Creative Writing Students Bring History to Life at Dragon Hall

A diverse group of budding writers from City College Norwich will be bringing a taste of medieval life to the public next week with a display of their creative efforts at the historic Dragon Hall. Both the spoken and written word will be used to bring the past to life through displays, poetry readings, music, videos and re-enactments of characters from the period.

At the grand opening on Friday 19 March you can expect to be welcomed by Robert Toppes, the wealthy merchant who built Dragon Hall along with Dame Julian and a band of merchant sailors who will take you on a tour of the hall and demonstrate some of the customs of the time. This piece of performance art, written solely by students, will be accompanied by the rock band “Let There Baroque”, poetry performances both live and pre-recorded, text based sculpture and creative writing pieces all inspired by the time.
 
The students behind the show are all studying the Access to Creative Writing course at City College Norwich, a one year course designed to prepare students for Higher Education courses in areas such as Art, Literature, Humanities and English and equip them for a wide range of careers.
 
The course requires no previous experience and qualifications, just a passion for writing and has attracted a diverse range of applicants of all ages and backgrounds. Many students have already secured places on higher education courses to study creative writing, film making, media, drama and journalism.
 
Amanda Addison, Lecturer in Creative Arts said: “We are really excited to be hosting this event at Dragon Hall. We were looking for a venue with lots of history to provide inspiration for all the creative writing pieces students have been working on. The course covers a wide range of writing exercises but opportunities for students to present their work to the public are very important, whether through the written word, performance art or recordings and readings”.
 
Student Anna Duarte, 21, said: “I took the Access course as I wanted to improve my English and get onto a university degree. I always enjoyed writing in Portuguese and I would like to reach the same level with my English. I used to translate words from Portuguese in the beginning but I do that less and less now and I’m much more confident. I’m applying to university to study film making.”
 
Student Ed Jones, 22, said: “I have dyslexia but have found there is good support available at college. You don’t have to be great at spelling to be a great writer. The course is entertaining and has helped me improve my confidence as a writer.”
 
Although the exhibition will be staffed throughout its duration, for a truly historical experience the public are invited to the grand opening evening where all of the performers will be on hand to impart some history over a glass of wine.
 
The exhibition is open to the public 10am – 4pm, Monday – Saturday, from Wednesday 17 March to Friday 26 March. Grand Opening event Friday 19th March 5.30pm – 7.30pm.