Julia Darling
in Retrospect
In 1987 Julia Darling went full-time as a full-time poet, playwright and fiction writer.
This part of her web site describes some of the work produced in the course of that career.
(Her books are described on the In Print section of this site.)
Follow the links for more information about each item:
- BBC Woman's Hour
- Julia wrote a linked series of plays under the collective title of Appointments which were broadcast on BBC Woman's Hour during the week of 21st to 25th February 2005.
Julia wrote in her weblog about going to Manchester for the recording: "The actors all gave their best, and in two days the plays transferred from my muddled brain to radio".
The BBC website still carries the 7½ minute interview that Jenni Murray did with Julia in the week before the plays were broadcast.
- BBC Inside Out
- BBC1 television's Inside Out regional programme made a special feature about Julia on Monday 11th October 2004 and now the BBC website has a special feature about Julia, with extracts from her video diaries, poems, and Julia's answers to viewers' questions.
- How to Behave with the Ill
- Julia read this poem at the launch of Apology for Absence (though it isn't in that book) and now it's been made into a postcard.
- National Poetry Day 2004
- Julia Darling presided at a Feast of Poetry held
at the Literary & Philosophical Society on National Poetry Day, Thursday 7th October 2004, when the subject, as you might infer, was FOOD.
- Sudden Blossoms
- On May 25th 2004 the Cumberland Arms was sold out: Julia Darling and Tim Dalling performing new work, and reading from Sudden Collapses In Public Places, and Blossom.
- The Manifesto For Tyneside Upon England
- On 30 April 2004, as part of the Flying Homages event at Northern Stage, to tie in with Homage to Catalonia on the main stage, Julia presented her manifesto.
- The Great British Public
- In March 2004, Julia contributed this piece to a programme on BBC Radio 4.
- The Lost Birds of England
- Thursday October 9th 2003 was National Poetry Day, and as part of it, Julia and a number of other poets were given the command to "Go Somewhere Small and Write a Poem about It."
Julia's poem is called The Lost Birds of England, written, she says, in one mad afternoon. Subsequently, Julia redrafted the poem so here's an opportunity to see the poet's mind at work: the original poem, the redrafted version, and the two side-by-side.
- Julia listed her top ten books about Northern England
- for Guardian Unlimited Books on 27 March 2003.
- Attachments
- is a play about a hoover salesman and a anaesthetist. There are nozzles, suckers, vacuum bags and offers of lifelong guarantees. It's about love and loyalty, and honesty. It's funny, explosive and sad too.
- Cold Calling
- is Julia's television adaptation of Attachments for Tyne Tees Television.
- The Writer's Choice
- Julia was Writer In Residence at Live Theatre with Sean O'Brien. In January/February 2003 they introduced four events at that venue.
- Doughnuts like Fanny's
- Fanny Cradock was an extraordinary woman. She was the first celebrity TV cook. We remember her strange mask-like face on our black and white TV, ordering husband Johnnie about as she strutted between counter and cooker. But what was she really like? Julia Darling's play uses music and comedy to uncover the woman behind the mask.
- Personal Belongings
- This one-woman show with Zoë Lambert was performed at Live Theatre in mid-February 2002 and again at the Edinburgh Fringe in August. It's an hour long comedy with beautiful country and
western songs arranged by Dave Scott of Kathryn Williams fame. With a video and an audio clip.
- The Last Post and Posties
- The Last Post is an offbeat look at letters and their power and importance in people's lives. It asks questions about how people communicate with each other and in this age of computers and cyber communication, what part does letter writing still play in people's relationships with each other? Julia adapted this play into five short plays, Posties, which were broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2003. You can still listen to these plays...
- Eating the Elephant
- This play, based on Julia's experience of breast cancer, was produced by the Ashton Group Contemporary Theatre and toured in the autumn of 1998. Eating The Elephant is the funny and moving story of an unlikely friendship. It was nominated for three awards.
- Reflective Practice through Writing
- Julia was the tutor at a number of workshops for doctors and other medical practicioners.
This work got a favourable review in the Education Guardian of February 3 2004. Here is an example of the feedback from these courses and the publicity for a typical one:
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