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Busy, busy, August!

Posted by Nick Hennegan on Wednesday, August 21, 2019, In : Theatre News

(Kizzy Dunn and Andrew Greaves in Nick Hennegan's Romeo and Juliet)

Apologies if you've been trying to book tickets to come on the London Literary Pub Crawl in August. We obviously love to see you and by supporting us you are supporting a new generation of artists. But we're nearly all at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe - the biggest open arts festival in the world - and it means we're a bit short handed during August! The GREAT news is that both of our acclaimed productions - P.A.L.S. and Ro...
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Women in the world and the Women’s World Cup: extra time to reflect on the broader injustices women and girls face

Posted by Nick Hennegan on Friday, May 31, 2019, In : Nick Hennegan

USA vs Spain in a 2019 friendly. EPA/MANUEL LORENZO

I'm preparing to take PALS and Romeo and Juliet to the Edinburgh Festival fringe this August. I want to try and redress the traditional male and female role balance a bit, particularly with Romeo and Juliet, so this article in The Conversation caught my eye...

Few events in women’s sport generate more attention than the football World Cup. Around 750m people watched the last tournament and, in June, France will host the 2019 competition, fe...

Brexit? What's that? No problem...!

Posted by Nick Hennegan on Monday, April 8, 2019, In : Nick Hennegan

It looks like the UK might be exiting the European Union - So a British Exit - Brexit! I love the wordplay, if not the concept. I won't get into the politics here (nah, I don't think it's a great idea to leave, and I do remember when I was a kid we were known as the 'poor man of Europe' hence us joining the EEC, but...!) however, we have people from around the world come on our literary pub celebration, and one or two people have mentioned they'd heard stories of rationing and hoarding and w...
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Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Posted by Nick Hennegan on Saturday, December 29, 2018, In : Simon Says.

We hope we'll see you in 2019. The highlights of 2018? Without doubt, presenting three classic plays at the Edinbugh Festival. Nick Hennegan's version of A Christmas Carol with Guy Masterson wowing the UK on tour. And this review from the Sunday Telegraph...

"WE DRIFT OFF INTO THE SOHO EVENING, COMFORTED THAT A VIVID APPROACH TO THE LIFE'S WORK OF SOME OF THE WORLD’S MOST FAMOUS AUTHORS SHOWS THAT THERE IS AS MUCH TO BE LEARNT IN THEIR PUBS AS THEIR PAGES." SUNDAY TELEGRAPH.

The End of Edinburgh...

Posted by Nick Hennegan on Tuesday, November 27, 2018, In : Nick Hennegan

For a writer, I've not been writing on here very much! Mainly due to the creative madness that is the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. I actually had THREE productions I’d written and directed at the festival this year - A Christmas Carol, Henry V - Lion of England and Hamlet - Horatio’s Tale. Yes, it was a hectic, but a glorious and intense experience. Adapting Shakespeare’s Hamlet almost sent me as mad as the gloomy Dane himself. (Or was he mad? Or gloomy? Or just pretending. How mad ...

Kizzy is King of Edinburgh. And Queen. And Prince...

Posted by Nick Hennegan on Friday, July 27, 2018, In : Nick Hennegan

I've just realised I've not been on here since May. It's mainly the fault of my writing a new verison of Hamlet. Called, Hamlet-Horatio's Tale, it's a one-man show, played by a woman, Kizzy Dunn, pictured below. And with Sir Derek Jacobi as the voice of Old Hamlet. And I've got to get back to rehearsals now, so more later. Come and see us at the Assembly Rooms on George Street. You won't regret it. And you can buy me a drink...! x

Verily, things be busy...!

Posted by Nick Hennegan on Saturday, April 14, 2018, In : London's Literary Pubs

It’s been a busy few weeks in London Literary Pub Crawl land. We’ve had three parties this week, including our first ‘Coffee Shop’ Tour - the non-alcoholic version of the Literary Pub Crawl - for 35 young students from South Africa. If you’ve been to see us you’ll know there are a few ‘adult’ stories. We took those out of course and the whole group were fantastic and really seemed to get what we were offering.

