The Brunel Writer Prize is awarded to the student who achieves the highest graded non-fiction article submission for the Creative Industries module on Brunel University’s Creative Writing programme. The piece of non-fiction should be ‘fresh, original, compelling and well balanced’. The winner of this year’s prize is Tom Hull for his review of Moonlight.

How La La Land er… Moonlight brought classic romance back to the silver screen this season

As Moonlight opens onto a shot of Mahershala Ali driving to the old-school soul soundtrack of Boris Gardiner’s Every N***** Is A Star, from the outset Barry Jenkins’ film tells us this story is by black people, for black people. Controversial it may be, but Moonlight brings to the mainstream screen for the first time an understated portrait of ordinary lives that are usually either a headline or a punchline. And yet I saw Moonlight (before it won Best Picture in a live mishap guaranteed to generate all the publicity a filmmaker could hope for) in an independent cinema with a small audience, mostly elderly. In the current global political climate, perhaps it’s unsurprising that a black queer coming-of-age narrative is the underdog that Odeon and its ilk weren’t banking on. The film only shines brighter for this: a masterful bildungsroman that doesn’t need to shove its message in our faces.

Based upon Tarell Alvin McCraney’s play In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue, it tells the story of troubled Chiron, growing up in Miami and falling in love with his best friend. The narrative splits into three parts, for the protagonist’s three nicknames: as a child ‘Little’, as a teenager ‘Chiron’, and ‘Black’ as an adult. The world is unflinchingly current, with contemporary slang throughout (so much so that in the screening I attended, subtitles were used, serving as a dry symbol of the gap between the world of the film and that audience). The story, however, is as classic as the Odyssey: young man faces troubles, has the help of a mentor (a deservedly Oscar-winning Ali), and finally must go it alone and accept himself. It’s a life story, and crucially a love story: childhood sweetheart Kevin is a constant, and though accepting his sexuality is Chiron’s core struggle, cheesy coming-out tropes are crucially avoided, and the romantic content is minimal yet touching.

Outside of its cultural significance, how does the film work? Visually, it’s a treat. In an industry full of washed-out grey films, Moonlight comes to life in striking colour; particularly in a scene where Little stands alone in a garden and is, simply and naturalistically, lit up in blue moonlight, not a word spoken. It’s this artistic cinematography, combining with Nicholas Britell’s haunting classical soundtrack, that frames a stripped-back screenplay that doesn’t have a word of dialogue more than it needs. Chiron says very little, but the dialogue doesn’t feel lacking. It’s a hearkening to a basic cinematic staple: show, don’t tell.

The cast is strong: the child actors are notable; Alex R. Hibbert a solemn and gentle little boy, and yet we fully believe that Trevante Rhodes’s swaggering, built adult Black is the same individual – particularly impressive considering the actors never met each other during filming. Although the narrative is male-driven, Janelle Monae makes much of her small role and Naomie Harris gives a career-peaking performance as Chiron’s addict mother, both tyrant and victim. André Holland is a good foil for Rhodes as Kevin, though his screentime is limited. Plot-wise, one fault is that at times the action is too minimal: without spoiling, the final chapter, ‘Black’, feels as though it stops short; we’re given no time to learn about the intervening years before the narrative abruptly resolves itself. The film is nearly two hours long, but would have benefited from filling some of its empty spaces.

Moonlight might be a hard sell for some, particularly the closed-minded, or those who’d accuse it of simply seeking brownie points with its subject matter. Certainly, much of the film is no picnic, but that’s what makes its quiet message of self-acceptance so important – and that it comes together as an artistic triumph certainly helps. The cinema window may have gone, but don’t pass up the Blu-Ray: Moonlight lives up to the hype.

Tom Hull 

Tom Hull is a writer, reader, and admirer of dogs. Born and raised in Oxford, he is mostly preoccupied with being petty on the internet whilst trying to finish his first novel. His prose and poetry have been published five times, most recently in The Teenagers Company. If you have a picture of a dog to send him, you can do so on Twitter.

Creative Writing at Brunel presents some of Britain’s most exciting writers

THE WRITERS SERIES – AUTUMN 2016.

All events take place at Brunel Library and are hosted by Bernardine Evaristo, Professor of Creative Writing at Brunel. Writers include Roger Robinson & Nick Makoha; Sarah Howe & Mona Arshi; Joelle Taylor; Matthew De Abaitua; Max Kinnings & Frazer Lee; and Wendy Jones.

To view the poster that includes all dates, times and further details, please follow the link below:

creative_writing_writers_series

The second Hillingdon Literary Festival is running a creative writing competition based on the theme, Writing Local / Thinking Global. The entries will be judged by a panel, including Benjamin Zephaniah, Philip Tew, Suzi Feay and Courttia Newland. The shortlisted works will be published in an anthology of the same name and available at the Hillingdon Literary Festival for free. The winner will receive a £250 prize too.

The word limit is 2,500. Submissions must be received by 15^th August 2016. Please email: LiteraryFestival@brunel.ac.uk.

For more information regarding the competition and for details of the festival itself, please go to: www.hillingdonliteraryfestival.com. Over the course of the weekend, there will be over 28 acclaimed authors and poets who will be reading and discussing their work. All sessions are free and there will also be food and drink available at the Duckpond Market along with books to buy, signings, live music – and sunshine guaranteed!

