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  The Real & Imagined History of...

  Tom Wright

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  Arriving from his East Midlands beginnings into a London thick with the grime of industrialisation, Joseph Merrick is an anomaly. In a city of factories that churn out uniformity, there is no place for someone like him.
  But Merrick and the city are evolving into something new. We follow him through the workhouse, the freak show, and the hospital, as he searches for acceptance in a society that just wants to stare at him.
  Powerful, angry and surprising, Tom Wright's acclaimed play imagines an alternative history of the person who came to be known as 'the Elephant Man'. It restores Joseph Merrick to the center of his own story: a man fighting for his right to be and to belong.
  The Real & Imagined History of the Elephant Man was first performed at Melbourne's Malthouse Theatre, before receiving its European premiere at Nottingham Playhouse in 2023, directed by Stephen Bailey, and supported by a grant from The Royal Theatrical Support Trust.
  'A challenging, moving play about spectacle, difference and identity'Limelight Magazine
  'Everyone should be moved by such poetic and accomplished theatre'The Age
  'Astonishing… it's doubtful whether there has ever been a better example of theatre's ability to be inclusive at the same time as being able to shock'British Theatre Guide
  'A powerful piece of theatre'Reviews Hub

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  A Rhyme A Dozen ― Fruit - 12...

  Elinor Wylie, Mirabai, D H...

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  ‘A dime a dozen’ as known in America, is perhaps equal to the English ‘cheap as chips’ but whatever the lingua franca of your choice in this series we hereby submit ‘A Rhyme a Dozen’ as 12 poems on many given subjects that are a well-rounded gathering, maybe even an essential guide, from the knowing pens of classic poets and their beautifully spoken verse to the comfort of your ears. 
  1 - A Rhyme a Dozen - 12 Poets, 12 Poems, 1 Topic.  Fruit - An Introduction 
  2 - Epigram on Fruit by Diodorus 
  3 - Wild Peaches by Elinor Wylie 
  4 - Moonlit Apples by John Drinkwater 
  5 - The Pomegranate by Alice Corbin 
  6 - Oranges and Lemons from Sicily by Abd-al-Rahman 
  7 - The Plums Tasted by Mirabai 
  8 - Sonnet 13 -  Summer Fruit by Rainer Maria Rilke 
  9 - This Is Just to Say by William Carlos Williams 
  10 - Apples by Jonathan Swift 
  11 - Cherry Ripe by Robert Herrick 
  12 - Figs by D H Lawrence 
  13 - Quince by Shafer Ben Utman Al-Mushafi

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  The Poetry of Sarojini Naidu -...

  Sarojini Naidu

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  Sarojini Chattopadhyay was born into a Bengali family in Hyderabad, India on 13th February 1879, the eldest of the eight siblings. The family was well-respected in Hyderabad and were established artists. 
   
  Naidu passed her matriculation examination at the University of Madras and took a four-year break from her studies.  
   
  In 1895, H.E.H. the Nizam's Charitable Trust founded by the 6th Nizam, Mahbub Ali Khan, gave her the chance to study in England, first at King's College, London and later at Girton College, Cambridge.  
   
  Even in these early times she was a social activist.  It was whilst in England that she worked as a suffragist and was first drawn to the Indian National Congress' Hindu movement for India's independence from British Colonial rule.  
   
  She began writing at the age of twelve. Her play, ‘Maher Muneer’, written in Persian, impressed the Nawab of Hyderabad. It was an auspicious start. 
   
  Sarojini met Paidipati Govindarajulu Naidu, a physician, and after finishing her studies at age 19 married him. The couple would have five children.  Interestingly their families approved their marriage even though they were from different castes and society was not as tolerant as it might be today.  Additionally, Sarojini was from Bengal and Naidu from Andhra Pradesh and marriages between those from the north and south were frowned upon.  Happily, they overcame these problems and both marriage and careers thrived. 
   
  In 1905, her first collection of poems, ‘The Golden Threshold’ was published. 
   
  Naidu became a part of the Indian nationalist movement and was a follower of Mahatma Gandhi and his idea of swaraj (this was an India without its colonial administration systems).  Despite her growing political career she still found time to write and published several further volumes of poetry. Such was her eloquence that she became known as the ‘Nightingale of India’. 
  Sarojini was appointed the President of the Indian National Congress in 1925 and was a major influence and figure in the Independence movement.  
   
  Along with several other Congress leaders including Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru she was arrested for taking part in the 1930 Salt March.  Indeed Sarojini faced frequent arrest by the British Authorities and spent, in total, many months in prison. 
   
  Following India's independence from British rule in 1947, Sarojini was appointed as the governor of the present-day Uttar Pradesh in so doing she became India's first female governor. 
   
  Returning from work in New Delhi on 15th February, 1949 she was advised to rest by her doctors, and her official engagements were cancelled.  Her health deteriorated rapidly and on 1st March bloodletting was performed after she complained of severe headache.  
   
  Sarojini Naidu died of a cardiac arrest on 2nd March 1949.  She was 70.

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  Shakespeare Monologues...

  William Shakespeare

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  LibriVox readers present the seventh collection of monologues from Shakespeare’s plays. Containing 20 parts. William Shakespeare (April 26, 1564 – April 23, 1616) remains widely to be considered the single greatest playwright of all time. He wrote in such a variety of genres - tragedy, comedy, romance, &c - that there is always at least one monologue in each of his plays. Some of these teach a lesson, some simply characterize Shakespeare at his best, some are funny, some sad, but all are very moving. Each monologue will touch everybody differently. Some people will be so moved by a particular monologue that they will want to record it. (summary by Shurtagal)

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  Miscellaneous Poems

  James Russell Lowell

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  This is the second part of James Russell Lowell's collected poems: the Miscellaneous Poems. This series of poems covers, as the title implies, a wide range of topics, shaped into Lowell's beautiful poetry. - Summary by Carolin

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  This Must Be the Place (NHB...

  Brad Birch, Kenny Emson

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  This Must Be the Place is a play comprising two short ballads about migration, missed connections, and life on the edge of respectability.
  Two friends, fugitives from their problems, try and start again in the big smoke but find themselves waiting on the margins still. A man in the midst of crisis tries for a clean break from technology, connectivity and the pressures of city life.
  Brad Birch and Kenny Emson's This Must Be the Place was first performed at Latitude Festival in July 2016, before transferring to the 2017 VAULT Festival, London, where it was named Show of the Year.
  'A very modern tale of very modern detachment, written with humour and vigour... observant, angry, compelling, oh, and it's funny too. Very funny.' - LondonTheatre1
  'A dynamic piece of new writing… freshly biting and crisply unsentimental' - Exeunt Magazine

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