Medway River Lit
"I thought Medway River Lit Festival thoughtful, thought-provoking, kindly in spirit and invaluable for the region." Sir Ben Okri
WORKSHOPS
All our workshops - in one handy place!
The Quiet Compere
WORKSHOP: SATURDAY, 3 JUNE. 11AM-12-midday
SPOKEN WORD: 1PM-3PM
Rochester Library, Community Hub Rochester, Eastgate, Rochester ME1 1EW
Come and join poet Sarah L Dixon aka 'The Quiet Compere' (shortlisted, The Bridport Prize 2022), for a writing workshop, followed by a spoken word open mic and poetry show at Rochester Library.
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"Sarah’s creative energy and enthusiasm are legendary. She encourages and gives a platform to fellow poets. Where would we be without her?"
WORKSHOP: This workshop will lead the attendees through a series of gentle writing exercises, then an optional sharing of their work out loud.
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Free, book with Medway Libraries in person, phone 01634 337799, or via your SPYDUS account.
Rochester Library is fully accessible.
Nearest bus stop: Rochester rail station
Fun With Words
POETRY AND FAMILY WRITING WORKSHOP: SUNDAY, 4 JUNE. 12-1PM.
Medway Adult Education, Community Hub, Eastgate, Rochester ME1 1EW
Sam Rapp the Dyslexic Poet will lead one of her popular Fun with Words writing workshops and a poetry performance suitable for families with children aged 7 and up.
Refreshments will be available to purchase from Jaspers community cafe from 11am-3pm.
Free, no booking required, drop-in.
Medway Adult Education is fully accessible.
Nearest bus stop: Rochester railway station
Family drawing workshop
WORKSHOP: SUNDAY, 4 JUNE. 12.30-2pm.
Medway Adult Education, Community Hub, Eastgate, Rochester ME1 1EW
Join local artist Karen Scudder in a fun family drawing workshop using 'The Character Machine' which will help you to come up with ideas for drawing characters. Maybe you've got an idea for a children's book, or you just fancy doing a bit of drawing for relaxation. This is sure to be a fun workshop.
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Karen Scudder is a local artist and art teacher who believes that art can be used to improve wellbeing.
This workshop is suitable for all ages. Materials will be provided.
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Refreshments will be available to purchase from Jaspers community cafe from 11am-3pm.
Free, no booking required, drop-in.
Medway Adult Education is fully accessible.
Nearest bus stop: Rochester railway station
Adventures in Time and Space: writing workshop on the Fenland Black Oak Table
WORKSHOP: MONDAY, 5 JUNE. 11am-1pm.
Rochester Cathedral, Rochester Kent, ME1 1SX
Performance poet and facilitator Naomi Wood leads us on this pre-bookable writing workshop seated at the 5,000-year-old Fenland Black Oak Table.
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This will be a unique experience; to participate in a creative writing workshop seated at the 5,000 year-old Fenland Black Oak table within Rochester Cathedral! This will be a truly enchanting inter-disciplinary exploration of time and passage, and how objects and materials retain and tell those stories. Open to all abilities of writing, we will consider how writing is, also, a form of preservation and the way we use our imagination can be a way of celebrating parts of the past and creating the future!
Please bring a notebook and pencil or biro (not ink pen).
Free. Book via Eventbrite.
There is access for wheelchairs through the North door into the Nave. There are WCs for people with disabilities in the Cathedral (by the South Door).
Please be aware that the Cathedral is a medieval building. Areas of the Cathedral have low lighting and uneven flooring.
Nearest bus stop: Rochester railway
Theatre Writing Workshop
WORKSHOP: TUESDAY, 6 JUNE, 2-4pm.
PURE, MidKent College, Medway Rd, Gillingham ME7 1FN
In this writing workshop, aimed at people who would like to write for the theatre, writer Pauline Holmes and Theatre Company Play On Words, will give you tips on how to start writing a play.
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The workshop will comprise of fun writing exercises, and the opportunity to share your words.
Play On Words are producing the debut of 'The Lion Queen', Pauline's play which will be premiered later this evening!
Free. Book with the GlassBox.
PURE is fully accessible.
Nearest bus stop: The 116 service stops directly on campus. The 101 service stops directly outside the campus at selected times.
Performing Poetry With Play
WORKSHOP: WEDNESDAY, 7 JUNE, 4-6pm.
St Margaret's Church, High St, Rainham, ME8 8AN
Join our facilitator, Naomi Wood, to learn how to develop your performance style. Naomi has an MA in Creative and Critical writing from Sussex, and is an international multi-disciplinary performance artist merging the circus with poetry and storytelling. She teaches creative writing workshops that empower people to cultivate an enriching imaginative and playful practice and perform their work live onstage.
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A lively and engaging workshop where people will learn how to harness vulnerability and individuality to perform boldly onstage. It will be relaxed and fun with writing exercises and teaching (so do bring pen and paper!)
Hélène Cixous implies when we follow the impulse to create, to write, we 'resist death (and) make trouble'. This workshop will be about learning to approach writing and performance with playfulness.
