The Corridor from Darenth Park

'Walking, singing down a country road, we will go together" Percy Kerr

Many older people with learning disabilities from Southwark, Lewisham and Lambeth, spent much of their lives in Darenth Park Hospital, an institution for the 'mentally handicapped' in Kent. When the hospital closed in 1988, many people returned to live in the communities from which they were once removed.

The Corridor from Darenth Park was an exhibition of transcribed recorded conversation and photographs with three older men who had spent the majority of their lives in Darenth Park. The exhibition was shown at pensioner and community cenres in South East London and provided a space for others to record and share their experiences. Two of the men later performed their stories in a recording studio and at Entelechy Tea Dances at The Deptford Albany and in the Queen Elisabeth Hall Foyer.

'Really effective as a witness to people hidden away in history'
Exhibition visitor

'A very good exhibition, carefully crafted and especially effective in getting one to think about how things have been and are'
Exhibition visitor

Clicks

The clicks of the domino match, the typewriter keys, the key in the lock , the tap dance, the castanets, the sound of stones on the playground floor, the old ticket machines, the old phone receiver, the spoons, bones, high heels, fingers, blakies, the sound of the football rattle...

'Clicks ' was an older people music theatre event at the Indo-Chinese Centre in Deptford, exploring sound and memory, and different cultural journeys. The event grew from the memories of 'clicks' in peoples lives during the last century, bringing together the different experiences, stories and memories of older people from Lewisham.

The project worked with groups of older people, through a series of separate compositions, followed by encounters where work was shared between the project participants, and leading finally to as single performance

The event grew from facilitated sessions at the Deptford Albany and The Rose Apple Club with groups of older people, from diverse backgrounds, exploring the memory of 'clicks' in their lives, bringing together a rich collection of different experiences, stories and memories. The sessions and event itself involved members in live theatre an music performances and story-telling:

Beyond the Tea Dance at The Deptford Albany

A multi-media event, involving more than 120 people from Southwark and Lewisham, as performers, participants and audience. The event included:

• Video projections, including footage of old films, an Entelechy member's interview on the BBC's 'Disabled Century', the May Tea Dance event at The Peckham Pulse Healthy Living Centre.
• CD ROM audio visual package of Entelechy member's 'Hopping' stories. Each table had a lap top computer on which to play this. Entelechy had worked on this project with Lewisham Community Education.
• Slide projection of visual art work produced by members of Entelechy and Southwark Older Learners 'Crafting our Memories' group
• Live music with performances
• Audio material: pre-recorded conversations and stories of Entelechy members

Beyond the Tea Dance in St Mary's Gardens, Rotherhithe

The event was part of the Rotherhithe Millennium Festival in collaboration with the Time & Talents Centre. The event was hosted by Entelechy's Beyond the Tea Dance and brought together more than 100 performers, participants and audience. Other Beyond The Tea Dance events have happened at… Kingswood House, The Peckham Pulse Healthy Living Centre, The Queen Elisabeth Hall Foyer, The Goldsmiths Arts Festival.

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