28 April

Soap operas for social change

The Archers, courtesy BBC

This post comes to you from Ashden Directory

Kellie Gutman writes;

The BBC have looked into soap operas as agents for social change and have discovered in some cases they have changed the world.  From the longest-running program, The Archers, which encouraged farmers in the 1950s to increase production by trying out new techniques, to a BBC radio program in Afghanistan, calledNew Home, on women’s rights, which taught listeners how to avoid land mines, the soap opera has had a significant influence.

A two-part programme on Your World (part 1, 21 April; part 2, 28 April) can be heard here.

“ashdenizen blog and twitter are consistently among the best sources for information and reflection on developments in the field of arts and climate change in the UK” (2020 Network)

ashdenizen is edited by Robert Butler, and is the blog associated with the Ashden Directory, a website focusing on environment and performance.
The Ashden Directory is edited by Robert Butler and Wallace Heim, with associate editor Kellie Gutman. The Directory includes features, interviews, news, a timeline and a database of ecologically – themed productions since 1893 in the United Kingdom. Our own projects include ‘New Metaphors for Sustainability’, ‘Flowers Onstage’ and ‘Six ways to look at climate change and theatre’.

The Directory has been live since 2000.

Go to The Ashden Directory

Sustainable Solutions for a Fair Future – monthly public talks at Arcola Theatre

From April 2011 Arcola, alongside Hackney and Tower Hamlets Friends of the Earth group, are hosting a series of monthly, expert-led talks around exciting and challenging aspects of sustainability. Our overaraching theme is innovation, and tangible solutions to the sustainability issues of both today and tomorrow.

For an overview of the series of talks, please see HERE. They take place on the last Thursday of each month, from 6 – 7.30pm, at Arcola Theatre 

Our first speaker on 28 April is Sue Riddlestone, of BioRegional.  Information coming soon on her proposed topic – which will undoubtedly fire up conversation and inspire new thought.

Look forward to seeing you there.

All the best
Arcola Energy Team