WRITING SALON: “The Lives of the Objects”

The Writing Salon is unlike any other event for writers.  It seeks to draw inspiration from unlikely places as it dissects genre and narrative, explores fiction and non-fiction, and dives into all forms of storytelling.  Through a mixture of video, audio, theory, practical exercises, interviews with guests, and a very social and engaged membership it will make you feel energised about your writing. Everyone is welcome, as well as all writing genres and formats. Some members have no previous writing experience – others write regularly for stage, page and screen.  Whatever your level, you’ll get a warm welcome.

There will be a practical section, so grab your pencil cases, and we’ll see you there.

What can a handkerchief tell us about jealousy? How does an ordinary ring become powerful enough to carry the weight of an epic? And what happens when an object survives the people who made it, owned it, fought over it or tried to destroy it?

This month, The Writing Salon turns its attention away from people and towards the things they leave behind.

The title, The Lives of the Objects, is borrowed from Tristram Hunt's book about the extraordinary collection of the V&A, and the timing feels particularly appropriate with the Bayeux Tapestry on display at the British Museum in London. Created almost a thousand years ago, it is an object that tells a story, but it has also acquired a story of its own. It has survived wars, revolutions, changing interpretations and generations of people looking at the same embroidered figures and finding different meanings in them. It reminds us that objects do something characters cannot. They can outlive us.

Objects are everywhere in stories, but we rarely think of them as storytellers in their own right. They are bought, stolen, inherited, treasured, discarded, hidden, lost and rediscovered. They move between characters and across generations, or they can become evidence, symbols, weapons, heirlooms, secrets and sources of obsession. Their physical form may remain unchanged while their meaning alters completely according to whose hands they are in.

We'll look at objects as witnesses, evidence, repositories of memory and things that stop being props and begin to generate the story themselves. We'll also consider one of their strangest qualities: an object can remain physically identical while the narrative surrounding it changes completely.

The session starts at 7pm but please feel free to book a table at the Club from 5.30pm to enjoy a bite to eat, or arrive a little early in order grab a drink before we begin (you can also book a table for 9pm to have your supper afterwards!) Remember: our pre-theatre menu is available from 5 until 6.30pm!

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