Later we hosted a private tour with two Americans. Rusty was the Fa...

The Snow Must Go On...!

Posted by Nick Hennegan on Friday, March 9, 2018, In : Nick Hennegan

Sorry... I mean the SHOW must go on! And it is. We've had snow in London! It doesn't really happen very often and so when it does, we're not really prepared for it. I think the last time the snow settled here was around five years ago. Our cold spell only lasted about a week, which was quite long enough, thank you very much! But now the weather has warmed up and it feels properly like Spring. The daffodils are already out. And I'm pleased to report, that in spite of the weather, the L...
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Happy Valentine's Day!

Posted by Nick Hennegan on Wednesday, February 14, 2018, In : Nick Hennegan

Happy Valentine' Day.

I think Anthony Burgess, a writer we feature in our show, summed up the day perfectly in 'The Paris Review.' He wrote, "The world has so much solace to offer: love, food, music, the immense variety of race and language, literature, the pleasure of artistic creation."

Yep!

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Harry Potter and The Final Draft..!

Posted by Nick Hennegan on Saturday, September 2, 2017, In : Nick Hennegan

I'm writing THE screenplay. You know, the one that is going to sell for thousands - if not millions - and means I don't have to worry about paying the rent ever again. Because I can tell you, with rents as high as they are in London, it's a very big worry indeed!

I actually wrote the story for the screenplay when I was still at school in Birmingham. That's a few years ago, believe me! It's about a boy called George, who is 12 years old and when all the adults in the world disappear, includ...

Summer in the City. Or out of it!

Posted by Nick Hennegan on Monday, August 21, 2017, In : Nick Hennegan

If you are coming to London to see us, then now is a good time to come. Summers never get TOO hot in the UK - it's not like the sweltering city scape of places like New York. But us Londoners like to get out of town occasionally. We've got the Hop fields of Kent on our doorstep. A little further away, 90-odd miles north-east of London on the Suffolk coast is Southwold. It's a charming place - sometimes known as "Chelsea-on-Sea" because of the number of well-heeled Londoners that go there. ...
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52 Things To See and Do in London!

Posted by Nick Hennegan on Tuesday, July 18, 2017, In : Travelers Tips

I've stopped my radio show for the summer and mainly as a result of emails I've had, I am going to write about a years worth of things to do in London. Yep, 52 weekly posts. Probably on a Friday. Although as a writer/boozer, it's a tall order and if you’ve been on our Literary Pub Crawl tour, you’ll know the trouble writer Jeffrey Bernard got into in the West End and Broadway hit, ‘Jeffrey Bernard is Unwell’ when trying to write a regular column. Penned by fellow boozer Keith Water...

What are your Sounds and Sonnets of Summer?

Posted by Nick Hennegan on Monday, July 3, 2017, In : London Life

Peoples Choice 1.

This is a rare occasion where our Podcast and Blog come together!

We've celebrated the Summer Solstice recently in the UK. In response to numerous emails and other requests, writer and presenter, Nick Hennegan has complied an hour of poetry and music special to him to start things off. But he'd like to hear your faves! Please send us YOUR list of summer songs and poems to summer@mavericktheatre.co.uk with a line about why they are special to you.

Here's Nicks list and memo...

We're all just writers and artists here!

Posted by Nick Hennegan on Sunday, June 18, 2017, In : Nick Hennegan

It’s been a couple of months since I last posted here. But I’m trying to sort a script and music for our national tour of A Christmas Carol later in the year. I finally managed to get a group of international journalists together to come on the London Literary Pub Crawl, so we’re having our official opening 5 years after we started! I’m working on a TV script; I’m trying to negotiate with a National Trust garden to present a WW1 play in November and so spending time on this blog ...

Don't understand Shakespeare? You need Dylan Thomas Day!

