Dulwich Players at Bell House

The scripts are down, the costumes are gathered and show week is rapidly approaching; all the Dulwich Players need now is an idyllic setting in which to bring Philip Pullman’s interpretation of the Grimms’ Fairy Tales to life. Happily for us, we have just that in the gardens of Bell House.

While most of the rest of the cast had already seen the gardens, last Sunday was my first opportunity to climb Rapunzel’s tower, shelter under the good wife’s juniper tree and accompany the old king to his final resting place, surrounded by roses. Bringing all of these characters to life in the sunshine at Bell House, enveloped by the smells and colours of the borders, really does feel like we are drawing them out of their dusty old tomes and into the real world, albeit one sheltered from the hubbub of modern life.

It isn’t the first time that I have performed an outdoor production and many of the Dulwich Players are old hands at it, but this version of Grimms’ Fairy Tales is something new for all of us; not only will we each being embodying a whole host of characters (and the plethora of accents which comes with that), but we will be taking the audience with us on a very literal journey through the meadows and bowers of fairyland. Interacting with the garden is both refreshing and unsettling: no more ‘could you just move that chair to the left a bit?’, as ‘the chair’ is suddenly a metal globe, or a tree, or a bridge, none of which are going anywhere. Now it is up to us to meld with the space and be part of the Bell House's garden.

Performing these short plays in a garden makes perfect sense, and brings a whole new dimension to these ancient stories. Fairytales are all about how the human and the natural intermingle, be it hedgehog-boys, magical singing birds or life-giving leaves. You are warmly invited to explore it with us.

Performances are on in the gardens of Bell House - Thursday 21st June and Friday 22nd at 8pm, Saturday 23rd at 5pm and 8pm, and Sunday 24th at 2pm and 5pm.

As this is an outdoor performance, please come prepared for the weather. You are welcome to bring your own seating or hire it from us.

Tickets available from Bell House, at www.dulwichplayers.org or from Art Stationers

Philippa Watts

The Dulwich Sourdough Course at Bell House

A group of “bakers in the making” gathered at Bell House on Saturday 26th May to learn to art of sourdough bread making from local baker Christopher Garner. We were a mixed bunch: ranging from experts who wanted to learn more, down to complete novices.

With only three ingredients, flour, water and salt, sourdough should be easy to make. Christopher explained the science behind sourdough: it is a method that uses wild yeast and lactobacilli that are naturally present in the flour grain. The acidity of the loaf is created by the lactic acid produced by the bacteria and the holes are from carbon dioxide made by the yeast.

We started by making our own sourdough starter: organic dark rye flour and water. This was set aside ready to take home and nurture lovingly like another child… we were even encouraged to give it a name! Mine is called Bubbles.

As ours wouldn’t be ready for at least a week, Christopher introduced us to his three and a half year old sourdough starter, Dominic. He had made a “Barm” which is a mixture of starter, flour and water the night before. The Barm was combined with white flour and water to make a soft dough. Salt was added last as it mustn’t come into direct contact with the yeast. We kneaded vigorously, although not for too long, learnt about the windowpane method, where a small amount of dough is stretched thinly, to check if the dough is ready, folded the dough and left it to prove.

About four hours later our beautiful loaves came out of the oven.

Kneading away!

Fresh loaves 

The sunny garden was perfect for a delicious lunch of homemade soup, bread and cheese before we headed back into the kitchen to make a cottage loaf using a conventional yeast dough. We went home with bags full of fresh bread which tasted all the better for having mixed our laughter and labour into them.

“We really enjoyed the workshop on Saturday. Thank you very much. Everything was spot on.”

“I hope your starter is alive and kicking?! My ´Tomba’ is doing well and is very bubbly!!”

“Looking forward to the next workshop with Christopher on brioche or croissants!”

Artists’ Open House 2018 at Bell House

Pip Rice and Ben Rice are showing their work at Bell House this weekend as part of the Dulwich Festival’s Artists’ Open House and they will be available both days to talk about their inspirations and processes. Rod Wynne-Powell has taken some photos to give you a flavour of their work and how the setting of Bell House complements the exhibits.

Pip Rice’s woventales evolve from the twigs, leaves, bark and metal she finds in South London. Often her strategy is simply taking a walk on a windy day, peering in skips, or listening out for chain saws. For this exhibition she has foraged the Bell House garden for brambles, willow, beech, rose and birch but also rummaged the wider neighbourhood for urban flotsam and jetsam such as rope, netting, copper wire or scrap metal. Once back in her workshop, the textures and qualities of the materials guide her and together with her traditional and experimental weaving techniques she then produces exquisite forms. Each piece, whether functional or sculptural, is always unique.

