Jess Murrain is a theatre-maker, actor, filmmaker, poet and co-founder of Theatre with Legs – an experimental theatre company. Jess will lead sessions that inspire and expand your creative writing practice. The workshops will focus on different hybrid forms and styles of writing and different ways ‘in’ to writing, mainly through the lens of poetry and poetic form.

This series of 6 workshops will focus on developing your technique and expanding your creative writing practice in the spirit of sharing, support and collectivity. It will focus on widening your practice through play and experimentation and it will introduce a broad range of contemporary poetry, fiction and essay. It will also help you develop your draft poems/writing experiments through a combination of collaborative and supportive feedback, practical exercises, and in-depth discussion.

Jess will also be tailoring sessions based on the group’s interest and in direct response to the Gallery and Museum’s current exhibitions. You will work with various textures to help us begin writing such as using sound, art pieces, image and music as playful writing prompts. No prior poetry experience is necessary and all levels of experience will be supported by Jess.  

(Jess strongly encourages those underrepresented in the writing and creative community to get involved, such as global majority people, LGBTQI+ people, anyone with learning disability, physical disability, mental health issues, neurodivergent people and those from working class backgrounds.)

Biography

Jess Murrain’s poetry has appeared in various online and print publications including bath magg, Magma, Tentacular, Under the Radar and Queerlings. Jess was a part of the Southbank Centre’s inaugural poetry collective 21/22. In 2021 she won the Ledbury Poetry Competition and won silver in Creative Future Writers’ Award. Her poetry-film series ‘WE KINGS’ is soon to be screened with her poetry-film ‘Stageplay’ which was winner of this year’s Outspoken Prize for Poetry. Her debut poetry pamphlet, ‘One Woman-Horse Show’ was published in 2022 by Bad Betty Press. Jess is a trained and experienced workshop facilitator specialising in teaching poetry and devised theatre.

These sessions are generously supported by and in partnership with Creative Future. Tickets are free but limited so please book via Eventbrite.

About Bethlem Gallery workshops

Under 16’s must be accompanied by an adult. Concessions are available for SLaM service users, people over 60, students, people receiving ESA, people registered disabled and their carers. We often take photos at our workshops to use on social media – please speak to the facilitator if you do not want to appear in any photos.

If you are unable to attend the workshop, please contact us to cancel your place. We often have a waiting list and concessions places are extremely popular.