Deptford Fun Palaces

Fun Palaces is a  'celebration of arts, sciences and culture' taking place at venues around the country this weekend (4th and 5th October). Based on the premise of 'Everyone an Artist, Everyone a Scientist' the idea was first concieved of by Joan Littlewright in the 1960s. As mentioned here before, Littlewood was born in Clapham a hundred years ago this week, and lived for part of her life in Blackheath

As part of Deptford Fun Palaces there's loads of free events happening at venues across the area, most of them on Sunday 5th, including:

- the Make Believe Arts Giant Science Playground by Deptford Lounge;
- Teatro Vivo present - Grimms’ Collecting Agency- shared stories;
-  Hunt & Darton Food Fight in the  Albany Garden;
-  Dean Blunkell, Fibonacci Divine Principal, Goldsmiths, Sunday 12.15pm & 13.15pm: 'The performance starts with performers appearing and encouraging the audience to view the architecture, apprentices begin to place models of baroque style buildings while other performers mark out on the floor Fibonacci plans gradually a model cityscape is created under the direction of the architect. At the end the ensemble all dance the Fibonacci, created especially for the performance;

Fun Palaces Co-Director and Author Stella Duffy by the Deptford Lounge
(Tom Parker Photography)

- Khiyo - Market Square, Sunday Midday & 1pm - 'a London band that gives Bengali heritage music a modern, fresh sound. Its radical interpretations draw from rock, folk, and Indian and Western classical music. Khiyo';
- Stefano Di Renzo 'Hold O'n, Giffin Square, Sunday 1.30pm -  'a circus theatre show using slack rope as the base of the theatrical language, exploring the relationship between a man and the system that governs his life';
- Cirque Bijou and Nutkhut Source, Market Square, Sunday 3pm- 'When London’s sewers and underground system were first created, six tunnellers were sent underground in a secret mission to find and save the sources of London’s rivers before they became buried forever. Now, 158 years later, during building works for London’s new super-sewer, these curious long-forgotten tunnellers emerge, travelling with their giant mobile water-spurting laboratory in a burst of song, dance and acrobatic displays.  Cirque Bijou and Nutkhut invite the people of Deptford to join them as they seek the Source, in a mobile, free, outdoor show for all the family.
- Deptford Community Party, The Albany, Sunday from 4pm - 'A Bring-What-You-Can Party for all the community with live music and performance'

Map and full listing here

Music Monday: Crosswires Festival

Next Saturday May 3rd sees Crosswires Festival taking place across venues in New Cross and Deptford - the Amersham Arms, the Deptford Lounge and the Albany. There's a great and diverse line up with everything from Irish travellers songs to afro-beat electronica. Most of it's free too, with the exception of  the evening session at the Amersham.

I'm definitely going to try and get along to the Albany, where Kit and Cutter are presenting an afternoon/evening. Their folk club at the Deptford Arms and then the Old Nun's Head was great, but I think it's been a couple of years since they've put something like this on. Next week they have The Boat Band, Thomas McCarthy and more, including London Sacred Harp Singing Workshops.

There's also a 'Misguided tour of Deptford' with Radio 4/Utter's Richard Tyrone Jones; 'a mixture of local and art/community history, spoken word, urban myths and outright lies. But can you tell the difference', starting off at 1:30 pm at the New Cross Inn.

Here's a mix of some of the music to be featured in the festival:

Crosswires Festival 03/05/14 - Promo Mix www.crosswires.org.uk by Mango Park on Mixcloud

Tracklist - all acts playing at festival except Kyekyeku-Koo Nimo-Vishal Nagan (track 2)

1.Indian's Petition by London Sacred Harp
2.Pay Me Friday Night by Kyekyeku-Koo Nimo-Vishal Nagan
3.Mary Jane by Savage Henry
4.Supersonic by Amy True
5.Ball Point Pen Thief by Selectric
6.Gold Getter by Resonators
7.Marabout by Débruit
8.Labadi Warrior by The Busy Twist
9.Jibal Alnuba by Débruit & Alsarah
10.Clasped To The Pig by Thomas McCarthy

Chinese New Year in Deptford + Deptford High Street Song

 Chinese New Year was marked in Deptford in Saturday with a lion dance procession from the Deptford Lounge to the Albany, where the Yam, Yam! East and South East Asian Arts and Food Festival is now on until March 15th.

There was a classic Deptford Market moment where the lion got in a face off with a Staffordshire Bull Terrier which took offence to the lion being up in his grill.

Reverend Casy - Deptford High Street

Meanwhile Reverend Casy have written a song celebrating Deptford High Street, with a film to match. There's an interview with Chris Boddington from the band at Deptford High Street. Chris is helping put on a gig this Friday 7th February at his own Cafe Crema (306 New Cross Road). It's a Syria benefit for MSF/Doctors without Borders, with Americana & Bluegrass from Union Electric + The Union Canal String Band. 8pm. £5

Freshly Packed at Deptford Lounge

Next Saturday 17th August, Something Human present FRESHLY PACKED: EAT TO LIVE  by Peruvian performance artist Lorena Lo Peña at the Deptford Lounge (Giffin Street SE8):

'Eat to Live investigates excess and self-destructive behaviours when the body is used as the main site of punishment. Based on autobiographical experiences, the performance addresses bulimia and binge eating, highlighting how eating disorders are becoming an everyday widespread issue.

Performed in an art venue in Bogota in 2010, the work is an intervention into a completely different context: the communal café/library area on the ground floor of Deptford Lounge.This community hub in the heart of Lewisham will become the stage where passers-by will encounter Lorena’s provocative and engaging performance, where her visceral and disturbing approach will transform her body into the main locus of rejection of contemporary rhetoric about beauty and female roles'

It starts at 12 noon, and will last for 20 minutes.