SED Guide to Summer including Edinburgh Festival and London Events

Here’s a rundown of some great things to do this summer 2018 including events featuring our students, staff and alumni.

London Events

The Refugee Tales | Wednesday 11 July 2018, All day | Various locations

The Refugee Tales, which campaigns against indefinite immigration detention holds an annual walk in solidarity with refugees, asylum seekers and detainees. The walk, which is in collaboration with people who have experienced the UK asylum system, aims to reclaim the landscape of South East England for the language of welcome.

Taking Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales as a model, the walk is punctuated by contributions en route by writers. On 11 July the walk comes to east London. At Cable Street, Nadia Valman (English) will give a talk on the Battle of Cable Street, and at QMUL, the writer Iain Sinclair will give a lecture called ‘What the world is telling us. And why we won’t listen.’ (Wednesday 11 July, 12 noon, Arts Two Lecture Theatre).

Daniella Harrison at Comedy Lab Sharing | Saturday 21 July 2018, 12pm | Soho Theatre | £5

Participants of the Sketch course have put together new material for this one-off performance.

Nocturnal Creatures | Saturday 21 July, 18:00 onwards | Whitechapel Gallery

Nocturnal Creatures is a new, free contemporary arts festival, bringing together performance, video, sculpture and sound. Originating from Whitechapel Gallery, cultural and historic venues in the vicinity are transformed, opening their doors late into the night.

Rosie Vincent: London is Vomit | Friday 3 August 2018, 18:45 | Rich Mix London

As part of Rich Mix TAKEOVER, Drama graduate Rosie Vincent is regurgitating her ongoing photography project into a new performance. Comprised of over 200 photographs, London is Vomit continues to explore the sickness of the city whilst celebrating the resilience and endurance of the urban body.

Figs in Wigs at Raze Collective Weekend | Saturday 11 August | Southbank Centre

Drama grads and Guardian favourites Figs in Wigs curate a day of fun on the South Bank.

Make More Festival | Thursday 23-Monday 27 August 2018, various times | Victoria Park

MAKEMORE is London’s first maker festival celebrating all forms of making and doing. Through hands-on creative experiences you can discover what kind of maker you are. Be fuelled by the energy of making, live music and the best in bars and street food. Your entry ticket gets you access to everyone appearing that day with a full programme of live demos, taster sessions and immersive experiences.

Edinburgh Festival

Breach Theatre: It’s True, It’s True, It’s True | 20-26 August 2018 | Underbelly Cowgate

Fringe First winners Breach Theatre’s new show hits the Edinburgh fringe directed by our MA student Billy Barrett. ‘Blending myth, history and contemporary commentary, this is the story of how a woman took revenge through her art to become one of the most successful painters of her generation.’.

Queen Mary Theatre Company at Edinburgh Fringe | 11-26 August 2018

Our very own Queen Mary Theatre Company (QMTC) are bringing 4 shows to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August:

  • A&E: A fast-paced clowning comedy caper, devised with junior doctors and nurses inspired by Michele Gondry and Green Wing.
  • Deadline: Imagine knowing when you’re going to die, _exactly _when you’re going to die. It would make you live your life to the fullest, right? Enter a world where at 16 you find out your date. A date that determines the rest of your future, a date you can’t escape from.
  • Same Old Same Oldies: Three Northerners and three Southerners residing in one nursing home. How could they possibly get along? Brimming with awkward disputes and one particular loud mouth amongst the group, these oldies always find something to complain about.
  • Rat Race: Rat Race is a dark tragicomedy set in a rat cage that is at the center of a badly handled experiment.

Keep an eye out for London previews details 2 and 3 of August! Exact times are still to be confirmed but probably from 6pm!

Sh*t Theatre: Dollywould | 14-26 August 2018 | Summerhall

Queen Mary fgaduates and multi award-winning duo Sh!t Theatre return with their 100% sell-out show from 2017. It’s mainly about their love of Dolly Parton and also about cloning, branding, immortality and death.

 

Some top tips from our QMUL team

1) Go for a swim at London Fields Lido just a short journey from QMUL

2) Walk/run the London High Line – foundations of the northern line that were never used from Alexandra Palace to Finsbury park for great views

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All Things SED Editor

I am the Web and Marketing Administrator in the School of English and Drama. Amongst my various roles, I run the School's website (www.sed.qmul.ac.uk) and its Twitter feed (@QMULsed). I also manage the running of the School's Open Days and draft promotional materials.