The Hearth Centre is very pleased to announce that we have received emergency funds for a 6 month project called Tales of Lockdown. The phrase “unprecedented” has been used for the Coronavirus epidemic we are currently living through- but for many people, our present situation rings bells with very similar situations they have previously been through. This project aims to gather stories about living in times of national emergency. We are collating anecdotes...

Have a look at some of Polly Wright, Artistic Director of the Hearth Centre 2020 publications on our publications page: These includeThe Palgrave Handbook of the History of Women on the Stage (Polly wrote a chapter on the early years of Women and Theatre)Sue Beavan. Nurse, Partner, Dog lover. A monologue about NHS - (which you can hear Polly reciting here)Collaboration for Impact: Co-creating a Workforce Development Toolkit Using an Arts-based Approach...

Sue Beavan. Nurse, Partner, Dog lover. A monologue about the NHSPolly’s monologue was originally written for Women and Theatre’s 2014  piece - For the Past 30 years, which was a play written on the theme of women and work for solo voices. Polly’s monologue, about a  senior nurse, who has gone through many phases of NHS re-structuring and still isn’t ready for retirement at 64, has now been included  in...

We are glad to announce that our writers’ reading group is going on in a virtual form! We continue to share literary role models in order to learn and improve our craft of writing, but now we’re meeting through Zoom every other Wednesday. This term’s books have included Albert Camus’ The Plague and Anne Frank’s diary- and we are learning from them to write our own observations of lockdown, past...

The Arts Council England has awarded the Hearth Centre an award of Emergency funds to support the continuation of the organisation and to develop a six month project called Hidden Histories:  Living in Times of National Emergency. For this Creative Writing project we’re looking for stories about Lockdown and Covid 19, but also stories of similar crises in the past, such as in wars and other epidemics. Please contact us...

This year Women & Theatre mark International Women's Day with a special event featuring performances and discussions, exploring a range of issues about women and work; drawing on the experiences of young women, retired women, and those who have seen massive changes in their sectors over the last 35 years. One of Hearth Director Polly Wright's monologues is being used in the podcast section For more information click here

Saturday 7 March 2020 Join playwright Polly Wright and creative Adaya Henry for the day in a specially devised writing workshop that celebrates the musicality of Black women’s writing. The day will weave readings from Toni Morrison, Maya Angelou and Bernadine Evaristo with music, an inspirational visit to The Influence Project exhibition followed by a creative writing afternoon workshop. Click here for more information

Join the Writers Reading group @HearthCentre to discuss the book they are shadowing for the Man Booker Prize 2018 #MBI2018 - Vernon Subutex 1 at the Hexagon '@mac_birmingham on May 17 at 7.00 pm. Translator @Terribleman and writer @DespentesActu -all 5 stars so far! Read the Guardian article here

Just over a year ago Polly's story was featured in the Daily Mail. Please click HERE to read more!