Refreshments will be available to purchase.
Free, just turn up.
St Margaret's Church is fully accessible.
Nearest bus stop: Rainham precinct
Creating characters in fiction
WORKSHOP: 7-9pm.
Store 104, 104 High Street Rochester, ME1 1JT
Workshop with Thomas McMullan, on creating characters in fiction.
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Thomas McMullan is a writer, critic and journalist. His work has appeared in The Guardian, The Observer, The TLS, Sight & Sound, Frieze, New Statesman, Lighthouse, 3:AM Magazine, Minor Literature[s], The Stockholm Review and Cours de Poétique. He has also been featured in Best British Short Stories, and has been published internationally, in translation. He was a member of The Royal Court Young Writers Programme and has had plays produced at The ICA, The Southwark Playhouse, The V&A and The British Museum, and has worked with visual artists in London, Amsterdam and Beijing.
His first novel 'The Last Good Man' was published by Bloomsbury in 2020.
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Drop into Store 104 to book, or book via their website.
As an historic building, Store 104 is not accessible to wheelchairs
Art and Text Workshop
WORKSHOP: THURSDAY, 8 JUNE, 11am-2pm.
The Namur Room, The Historic Dockyard, Chatham, Main Gate Rd, Chatham ME4 4TZ
'Wordsmithery goes visual...and the Hazelnut Press gets verbal'
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Join award-winning artist and printmaker Heather Haythornthwaite of The Hazelnut Press, and award-winning writer Sarah Hehir, for a writing and art workshop in association with Medway Print Festival
This day is about creating a personal fluid response to the dockyard. Annotations and drawings made about the dockyard are collected in a continuous concertina format. This experimental workshop is to encourage artists to incorporate written thoughts in their drawings, and for writers to move into visual thought recordings. Together we’ll strengthen our creative processing.
Refreshments will be available to purchase from the cafe.
Parking and one day's entry to the Dockyard are included in the ticket price.
Cost: £20pp. Book via Eventbrite.
Please email info@thehazelnut-press.com with any questions.
Most areas of The Historic Dockyard are accessible, but please check website for full information.
Nearest bus stop: Western Avenue, Chatham Maritime stop
Even Bigger Trouble
WORKSHOP: THURSDAY, 8 JUNE, 5-6.30pm
SPOKEN WORD: 7-9pm.
McLeod's Restaurant, MidKent College, Medway Rd, Gillingham ME7 1FN
Poets David Dykes and Bethany Goodwill set up Big Trouble spoken word night in Chatham Intra in 2018 and since then the event has grown in popularity as one of Medway's only two regular live literature nights.
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As part of Medway River Lit, they are going to be running a writing workshop, to get your creative juices flowing, before hosting 'Even Bigger Trouble', a special one-off version of Big Trouble called 'Even Bigger Trouble' featuring headline poets: Miss Yankey, a British/Ghanaian Writer, Activist, and Spoken Word artist who has captivated audiences from London to Paris, to New York, to Ghana, and as far as Melbourne; and, Pauline Holmes a 60-something poet and storyteller with the mind of a child and the wrinkles of someone much older. There are also open mic slots.
Why not come along to the workshop, then perform your work to the audience?
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McLeod's Restaurant will be open for refreshments.
Workshop pre-booking via the GlassBox.
You can also book Even Bigger Trouble via the same page.
The event is pay what you decide - cash/card payments will be taken on the night.
McLeod's is fully accessible
Nearest bus stop: Mid Kent College; Medway Park War Memorial.
Manga and Anime Workshop
WORKSHOP: FRIDAY, 9 JUNE, 12-1pm.
The Guildhall Museum, 17 High St, Rochester ME1 1PY
Join artist Nadia Perrotta, the leader of the 'My Manga Medway' project which will be on display throughout the festival, in a workshop learning to create your own manga and anime-style characters.
Nadia is a multimedia storyteller who created 'House of Stars', a platform and safe hub for young people and creatives to work together, express themselves freely and connect supporting each other through art and music.
Refreshments will be available.
Free, no booking required.
As an historic building, some areas of the Guildhall Museum have limited access, please check their Accessibility Statement for full details.
Nearest bus stop: Rochester rail station
Superhero Workshop
WORKSHOP: FRIDAY, 9 JUNE. 1.30-2.30pm.
The Guildhall Museum, 17 High St, Rochester ME1 1PY
Learn how to create and draw your own superheroes with comic artist Nick Ashton, in this workshop suitable for all ages.
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Nick Ashton is a professional designer, illustrator and animator with 15 years of experience within the entertainment industry. He has worked with hundreds of international films, including The Hobbit films, the Harry Potter franchise and several Dreamworks animated titles. He is part of the Kent Illustration Network, (KIN), whose Medway River Lit exhibition 'Monsters of the Deep' will be displayed at Chatham Library, throughout the festival.
Refreshments will be available.
Free, no booking required.
As an historic building, some areas of the Guildhall Museum have limited access, please check their Accessibility Statement for full details.
Nearest bus stop: Rochester rail station