Posted by Nick Hennegan on Wednesday, May 3, 2017, In : Nick Hennegan

Dylan Day - a celebration of the work of Welsh poet Dylan Thomas - is a great idea for a number of reasons. Firstly it's always a good idea to celebrate art and literature. In a world full of Trump, May, Brexit, Syria and conflict, it's a very good idea to remind ourselves of the real reason we are all really here. For the sweet, satisfied moments of family, friendship, kindness, vision and imagination. I can’t remember who said a civilised society is only measured by the success of it...

20 years since we lost the Alan Ginsberg Beat, man!

Posted by Nick Hennegan on Saturday, April 8, 2017, In : Nick Hennegan

Although our ‘manor’, as they say in all the best cockney gangster films, is most definitely London, there was an anniversary this week involving an American writer that I had to mention. - especially as he came to London for a while. Now, as you know, I love Americans. I’ve not met a bad ‘un yet. It’s interesting that since His Trumpness became boss of the good old US of A, there has been a huge rise in the sale of George Orwell’s dystopian novel, 1984. Shows you what a good ...

If you are planning on coming to London, check out this creative guide.

Posted by Nick Hennegan on Friday, February 10, 2017, In : Hennegan's Best Bohemian Literary Pubs

Good Areas for Creative Pubs in London.

1. CHISWICK, LONDON, W4.
Chiswick (Listeni/ˈtʃɪzᵻk/ chiz-ick) is a district of West London, England.

Chiswick, or ‘leafy Chiswick’ as it seems to be known colloquially throughout London, is an interesting area for many reasons. Not least of which is the fact the London League of Irish Writers was established here in the 20th Century. This may have had something to do with the fact W.B. Yeats made his home here, as did the poet Alexander Pope, ...

The real Dylan Thomas?

Posted by Nick Hennegan on Sunday, January 29, 2017, In : Writers

It’s been great being involved with the new International Dylan Day. 14 May each year has been designated Dylan Day to mark the first time his play for voices ‘Under Milk Wood’ was performed in public in the USA. It’s a direct lift from Blooms Day, an annual event inspired by one of the lead characters in Ulysses, by James Joyce. We're going to celebrate it this year with an extra tour and extra Dylan content. Book now for 13th May - the Saturday before the day. We also have some id...

David Bowie - another London star, in the tradition of Beethoven?

Posted by Nick Hennegan on Wednesday, January 11, 2017, In : London Life

We're used to writers, artists and stars in London. In the last few months, we've literally bumped into a Doctor Who, a Beatle, a Downton Abbey Lady and the most famous female author in the world! We've also been asked not once, but twice, to provide a 'secret' performance tour for A-list Hollywood actors and their teams!
But Nick, our writer, remembers early days of Bowie in South London and we thought this might be of interest.

It's by Andrew Frayn, a Lecturer in Twentieth Century Literat...

A Modern Dickensian Celebration this Christmas

Posted by Nick Hennegan on Friday, December 2, 2016, In : Nick Hennegan

As you will know if you've been on the London Literary Pub Crawl, we are passionately enthusiastic about our unique bit of central London. Soho and Fitzrovia are arguably unique in the world. They are part city-centre, part artists enclave, part architectural delight and part hedonistic hot-spot.

Fitzrovia, once known as East Marylebone or North Soho, is particularly attractive to us. One hundred yards from the busiest shopping street in the world I love the fact that some Saturday afternoon...

Viva USA!

Posted by Nick Hennegan on Thursday, November 17, 2016, In : Nick Hennegan

It's hard as a writer not to be effected by politics. George Orwell's life long literary mission was to make political writing an art form and he certainly achieved this. But I like to think I'm an optimist. What has happened in the USA, with the election of a reality star and businessman to the post of President, needs watching by all free thinking individuals. But we also need to understand how many in the world no longer trust 'them' - and see increasing globalisation changing their worlds...

Autumn in the Pub with Hemingway.

