Are you a young actor or poet aged 12-16? Are you a Bard Without Borders?!

Join theatre director Arne Pohlmeieir and poet Laila Sumpton – the co-founders of Bards Without Borders to explore both Shakespeare and refugee rights. Write your own monologue and dialogues and investigate what the bard had to say about exile and strangers in his play ‘The Comedy of Errors.’

Dive into this tale of twins torn apart by a terrible storm and their warring nations through drama and creative writing activities. If your twin now lived in an ‘enemy nation’ what would you do?

In the Shakespeare Memorial Library on Floor 9 of the Library of Birmingham you can also visit “You can see me, but I don’t exist” an exhibition of photography by Alan Gignoux and creative writing by refugees living in Birmingham, London, and Manchester (open 11-7 Monday & Tuesday, 11-5 Wednesday-Friday). Poems about the present day lived experiences of those seeking sanctuary will help us bridge past and present.

About Bards Without Borders

Bards Without Borders was founded by poet Laila Sumpton and theatre director Arne Pohlmeier in 2016 for the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death. We support the creative development of refugee and migrant poets and our show, debating whether or not the Bard should be buried, included new poetry in 10 different languages and toured to over 20 venues. We also delivered a series of school workshops on global Shakespeare in libraries and are excited to be back in the Library of Birmingham and to work with the Everything to Everybody Project.

The workshop is FREE but please secure your place on the Eventbrite booking page.