Showing Tag: "is" (Show all posts)

The Chiswick Book Festival party Part 3 - and new writing venue TheSpaceUK in Edinburgh!

Posted by Nick Hennegan on Thursday, October 13, 2022,

Nick Hennegan was at the 14th Chiswick Book Festival, at the local author's party, where the writers have 2 minutes against the clock to talk about their books - or get ‘horned’ off! This is the final part. And we hear from the founders of The Space UK - enterprising venues at the Edinburgh Fringe.

Listen at BohemianBritain.com
Continue reading ...

The Shark Is Broken - Theatre Review

Posted by Nick Hennegan on Thursday, October 28, 2021, In : Bohemian Britain

Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the theatre... oh, sorry... that should be water. Jaws analogies abound with the lovely little production that was postponed when Covid hit. Now they're back! See what our writer, Nick Hennegan thought about it on BohemianBritain.com

The Cast of The Shark Is Broken

Five tourist trips in England inspired by classic novels

Posted by Nick Hennegan on Tuesday, March 23, 2021, In : Travelers Tips

As you know, we're writers and artists ourselves and crazy about our little bit of England and its literature. We've a books list on this website, but we really loved this blog in The Conversation by Heather Green, a PhD Candidate, Literary Heritage at Nottingham Trent University, who works for Wirksworth Heritage Centre.

Some books can really bring to life the place in which they’re set. Their words knit together in such a way that whole landscapes or entire floorplans of buildings you’ve...

Back down The Pub with U2, Bob Marley, Amy Winehouse, Charles Dickens, et al…

Posted by Nick Hennegan on Tuesday, October 6, 2020, In : Nick Hennegan

I mentioned in my last blog in June, (yes, it does seem a long time ago!) that I’d not been to Soho or Fitzrovia to check out the pubs we visit on our London Literary Pub Crawl, since lock down in the UK in March.

Now I’m pleased to say I have! And although some of the Fitzrovia pubs are still not operating fully at the weekends, it’s great to see that most of the Soho venues are open and firing on all four cylinders, even though we have to stay two metres - six feet - apart from each ot...

Busy, busy, August!

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

(Amy Anderson and Kizzy Dunn 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 Rome...
Continue reading ...

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...
Continue reading ...

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.

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!

Continue reading ...

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...

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, ...

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...

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...

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...

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...
Continue reading ...

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...

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...

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 ...
Continue reading ...

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...

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...
Continue reading ...

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
Continue reading ...

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 ...

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.

?yola-link-is-coming=true

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...
Continue reading ...

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 ...
Continue reading ...

Maverick's latest Newsletter.

Posted by Nick Hennegan on Thursday, May 29, 2014, In : Nick Hennegan

So.
 
I was in the Twelve Bar on Denmark Street in Soho with Filmaker Andy.  He used to be MyLodger Andy, then VanDriver Andy and now he's FilmMaker Andy. Of course he was always FilmMaker Andy, it's just that none of us, including Andy, realised it for some years.
 
Then in shimmies Maddy, shaking her Soho stack at the boys in the pool room. Tonight is a charity night with some very smart comical and musical talent.  It's a fund-raiser for the uber-cool London Arts radio station, Resonance 104.4...

Class of '13

Posted by Simon Plant on Wednesday, April 17, 2013, In : Nick Hennegan

If you're coming to see us over the summer, the chances are you might meet one of this talented bunch of actors. If you've already been on the London Literary Pub Crawl, you may recognise the alleyway next to the Newman's Arms, George Orwell's local.

Visiting London.

Posted by Simon Plant on Sunday, March 3, 2013,

If you are coming to London for the first time and would like any advice on where to stay or what to do (apart from the Literary Pub Crawl of course) please feel free to contact us. We'll do all we can to help.

Happy 2013!

Posted by Simon Plant on Thursday, January 24, 2013, In : Nick Hennegan

Blimey, the blog below is a bit emotional. All the Christmas stuff! So here we are in a new year. We’re about to get a logo done by the talented Dave Walsh design and we are also about to start to offer some unique meal deals after the tour, so you can sop up the beer and knowledge with the finest food. And this Saturday we launch the new script and see the end of Virginia Woolf. The letter she left her husband is heartbreaking. Watch this space.

Put your (Christmas) Hands in The Air...

Posted by Simon Plant on Monday, December 17, 2012, In : Nick Hennegan

The first of our Christmas tours took place on Saturday 15th, and a great time we had too. This was the scene at the end of the tour in our last pub in Soho. The songs were imminently singable and we're gong to make it a regular Saturday evening thing going forward.

Happy Christmas and we hope to see you in the New Year. Here's to 2013!

Additional Reading and writers we meet!

Posted by Simon Plant on Thursday, November 8, 2012, In : Nick Hennegan

We had a query this week from someone wondering what preparation they should make for the tour. Well, it is written assuming no previous knowledge, but works covered on the tour include A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess, Under Milk Wood by Dylan Thomas, 1984 by George Orwell, A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf and various Charles Dickens works. We've also some new work from the niece of Brendan Behan and we get to meet all the above, plus William Blake, Francis Bacon, Jeffrey Barnard a...
Continue reading ...

To Ad, or not to Ad, that is the question...

Posted by Simon Plant on Wednesday, October 17, 2012, In : Nick Hennegan

We've put advertising on this site. I'm not sure we should as we want to tell you about who we are and what we do and advertising can sometimes be intrusive. But as a not-for-profit company any chance to earn a little extra revenue had to be taken. I think. But I'm not sure. It also might be because it makes us look proper and grown-up! What do you think?

« Back to posts

About Us

Nick Hennegan

London

Hello. I'm Nick Hennegan and I started the London Literary Pub Crawl. Most of the blogs on here will be by me. I've always written but my first theatrical success was an adaptation of Shakespeare's 'Henry V' (www.HenryVPlay.com) I founded Maverick Theatre in 1994. (www.MaverickTheatreCompany.com) This pub crawl is really more a promenade theatre performance than a tour and I'm running it with a bunch of enthusiastic local actors and writers. I love sharing my passion for the area and the artists. I also present a weekly radio show, 'Literary London' on Resonance 104.4fm - London's Arts Station and a podcast on our site. If you haven't visited us in London yet, I hope you'll come soon. Have a look at my new site, www.BohemianBritain.com. And feel free to leave comments or email me at nick @ LondonLiteraryPubCrawl.com - I reply to them all and I love to hear from you.

Showing Tag: "is" (Show all posts)

"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.

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.)

About Us

Recent Posts

Blog Archive

Tags

Categories

Recent Posts

Blog Archive

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