Posted by Nick Hennegan on Sunday, November 6, 2016, In : London's Literary Pubs

So the clocks have gone back in the UK, marking the end of British Summer Time. It used to depress me a bit - the long dark nights and lack of sunshine. But actually, London takes on a different quality in the winter. But it is still quality! It's a good time for walks around some of our fantastic parks and heaths and pub wise there's a few little gems to check out.

Favourites have got to include The Dove on the riverside in Hammersmith in West London. You will have seen this pub if you've eve...

Why Bob Dylan deserves his Nobel prize in literature

Posted by Nick Hennegan on Saturday, October 29, 2016, In : Writers

We were all a bit surprised when Bob Dylan was awarded his Nobel prize for literature. Our Charles Dickens Christmas Crawl stops at the very pub where Bob Dylan gave his first ever public performance outside the USA! This is what Richard Brown, Reader in Modern Literature at the University of Leeds thought about it.

To the surprise of many, Bob Dylan has become the first singer-songwriter to win the Nobel prize in literature.

As the news broke, I was in the middle of teaching James Joyce to s...

The Edinburgh festivals: how they became the world's biggest arts event

Posted by Nick Hennegan on Saturday, August 6, 2016, In : British Theatre

Our writer Nick Hennegan has taken numerous productions to Edinburgh and on our Podcast Page you can hear reports from 2015. As the fringe opened this week, we thought you might find this of interest.

By Kenneth Wardrop, Edinburgh Napier University and Anna Leask, Edinburgh Napier University

The Edinburgh Festival is upon us again, a three-week spectacular that turns the Scottish capital into the biggest arts destination on the planet. It is in fact a number of different festivals, with ...

Can Reading Fiction literally change your mind?

Posted by Nick Hennegan on Thursday, July 21, 2016, In : Nick Hennegan

As you may know, our promenade performance tour is seeped in the lives of some of the most famous writers in the world. So this article, by Gregory Currie, the Professor and Head of Department of Philosophy at the University of York is interesting. It was first published in The Conversation.

If you are committed to the pleasures of reading you may be pleased to discover that there is evidence to suggest that reading fiction is good for you. In a paper published in Trends in Cognitive Science...

Visit London -Ten Things You Should Know About the British Exit from Europe. ‘Brexit'

Posted by Nick Hennegan on Friday, June 24, 2016, In : Nick Hennegan

1. Brexit is a word that has become used as a shorthand way of saying the UK leaving the EU - merging the words Britain and exit to get Brexit, in a same way as a Greek exit from the EU was dubbed Grexit in the past. A referendum took place in the UK on Thursday 23rd June, 2016. Everyone in the UK (almost) was eligible to vote, just like in a general election. But on the ballot paper were just two questions. Should the UK leave the EU or remain in the EU.

2. The E.U. - short for the Euro...

Memories of Dylan Thomas and chapel Wales.

Posted by Nick Hennegan on Saturday, May 21, 2016, In : Writers

Having just celebrated the second Dylan Thomas day, we came across this on Facebook. Written by Josh Brown, it's self-explanatory. Nick Hennegan, our writer, really liked it and Josh gave us permission to repost it, so here it is. Thanks Josh!

Brown's Hotel, Laugharne, Wales.

I have meant to post about my visit to Laugharne in the 70's since joining the [Dylan Thomas Facebook] group. Here it is........

I was born in a snowstorm in 1947, 6 years before Dylan died. My mo...

John Steinbeck on Writing

Posted by Nick Hennegan on Sunday, April 3, 2016, In : Writers

I found this on the site of our friends at brainpickings.org. I've written a random diary for years and sometimes felt it was a waste of time. I also love "writing instruments" and paper and thought I was a bit weird! Maria Popova and JS puts that right...

John Steinbeck on Writing, the Crucible of Creativity, and the Mobilizing Power of the Impossible
“A good writer always works at the impossible.”
BY MARIA POPOVA

An advocate for the creative benefits of keeping a diary, Virginia Woolf sa...
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What's your best advice for aspiring writers, both journalists and novelists?

