TALK AT ROYAL HOLLOWAY UNIVERSITY OF LONDON

FEBRUARY 2024

A Talk by Julia Pascal

Hosted by The Writing Society, Royal Holloway University of London

7 FEBRUARY 2024

How to create exciting stage characters from history?

This was my question to the audience of my talk to the Writing Society at RHUL.

I shared the journey of creating an Eleanor Marx for today.  My mission was to represent the daughter of Karl Marx without referencing the father. I explored the use of song and dance to lift a character from a history book on to a contemporary stage and evoke atmosphere, dreams and desire.

Marx came to life at the 2022 Bloomsbury Festival Dancing, Trailblazing, Taboo! Eleanor Marx: A Life in Movement Bloomsbury Festival 2022 – Pascal Theatre Company (pascal-theatre.com). But this most famous Marx will not be silenced. She keeps demanding to be heard.

Julia Pascal

Director, Pascal Theatre Company

Playwright, director, journalist.

Student feedback summary:

Students remarked on how the non-standard lecture format which included recordings and a Q & A session was engaging.  They were interested to learn about Julia’s creative processes and projects and the background that feeds into her work.

Lottery Heritage Fund supports Women for Women and the dramatisation of Eleanor Marx is part of this larger initiative.