News
Swallows and Armenians – An Actor Musician Production!
Taking a bow at The Chelsea Theatre, World’s End, London. Image: Karen Morley Chesworth
We are delighted to present Swallows and Armenians – the film of the Play, free of charge to view on YouTube, here.
Our actor-musician production of Swallows and Armenians was a great success and toured to The Chelsea Theatre, World’s End, London 20 & 21 June and then onto stage@leeds, University of Leeds on the 27 June 2025, playing to an incredible 770 people for 5 performances, over 3 days.
Our audience described the experience as: revealing, contentious, uplifting, anti-racist, humanist, nostalgic and timeless. Peter Wright, a former Chairman for The Arthur Ransome Society (TARS) came to see the show in Leeds. He described it as a ‘beautifully scripted play’ and wrote: “The whole production was a joy to watch and the packed audience, including many children, sat enraptured. The long and enthusiastic ovation at the end paid testament to what an entertaining play we had enjoyed.”
Swallows and Armenians gave exciting and meaningful work opportunities to 10 talented young creatives and raised awareness of the diversity and rich cultural history of the real family at the heart of a classic book of English Literature, celebrating the ethnic richness within British culture.
Shakeh Major Tchilingirian leads the Circle of Life dance with members of the cast and audience, outside The Chelsea Theatre, London.
Image: Persia Babayan-Taylor
The Circle of Life, Armenian Circle Dance following each performance was led by renown dance artist and choreographer Shakeh Major Tchilingirian; it unified cast and audiences in a show of solidarity, honouring all victims of past and present atrocities, affirming the value of every life and our shared resolve to oppose injustice and inhumanity.
As part of the legacy of the project, a book of the script has been published by Wild Pansy Press and can be purchased here
We are very grateful to the National Lottery via Arts Council, England and our supporters through JustGiving, for making our dreams come true! Further photos and information can be found in the Swallows and Armenians section of this website.
Other news!
PLOT
I am thrilled to be one of 20 creatives from a wide range of disciplines, of which 7 are authors, to have been commissioned by Jonathan Ward of making space-design.com to write a 1000 word work on the theme of the word PLOT. The resulting folio of artists books and a publication will be published by Tangent Publishers for wider dissemination and placement in libraries and collections. A series of exhibitions and events will present PLOT to a wide range of audiences during 2025.
At the Promised Place : Expanding Imagination Through Book Art – November 15, 2025 – January 18, 2026
Two of my Artist’s books, Swallows and Armenians and Lavashak & Other Stories are to be shown in Japan in 2026 at the Urawa Art Museum, Saitama City, JAPAN.
Click here to learn more.