Ben Rice is a photographic artist. At Bell House he is exhibiting large and dramatic prints illustrating nature’s reclamation of dry stone walls and they are creating quite a stir at Bell House as people debate whether they are photographs or real living wall. Ben himself wonders whether they are landscape, still life, portrait, or even abstract. He is also showing stunning views of a single urban wild cherry tree from Peckham Rye, isolated from its environment and deeply striking in its solitude. When viewed close up his prints offer a startling clarity of detail far beyond the normal gaze. He is also showing a more modestly-sized series inspired by the nuances of Japanese culture as seen through the prism of elegantly placed bicycles. The bicycles are his jumping off point for exploring Japanese architecture, design and even character.

The exhibition is open at Bell House from 11am to 6pm, Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 May. Rod Wynne-Powell’s account of its opening can be found here

Picasso 1932: Love, Fame, Tragedy - A Talk at Bell House

“For those who know how to read I have painted my autobiography”

Last week, Rosalind Whyte came to Bell House again to talk about the new Picasso exhibition at the Tate Modern, as part of the ongoing series of art lectures at Bell House. The lecture on Picasso 1932: Love, Fame, Tragedy was completely sold out, and for good reason.

1932 was a marvellous year for Picasso; it is unsurprising the Tate Modern have curated a whole exhibition focused on it. Wondering whether to go see Picasso at the Tate? Already braved the crowds? Read on for four surprising facts about the art  in this exhibition…

1)    The autobiographical nature of the paintings in this exhibition are fascinating. Rosalind Whyte told us that Picasso said, “The work one does is a kind of way of keeping a diary”. Indeed, Picasso 1932: Love, Fame, Tragedy includes works that span Picasso’s meteoric rise to fame in the art world, and carefully depicts his passionate love affair with Marie-Therese. It was an “intensely creative period” in Picasso’s career, and some of his works were completed astoundingly quickly.

2)    Tension between opposing forces is a common thread drawing this exhibition together. Some are more obvious, such as the opposition of Olga (Picasso’s wife) and Marie-Thérèse (Picasso’s mistress) in his work earlier in the year. Others are more subtle, and only apparent when explained by an expert such as Rosalind. For example, Picasso’s own struggles with his development as an artist bleed through– his dilemma over whether to pursue sculpture or painting (a tough choice also faced by Amedeo Modigliani)

3)    Picasso was influenced by an octopus. Yep, an octopus. Not long before 1932, Picasso’s friend Jean Painleve shot The Octopus. Whyte believes this may have had a profound effect on Picasso, as can be seen in his portrayals of Marie- Thérèse as an almost octopus-like form in Reclining Nude, 1932. Indeed, Painleve’s film is shown alongside these works in the exhibition.

4)    Playing with reflections and a seemingly double vision was common when painting Marie- Thérèse. Often painted as having a double face, Picasso was able to gently suggest the many dimensions of his lover. But what was the purpose of this? Was it to invoke ideas of the sun and moon? Chronicle how she aged? Or suggest that, with all these facets, Marie- Thérèse was everything Picasso was looking for in a woman?

1932 was charged with love, lust, loss and fame for Picasso. Rosalind Whyte took all of us at the Bell House talk on a fascinating journey; guiding us through these tumultuous months, and the wonderful art that came of it.

Our series of art lectures continue later in May, with a talk on the Royal Academy’s ‘Charles I: King and Collector’, given by Graham Greenfield. Buy tickets below.

Dulwich Society local history talks at Bell House

Ian McInnes gave two different and fascinating talks at Bell House recently. We even had somebody attend whose great-grandmother had been born in Bell House in 1836. The first talk was centred on Dulwich’s Georgian heritage: the buildings, and the families who lived in them. He revealed a tangle of family connections with people moving into different houses around the village and he showed us how small Dulwich was in Georgian times. He told us about Thomas Wright, who built Bell House as a country retreat for his family, away from the noise and smell of the City of London. It was Wright who charitably installed the bell to help summon local men to fight fires in the hamlet of Dulwich.

1823 map showing an undeveloped Dulwich

Ian’s second talk focused on Victorian Dulwich and again showed us that, just as now, Dulwich was a convivial and connected place. People knew each other, they worked and socialised together, and they brought their friends and family from other parts of the country to live in Dulwich. George Widdowson, for example, a jeweller who made swords, medals, and other regalia, lived at both Bell House and the White House (now replaced by St Austin’s, where James Allen’s Prep. School is based). He brought his sister and also a brother-in-law to live in Dulwich.

Bell House in Victorian times

The pace of change in Victorian Dulwich was slower than in most of London and even into the twentieth century a small number of farms still supplied milk to local houses. But when the trains came the Victorian building boom made its mark here, especially in East Dulwich. Dulwich Village retained much of its open land, and still does, because the fields were converted into playing fields.

These two talks were the first of a series we are planning at Bell House, highlighting the local history of Dulwich. They will take place on Sunday afternoons. If you have any particular areas of local history you would like to see covered please let us know: [email protected] or visit the Dulwich Society website to learn more: https://www.dulwichsociety.com/