Posted by Nick Hennegan on Monday, February 1, 2016, In : Writers

I found this on the Quora Website. I think Point 7 is particularly true... and it's taken me a long time to realise it!

Lev Grossman, Author of the bestselling Magicians trilogy and journalist at Time magazine

1. Get your stuff in on time.

2. Don’t write anything that you wouldn’t say out loud – don’t say “perhaps,” say “maybe.” Don’t say “yet” when you mean “but.” And so on.

3. Read read read, all you can, all the time. Don’t worry about other people influencing ...
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Literary Festivals in London and the UK

Posted by Nick Hennegan on Saturday, January 23, 2016, In : Writers

It's the New Year and you should come and visit us in London as soon as you can. Outside of town, check out some of the Literary Festivals we host in the UK.

There are now literary festivals throughout the year in most areas of the country. The largest ones include:

The Sunday Times Oxford Literary Festival, at the end of March
The Hay Festival, in late May
Edinburgh International Book Festival, in August (Hear Nick Hennegan at the 2015 Festival on our podcast page)
Cheltenham Festival of Literatu...
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What makes a Film Flop?

Posted by Nick Hennegan on Friday, January 8, 2016, In : Nick Hennegan

Soho, as you many know - and you will if you've been on our Literary Pub Crawl - is the centre of many creative industries in the UK, including the film industry. We're toying with the idea of making a feature film in 2016 and came across this blog post by Suman Ghosh. who is Senior Lecturer in Film Studies at Bath Spa University.

Some films succeed, others don’t. Success comes in many forms. Some films are an instant hit from the opening night, some are slower on the uptake while others ge...

Happy Holidays!

Posted by Nick Hennegan on Saturday, January 2, 2016, In : Nick Hennegan

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from us all if you celebrate the season. If you don't, have a great holiday!

See you in 2016!

Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol. in Birmingham!

Posted by Nick Hennegan on Friday, December 11, 2015, In : Nick Hennegan

It's exciting being back in Birmingham at the Old Joint Stock Pub and Theatre. And last years London sellout version of my A Christmas Carol has done just that again - this time in Birmingham. Here's what I wrote for the theatre programme.

We all know Charles Dickens' remarkable Christmas story. He wrote it in 1843, just as his fame and success as a writer was fading. The novella has not been out of print since! I first came across the book as a boy. I borrowed a children's version of the sto...

Raymond Briggs and Creative Socio-paths!

Posted by Nick Hennegan on Saturday, November 21, 2015, In : Nick Hennegan

As you know, life in the arts here in Soho is a constant financial struggle and I’ve been looking at an author Crowdfunding platform called Unbound as a way of helping out. As I have both Charles Dickens AND William Shakespeare lined up to provide an introduction to my next book - more about that later perhaps - I’m thinking of using the service, if they’ll have me.
I was checking them out and came across this, from Raymond Briggs’ pitch of a book he’s hosting on the platform. For ...
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The Wind Doth Blow and the Leaves Do Fall. Lots of news.

Posted by Nick Hennegan on Thursday, October 22, 2015, In : Nick Hennegan

If we don’t do a newsletter, Maddie, Princess of Soho, (wrong sex and too young yet to be A Queen!) will shout at Nick Hennegan. Me. So, lots to share with you.

If you are in London this weekend, check out The Bloomsbury Festival. Full of great stuff, they’re back after a break. Find our podcast about it here.

In our Maverick Theatre/Literary Pub Crawl world, our sponsorship with the lovely Fitzrovia Partnership comes to an end this month. We love them and we think we h...

Autumn Events in London. And Spreadsheets. Our Friends.

Posted by Nick Hennegan on Friday, October 2, 2015, In : Nick Hennegan

I should be writing here more often, but to be honest, running the London Literary Pub Crawl takes a chunk of time. We've done incredibly well over our first year or so, but I've decided we could do much better, so we're looking to raise £30k for marketing. It'll make us a real attraction in London and my Chinese actors stand poised, ready to go.

