Literature, Theatre & Film Groups
Martin Hayden
The group leader details are only available to logged in members
When do we meet?
First and third Mondays 2 to 4pm, venue to be confirmed, starting 17 September
You can join, either at the beginning of the term (when we will however be just finishing the work!) or later in the autumn when I will be ready to start a second group. Please contact above.
What do we do?
Dante’s Commedia, a narrative poem written in the early 1300s, divides into the Inferno, the Purgatorio, and the Paradiso, and is a ‘vision’ in which Dante, lost in a dark wood in the middle of his life, is rescued by Virgil and led on a monumental journey, by him, and later by Beatrice, through those three realms. Much of the interest centres on the people they meet and converse with, but the focus is on what Dante learns about the human capacity for good and evil, and the nature of the good life.
This group will look at a generous selection of cantos from each of the three books, aiming to complete the journey in about three terms, Autumn, from September 2018, Winter/Spring 2019, and Autumn, from September 2019, (avoiding the summer months).
This group is for all types of reader: anyone who has always wanted to get to know this great work better but has little knowledge of it as yet, as well as anyone who has started, or dipped in, but never finished or read the whole. Those who know part or all of the work well would of course be especially welcome and anyone with knowledge of Italian (though Dante’s Italian, I gather, is different from modern Italian) and Italian culture would obviously be especially welcome!
Jan Tuffs
The group leader details are only available to logged in members
When do we meet?
Monthly, second Tuesday at 10.30 – 12 Noon.
Vacancies – Not at present but contact above.
What do we do?
Our aim is to promote friendship by reading a wide range of books from the classics to contemporary fiction. In addition to discussing the chosen title members are encouraged to recommend other books they may have read.
Trudy Roberts
The group leader details are only available to logged in members
When do we meet?
Second Monday morning of the month in the meeting room of BSE library.
Please contact above regarding joining
What do we do?
Our Group members decide on a range of books that they would like to read and discuss over the coming months. This results in a wide and enjoyable selection.
Joan Pawling
The group leader details are only available to logged in members
When do we meet?
Second Thursday morning of the month
What do we do?
We meet at the leaders house to discuss the previous month’s choice. Each member takes a turn in choosing so we have a wide range of authors and subjects to talk about while we enjoy coffee and biscuits.
Jo Clift
The group leader details are only available to logged in members
When do we meet?
First Thursday of month at 10.00am. in the meeting rooms of BSE library.
This group is full. Please contact the leader if you would like to be put on a waiting list or contact the Group Leader of the other Book Clubs
What do we do?
Members all help to decide which books we will read with the selection ranging from classical to contemporary authors
Ann Tomlin
The group leader details are only available to logged in members
When do we meet?
Ist Wednesday of the month at 2.30 at the Oakes Barn, St Andrews Street South
What do we do?
Members take it in turns to choose a book and introduce it and we then have a wide-ranging discussion about the book and issues arising. In the last year we have read an eclectic range of books.
Les Berry
The group leader details are only available to logged in members
When do we meet?
Second and fourth Tuesday 2.15 at Eastgate House
What do we do?
A lively, informal reading aloud and brief discussion of poems chosen by members on previously agreed themes and topics.
Angie Roques
The group leader details are only available to logged in members
When do we meet?
The Theatre Group meets quarterly in The Hyndman Centre to plan a programme of theatrical visits over the next few months.
What do we do?
We visit Theatres for Plays, Comedies, and Musicals and, also, the local Cinema for live transmissions of plays from The London Theatres and Stratford.
Over the last 12 months, our venues have included The Globe and The Menier Chocolate Factory both in Southwark;The Stamford and Regents Park open-air theatres; The Mercury, Colchester; Wolsey, Ipswich and 2 Norwich Theatres.
Anyone wishing to join should contact the Group Leader
John Rushmer
The group leader details are only available to logged in members
When do we meet?
First and third Friday mornings, September-June at 10am at a member’s home.
What do we do?
We read and study selected works of Shakespeare.
Also see Shakespeare II
John Byrne
The group leader details are only available to logged in members
When do we meet?
Second and fourth Thursdays of the month (September – June) at the Quaker’s Meeting House, Bury St Edmunds from 10am to 12am.
This is a new group (starting 8th Feb 2018).
What do we do?
We read, study and discuss a selection of Shakespeare’s plays. The idea is to have some intellectual stimulation and plenty of fun.
Eleanor Vale
The group leader details are only available to logged in members
When do we meet?
Second and fourth Monday every month from 10.30-12.00
The Group is open to new members
What do we do?
We are a small group of poets, who currently meet in the Old Cannon Brewery where we workshop our own poems in a friendly atmosphere, and discuss a different form to (hopefully) work on for the next date! Some of us have been writing for years, some are quite new to poetry, but we all welcome the chance to be be with other writers, and find ways to develop our craft.
Maggie Wotherspoon
The group leader details are only available to logged in members
When do we meet?
First Monday of the month at 10.30am
What do we do?
Members choose 1 or 2 films every month which we see independently and then meet to discuss them.
John Smith
The group leader details are only available to logged in members
When do we meet?
Monthly at 10.30am on first Thursday at the Picturehouse Cinema Cafe
What do we do?
Discuss films seen and agree what to see.
Greg Hart
The group leader details are only available to logged in members
When do we meet?
Two meetings each month; 2nd Wednesday of the month at 10.15 am upstairs at the Abbeygate Cinema.
4th Wednesday of the month at 10.15 at alternative venue for film screening.
What do we do?
Discuss and watch films ,new and old and much more.
Sorry, currently full but there is a waiting list
Martin Hayden
The group leader details are only available to logged in members
When do we meet?
First and third Thursdays, 10 am to 12, starting 20 September 2018.
Venue to be arranged
What do we do?
This group will focus on the major poems of T. S. Eliot, ‘Prufrock’, ‘Gerontion’, ‘The Wasteland’, ‘The Hollow Men’, ‘Ash Wednesday’, the ‘Ariel’ poems, and ‘Four Quartets’. For each of these, we will also look at another text (poetry or prose or play extract), published or written at about the same time. These will be drawn from a range of English and Irish writers, and European poets in translation.
