Quick-fire readings from tomorrow's novelists and poets showcase University of Winchester creative writing talent

Around 15 students from the MA​ Writing for Children and the MA Creative and Critical Writing​ programmes are taking part in a special Writer's Voice event on Monday 10 April at the Berry Theatre, Hedge End, Southampton, in an evening bursting with words, sound and light.

 

The students write in a wide variety of genres, styles and voices, from a rhyming picture book text about a boy in disguise in a supermarket, to short stories, young adult fiction, excerpts from novels and poetry inspired by David Bowie.

 

"It is a tremendously valuable and exciting opportunity for our students to read and perform their work in front of a live audience, with the full support of a professional theatre, as live readings increasingly form part of the creative writer's repertoire," said Judith Heneghan​, Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing at the University of Winchester and Director of the Winchester Writers' Festival.

 

Writer's Voice is part of the Theatre's Storytelling Festival (10-22 April 2017) which celebrates the joy of storytelling with performances, workshops and activities for people of all ages. The Writer's Voice event is supported by Arts Council England and curated by Dan Hill, Drama Development Manager at the Berry Theatre. The Theatre is providing direction, lighting and sound, and has also supported students by hosting a performance workshop on campus. 

 

Bridget Lubbock, who is studying for an MA Writing for Children and is also helping to organise the event, says: "My first degree was English and Drama so I jumped at the opportunity to work with the Berry Theatre. Dan Hill invited us to join the Storytelling Festival and is creating a relaxed, extemporary feel with our Writer's Voice project. It's so inspiring! As a Writing for Children MA student I'm already considering which of my stories might make good plays for kids."

 

Nat Wassell (MA Writing for Children) says: "Dan was really encouraging. I don't usually perform my work but now I feel I have skills I can draw on if I make school visits or do readings."

 

"The Writer's Voice event is a wonderful opportunity for me to present my work, a story I'm passionate about, to someone other than my boyfriend, who's probably getting a little tired of the question, 'hey, can I read this to you?'. It's going to be a fun night, and I can't wait to share my story," says Cori Nelson, an international student from the US, also studying for an MA Writing for Children.

 

The event takes place at 7.30pm on Monday 10 April at the Berry Theatre, Hedge End, Southampton SO30 4EJ. Tickets are £4 per person and are available from the Berry Theatre website at: www.theberrytheatre.co.uk