But we're writers, not accountants. Fortunately I've found a brilliant accountant who is able to frame my terms of reference in accounting speak ...
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A book for any occasion. The perfect holiday mini-library.

Posted by Nick Hennegan on Monday, August 24, 2015, In : Writers

With our writer, Nick Hennegan, taking 2 weeks in Wales to write, we thought this article from The Conversation by Andrew Tate, Reader in English at Lancaster University, might be appropriate.

Hell is not, as Sartre suggested, other people – it’s a holiday without books. Holidays, with their promise of carefree pleasure seeking, might seem like the most materialistic of activities. Yet the name has sacred roots: the holy day suggests a time set apart from the ordinary flow of life.

I can to...

Defying the norm? Hardly, the Edinburgh Fringe defines it.

Posted by Nick Hennegan on Sunday, August 9, 2015, In : British Theatre

This is interesting if you are performing or considering visiting the Edinburgh Festival. We personally love it, but understand the sentiment expressed here, by Stephen Greer, Lecturer of Theatre Practices at Glasgow University. Reprinted from The Conversation, with permission.

This year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe slogan – “defying the norm since 1947” – might make for good marketing. But it hardly reflects the role of the world’s largest arts festival accurately. Far from suppo...
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We've moved! The Fitzroy Tavern closes!

Posted by Nick Hennegan on Friday, July 17, 2015, In : Nick Hennegan

The roots of the Literary Pub Crawl lie in the Fitzroy Tavern. I was doing my Masters at the University of London and looking for a cheap pint. My mate from Birmingham, filmmaker Andy Bloom, suggested I could get a cheaper pint at the Fitzroy, as the pub was run by the Sam Smiths Brewery and they were considerably cheaper than other pubs in the area. He also told me about the Writers and Artists Bar at the pub, which certainly appealed.

So I was nursing my cheap pint downstairs and couldn't ...
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Fangs for the memories: death of Christopher Lee draws a veil over golden years of horror

Posted by Nick Hennegan on Friday, June 12, 2015, In : Soho

Love at first bite. Hammer Horror, CC BY-SA

HAMMER STUDIOS HAD AN OFFICE IN SOHO.

They say your first Dracula marks you for life and that you will forever associate the Count with the actor who played him. My first experience of the most famous vampire of old time was Christopher Lee’s performance for Hammer Studios – and it has definitely stayed with me ever since.

I still remember watching his imposing on-screen figure, a mountain of a man, halfway between the quaintly aristocratic and th...

Interview With An Actor.

Posted by Nick Hennegan on Wednesday, May 20, 2015, In : Simon Says.

She's the Queen of Kings at the moment - the star of Henry V - Lion of England at The Wheatsheaf Pub in Fitzrovia, London W1. Produced by our theatre company Maverick, and written by our writer Nick Hennegan, we asked Simon Plant to go talk to star, Eleanor Dillon-Reams about being Shakespeare's most famous King.

Eleanor Dillon-Reams.

Henry V is one of Shakespeare’s biggest plays. How come you are the only actor?

The piece has been partly rewritten, edited and chopped up to a short and snap...

We missed you!

Posted by Nick Hennegan on Friday, May 15, 2015, In : Theatre News

Dylan Thomas Day.

Posted by Nick Hennegan on Thursday, May 7, 2015, In : Nick Hennegan

An Evening at The Wheatsheaf Pub, Rathbone Place, London, W1. 8pm

Dylan's Day is a celebration of Dylan Thomas. 14 May has been chosen because marks the day Under Milk Wood was first read in public.

We hope you can join us for what will be a memorable night. As you know, we produced Under Milk Wood on the 60th anniversary of Dylan's death and we were involved in Griff Rhys Jones' Dylan Thomas in Fitzrovia Festival, so I feel very close to the Welsh Wizard! We're planning music, poetry and a r...
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OLIVIER AWARDS 2015 WITH MASTERCARD WINNERS ANNOUNCED

Posted by Nick Hennegan on Sunday, April 12, 2015, In : Theatre News

This just in....

