So there's been this rather amazing happening in Bristol over the past few weeks - Sanctum, an initiative of American artist and initiator of public art projects, Theaster Gates. For 24 days, there was continuous, 24-hour sound of one sort or another in a brand-new structure which was built for this purpose inside the ruins of Temple Church in the centre of the city. And the sound? That was provided by hundreds of Bristol-based performers (and they let in a few non-Bristolians!) playing music, talking, reading, or creating in other ways! I was delighted to have been offered 3 slots - one at midnight, one at 2.40am (!) and one today at noon - to read some of my short stories and poems.
The whole experience was magical! Each performance had a different feel - Sanctum didn't release a programme, so people turned up not knowing who or what they would hear. I wandered by several times just to see what was playing...
At my midnight reading on Oct 31st there were rather a lot of zombies, it being Halloween... And at 2.40am, where I had expected it would just be me and the sound guys, there were 4 audience members and 3 staff! Today, I followed the amazing Tribe of Peace, a drumming and musical ensemble that had everyone dancing. I changed the atmosphere a little by reading mostly science-inspired short short stories and poetry for 20 minutes... if you'd like to listen, here it is!
