney, which you have to capture with your camera. To participate, you need a team of two to four people, and you need to reserve your tickets online."

More here.