The Young Vic’s A View From The Bridge takes home Best Revival, Best Actor for Mark Strong and Best Director for Ivo Van Hove.
Hampstead Theatre’s West End transfer of Sunny Afternoon wins the most awards for any single production and is crowned MasterCard Best New Musical
Dame Angela Lansbury receives her first Olivier for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for Blithe Spirit and Penelope Wilton is named Best Actress for Taken At Midnight
Mike Bartlett takes home two prizes ...

Who will be the next Dr Who...?

Posted by Nick Hennegan on Wednesday, April 8, 2015, In : Nick Hennegan

...sorry... Henry V! It only occurred to me whilst talking to a former Dr Who actor, that for our Henry V we will be recruiting the fifth actor to reincarnate the role since we first performed it back in 1992 - a bit like the famous BBC series does!

We're actively searching now for a new actor to take on the huge role! It's always been a big ask! The actor is onstage constantly for over an hour, has to play twelve characters with conviction and fight the Battle of Agincourt at the end!

Injur...
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Neville Owen, a Boy's Man! RIP.

Posted by Nick Hennegan on Saturday, March 7, 2015, In : Nick Hennegan

Forgive my indulgence. This post isn't really anything directly to do with The London Literary Pub Crawl, other than the fact I wrote the tour and the journal/diary I wrote in 1997 (How To Make a Crisis Out Of A Drama) is being released by Maverick Theatre to celebrate its 21st Birthday. Although booze plays a part, because this is about the first time I got drunk! And Neville Owen died last month and I went to his funeral, so I wanted to mark his passing. I wrote this in 1997 and I hope it ...
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That's (Animal Farm) showbiz!

Posted by Nick Hennegan on Thursday, February 5, 2015, In : Nick Hennegan

Bummer! We had the rights to perform George Orwell's Animal Farm for all of 8 weeks, till the 'principle agent' changed their mind and decided to cancel our license. It probably means a commercial theatre producer has decided to try a production. Which is good for us fans of Orwell, but not so good for WE fans of Orwell.

A bit like when we performed 'Under Milk Wood' in the Wheatsheaf in Fitzrovia, London, the pub where Dylan Thomas met his wife. It was commercially stupid to mount such a...
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Review of 2014.

Posted by Nick Hennegan on Monday, January 12, 2015, In : Nick Hennegan

We started 2014 in the shadow of the previous year.

My experiment with theatre in a pub, as opposed to Pub Theatre as it's understood in London, had proved very successful in 2013. I managed to get the rights to produce Under Milk Wood on the 60th anniversary of Dylan Thomas' death. It proved a success in a number of ways, but mainly though conversations with the excellent veteran theatre director John Adams. John was not available to direct, but he recommended a former student of his who ...

Merry Christmas (Part Deux) and a Happy New Year!

Posted by Nick Hennegan on Wednesday, December 31, 2014, In : Nick Hennegan

From all of us here at Lit Pub Crawl towers. May you have a happy and fulfilling Christmas and a peaceful New Year. We loves ya, you know that, don't ya...!

Nick, Katie and all the Charles Dickens' and Virginia Woolfs'
x
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Merry Christmas!

Posted by Nick Hennegan on Thursday, December 25, 2014,

A VISIT FROM SAINT NICHOLAS

BY CLEMENT CLARKE MOORE
(WHO DOESN'T FEATURE ON THE LONDON LITERARY PUB CRAWL.YET.)

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;
The children were nestled all snug in theirbeds,
While visions of sugar-plums danced through their heads;
And mamma in her kerchief, and I in my cap,
Had just settled our brains for a long ...

Dylan, my Dylan.

