East Sussex celebrates the Word

March 19, 2008 - Press Dispensary - Word County, the East Sussex programme celebrating the written and spoken word, advances into its second half this coming Sunday, March 23, for an afternoon with Inspector Morse creator, Colin Dexter, followed by ten days of poetry, music, video and theatrical live literature in Eastbourne, Lewes and Hastings.

The Eastbourne events, held as part of the first ever Eastbourne Festival, begin at the Winter Garden on Easter Sunday afternoon in the company of the curmudgeonly Inspector Morse as discussed by author Colin Dexter, who will also unveil how he himself was inspired by the likes of Dickens, Thomas Hardy and Charlotte Bronte.

Three days of performance literature, poetry and music follow at the end of the week. On Thursday evening (March 27), experimental writer and performer Mark C Hewitt is joined by Zimbabwean band Zimbaremabwe for a ‘theatrical live literature event’ upstairs at Eastbourne’s Bibendum bar and restaurant. Mark has developed ‘Eastbourne International’ exclusively for the evening by sampling the multinational heart of Eastbourne with notebook, pen and Dictaphone, and is still looking for additional foreign workers and other contributors in Eastbourne who have a story to tell. The show is interwoven with ambient world rhythms from Zimbaremabwe featuring mbira virtuosos Linos Magaya.

The festival returns to Bibendum on Friday evening (March 28) when award winning poet and writer Jackie Kay is joined by musicians Pam Hewitt and Anna Tabor for ‘Off Colour’. Jackie – who found fame with ‘The Adoption Papers’, a fictionalised account of her life as a black girl adopted by white Glaswegians – spends the first half of the evening exploring her poetic influences from the Scottish traditions of ballad and verse and the rhythms of jazz and blues. In the second half, chanteuse Pam and pianist Anna offer classic cabaret, music hall and blues.

Both Bibendum events include a finger buffet.

On the evening of Tuesday April 1, Word County moves to the All Saints Centre in Lewes and the uncomfortable subject of serial killing, made highly personal by novelist Carole Hayman. Carole has been studying the subject since 2006, when she created a video installation of interviews with people who have a connection to serial killing, from survivors and the children of victims to the professionals who work in the field. In ‘No-one Escapes’, this one-off Lewes event, Hayman will be playing a cross section of her interviews on DVD and answering questions.

Throughout the period of Word County, Hastings Museum and Art Gallery is giving life to a collection of new poems exploring the artefacts in the museum’s permanent collection. ‘Ethnographic Imaginings’, written by poets John Agard, Crace Nichols and Imtiaz Dharker, explores objects from 4000 years of human life, leisure, wartime and belief, and is available to museum visitors in a free handout.

Tickets for the various events range in price from free to £9. Reviewers can contact Mark Hewitt on 0796 836 7739.

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Word County is part of the Spoken and Written Word programme, designed by the East Sussex Arts Partnership, and runs across East Sussex from February to April 2008. The East Sussex Arts Partnership is made up of four district and borough councils and East Sussex County Council, and is supported by Arts Council England.

Colin Dexter appears at 3pm on March 23 in the Gold Room of Eastbourne Winter Garden, Compton Street, Eastbourne. Tickets are £9 (£7 concessions). Eastbourne International starts at 7.45pm upstairs at Bibendum Bar/Restaurant, 1 Grange Road, Eastbourne. Tickets are £5 (£4 concession) on the door. Off Colour starts at 7.30pm, also upstairs at Bibendum Bar/Restaurant. Tickets are £7 (£5 concessions). While in Eastbourne, Jackie will also be working with the Eastbourne Poetry Reading Group.

Tickets for the above three shows can be bought in advance from the box offices at the Congress Theatre and Devonshire Park Theatre, Eastbourne, by phone on 01323 412000 or online at http://www.eastbournetheatres.co.uk.

No-one Escapes starts at 7.45pm on Tuesday April 1 at the All Saints Centre, Friars Walk, Lewes. Tickets are £5 (plus booking fee) from Brighton Dome box office on 01273 709709 or £7 on the door. Carole Hayman is available for interviews. Those interested in interviewing Carole or attending the event should contact Lewes Live Literature on 0797 203 7612 or email .

For further information on Word County or any individual show, please contact:
Mark Hewitt , Word County
Tel: 0796 836 7739
Email: