Tonight's event at Chalkwell is Cancelled
UNFORTUNATELY DUE TO THE SNOW AND ICE IN SOUTHEND THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELLED. SORRY FOR ANY INCONVENIENCE OR DISAPPOINTMENT.
WE WILL DEFINITELY RESCHEDULE WITH SAMANTHA AND NAOMI FOR THE SPRING NEXT YEAR SO WATCH THIS SPACE.
Following a fantastic Salon evening at Metal earlier this year, writers Samantha Ellis and Naomi Alderman are coming back to Chalkwell Hall in Southend on Sea to spend a week in residence. During their stay they would like interested artists and audience to a reading of Samantha’s new, as yet unpublished play and a short story by Naomi at an evening party in celebration of the first night of Chanukah - the Jewish eight day festival of light on Wednesday 1 Dec – 7pm – 9.30pm.
The play, Eating My Heart Out For Iraq, is about Gertrude Bell, the British bluestocking who drew Iraq's borders, wrote its constitution, designed its flag and chose its first king. Samantha is a second-generation Iraqi Jew and was first told the story by her grandfather who remembered seeing Gertrude Bell riding her horse along the banks of the Tigris dressed all in white.
In this informal playreading, you can take one of the roles to read, or just listen, and there'll be a chance to ask questions at the end. It's a work-in-progress and this reading is part of the creative process; hearing the play will help Samantha take it to a final draft. Entry is FREE.
As it's the first night of Chanukah, Samantha and Naomi will lalso be lighting candles, serving mulled wine and zangoola (Iraqi Jewish orange blossom doughnuts), aubergines, mango pickle and more.
We hope you can join us. Please rsvp to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Written by Colette Bailey 01 December 2010