Posted by Nick Hennegan on Saturday, November 8, 2014, In : Nick Hennegan

So the Dylan Thomas in Fitzrovia Festival is now over. Although only really on the periphery of the organisation it's been a part of my life and certainly large in my thoughts for most of this year.
Pub crawl walks were part of Griff Rhys Jones' original thinking for the festival which he conceived with Dylan's granddaughter, Hannah Ellis and actor Jason Morrell. It became far more than a tour of Dylan Thomas' Fitzrovia Pubs of course. And I have to say the final, fantastic Gala Performa...

National UK Poetry Day, by our writer and producer, Nick!

Posted by Nick Hennegan on Thursday, October 2, 2014, In : Nick Hennegan

Thursday, 2 October 2014

National Poetry Day - have a go!

I've been spending a lot of time recently with the poetry of Dylan Thomas and numerous writers for the London Literary Pub Crawl and the forthcoming Dylan Thomas in Fitzrovia Weekend in London. More about that later. But in spite of the genius of Thomas, Heany and dozens of others, I've found I quite like writing poetry. I've no idea of technical form or how to do it or even why I like writing it, but it's an interesting way of encapsu...

Maverick's Summer Newsletter - Our First E-Book!

Posted by Nick Hennegan on Friday, August 22, 2014, In : Nick Hennegan

(I know... Maddie says a newsletter a month and the last one was June. But I've been busy. And now we have Katie. More about her next time!)

Norman The Brummie, Fox Hunting in Kingstanding and Lest We Forget.

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What a great summer it's been so far! Although Hyde Park was starting to resemble Australia. The grass had turned yellow and parched. But we're loving the hot weather. And we know it ain't gonna last.  

100 years ago it was also an unusual summer. We declared war on...

London Writers and Poverty. How the Lit Pub Crawl started. Part One

Posted by Nick Hennegan on Friday, August 15, 2014, In : Nick Hennegan

It's me birthday! Thanks! Feel free to send cards. Or cash... :-)

Birthdays are often a time for reflection. When I first got the idea for the London Literary Pub Crawl, it was because I was taking my M.A. and I was flat broke. In spite of never having received a grant for education, for reasons known only to the Education Dept I had to fund everything myself. It was tough - not only the fees, but living in one of the most expensive cities in the world. But I don't think we'd have done t...
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Referee!

Posted by Nick Hennegan on Sunday, July 20, 2014, In : Nick Hennegan

So the world cup is over. But here in London, things are still buzzing! The weather has been fantastic and looks like staying so. And we've been nominated as one of the Top Ten Cultural things to do in London! That's fantastic. So if you are thinking about visiting London this year, come and see us. We've been somewhat overwhelmed by demand and so we're training up some new actors and we've added extra dates. We're looking at a new box office system too. At the moment director Katie and ...
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Famous Writers of London

Posted by Nick Hennegan on Saturday, June 14, 2014, In : Writers

Over the years, London has been the home of many famous writers. Whilst not all of London’s writers were born in the city, many considered it to be the place where they belonged. Here we will talk through some of the famous writers that resided in London and their well-known works of literature

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"WE DRIFT OFF INTO THE SOHO EVENING, COMFORTED THAT A VIVID APPROACH TO THE LIFE'S WORK OF SOME OF THE WORLD’S MOST FAMOUS AUTHORS SHOWS THAT THERE IS AS MUCH TO BE LEARNT IN THEIR PUBS AS THEIR PAGES." SUNDAY TELEGRAPH.

Our writer Nick Hennegan has taken numerous productions to Edinburgh and on our Podcast Page you can hear reports from 2015. As the fringe opened this week, we thought you might find this of interest.

An Evening at The Wheatsheaf Pub, Rathbone Place, London, W1. 8pm

A VISIT FROM SAINT NICHOLAS

BY CLEMENT CLARKE MOORE(WHO DOESN'T FEATURE ON THE LONDON LITERARY PUB CRAWL.YET.)

Thursday, 2 October 2014

National Poetry Day - have a go!

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BY CLEMENT CLARKE MOORE
(WHO DOESN'T FEATURE ON THE LONDON LITERARY PUB CRAWL.YET.)