STONE VOICES

In July 2008 the culminating performance of the two year “Stone Voices” poetry project in Lichfield was performed to a full house in the Garrick Theatre studio. The performance, “Stone City Voices,” was a collaboration between The Lichfield Poets and Friary School Poetry and Drama Groups, under David Calcutt’s direction, which wove together poems, monologues and short dramatic pieces to create a montage of voices past and present, living and dead, whose stories are told during the course of a single day and night in the city of Lichfield.

The following extract is from a review of the production in “The Lichfield Post”
Last year's Stone Voices was performed in a marquee on the Deanery lawn. This
year's fascinating one-off performance richly deserved its move to the Garrick Studio and could well stand a longer life span and wider airing. Local writer David Calcutt worked with The Lichfield Poets to create this sound-scape of the city. A big plus was the inclusion of Friary School pupils who under the guidance of Mr. Calcutt and some very obviously gifted teachers added the powerful element of movement.

Together the performers used their own original work with great effect. With the
simple but effective device of everyday clothes worn in a sequence of red, black and
white they wedded words to movement evoking the city’s past and present.
Their work fell easily into two halves, night and day. Cue cathedral close dawn and
morning over Minster pool before a move along Dam Street into the v. heart of the
city, the historic market place. The Night sequence unsurprisingly was darker in tone but with the same emblematic power, culminating in the sinister and dramatic' Dam Street Shuffle'
Although the project is now finished, The Lichfield Poets will continue their activities at their new home in the Garrick Theatre, which will include shared readings, workshops and performances. For further information about the group, you can contact either Janet Jenkins or Val Thompson at the following addresses:

janet@jenkins4984.freeserve.co.uk

val.mal@btinternet.com

A copy of the first “Stone Voices” script, performed at the 2007 Lichfield Festival, is available for free download on this website. Simply follow the link to “Stone Voices” and follow the instructions.