The Brunel Writer Prize is awarded to the student who achieves the highest graded non-fiction article submission for the Creative Industries module on Brunel University’s Creative Writing programme. The piece of non-fiction should be ‘fresh, original, compelling and well balanced’. The winner of this year’s inaugural prize is Lorna Martin for her review of Jamie Lloyd’s recent production of Doctor Faustus at the Duke of York’s Theatre.

Congratulations to Lorna. Read the review below:

WHAT THE HELL? – A REVIEW OF JAMIE LLOYD’S DOCTOR FAUSTUS (9th April – 25th June 2016)

Jamie Lloyd’s production is like a Faustian pact; it starts off with excitement and intrigue, but quickly descends into something awful. This review will contain spoilers.

The house lights fade. On stage, Faustus (Game of Thrones’s Kit Harington) lies on a bed, his eyes glued to a television screen, while his student and later personal-assistant-cum-love-interest Wagner (Jade Anouka) symbolically cleans in the background. The set is hyper-realistic, showing a mundane looking flat, bedroom and living space in front with a kitchen towards the back of the stage. So far, so intriguing.

The first section combines physical theatre, music and an imaginative use of the set to bring the pact scene to life. Harington’s Faustus, frustrated by his own weakness, keeps us interested throughout the initial monologue, and although the modern update occasionally felt forced (an Apple Mac instead of “my books”) the juxtaposition of the mundane setting and the devils constantly lurking in the background is deeply unsettling. Particularly effective is the rising chaos of the stage, which gradually got messier as blood and black powder was trodden everywhere by barefoot actors. What really drives these scenes though, is the power of Marlowe’s text. When that is replaced with Colin Teevan’s new scenes, the production completely loses its philosophical depth, moving from deep questions of morality to something more resembling a soap opera.

On its own, Teevan’s writing could have been good, and there were moments where his talent shone through. However, anything would pale in comparison to a play which has endured for over 400 years. I felt like I was watching two plays, with completely different characters and themes. The production’s focus on celebrity culture felt simultaneously irrelevant and too obvious; the bizarre scene where Faustus takes out six FBI agents in the shower left me totally confused. A few other questionable moments – a man playing a pregnant woman in a ridiculously camp falsetto voice, a borderline transphobic joke where a man and woman have their genitals switched, not to mention the unnecessarily graphic rape of Wagner – made this production uncomfortable for all the wrong reasons.

Jenna Russell’s Mephistopheles is moving, her speeches about losing God’s love especially poignant. Unfortunately, the play quickly becomes a love triangle, with Mephistopheles and Wagner suddenly competing for Faustus’s romantic attention. By positing Wagner as the symbolic ‘goodness’, the production attempts to make Faustus’s struggle between God and the Devil more understandable to a modern audience.

However, instead of tired old tropes which are at best boring, and at worst sexist, I wish I had been trusted to understand that Heaven and Hell were metaphors that could stand alone. I wish that Marlowe’s subtlety and the beauty of his writing could have been more than just an opening and conclusion tacked on the end. Frankly, I wish the production had been more mature, subtle and true to the themes of the text. The two angels in the opening scenes were a beautiful and original take on a concept which could easily feel out of place in a modern production; clearly it was possible to update the play without rewriting it. I would have loved to see Lloyd’s take on certain scenes from Marlowe; instead, by the second act I was ready to sell my soul to the devil in exchange for being allowed to leave.

In the play, Faustus’s time on Earth seems to fly by inhumanly quickly. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for this production. When the curtain finally fell, I heard the woman sitting next to me mutter, “What the hell.” I have to say I agree with her.

Lorna Martin

Lorna Martin is usually writing something creative or having opinions. Her current projects include developing a short horror screenplay for Lincoln Japan Festival, and working on her first poetry pamphlet. Lorna’s work has been published in Roulade Magazine and you can read her film reviews at Blueprint: Review.

It’s time to put on your best party hat and bake that cake, because The London Writers’ Café is turning ten this month.

It’s been a decade since Susan Jones, a playwright, set up The London Writers’ Café. While it started as a group for Jones and her friends to share work, it has since grown to almost three thousand members.

In 2010, Lisa Goll took over as the group’s leader and organizer. With her background in marketing for publishing and media companies, she has been able to take the community forward and expand. ‘It’s great as a creative writing group but it’s even better when it develops, when it helps people develop,’ she said.

As a member of The London Writers’ Café you have an array of formats to choose from. They do feedback sessions where some members read their work. ‘It’s up to people, there’s never any pressure to read,’ said Goll, who moderates these meet ups. ‘I make sure that it’s all really constructive and the person goes away with some positive notes and perhaps some room for improvement.’

There are also workshops to attend, run by professional teachers and lecturers giving classes on specific Creative Writing topics. But that’s not all; Goll also organizes talks by publishers, literary agents, editors and authors, giving members a chance to learn more about the industry and make connections.

Another perk of joining is the LWC’s sponsors. Goll revealed that ‘some of them offer special discounts and offers for members. You get access to organisations, competitions and information that perhaps it’d be harder to find if you’re on your own.’

The group is diverse, catering to all types of fiction writers, from novelists to screenwriters, from playwrights to poets, the forms are broad and varied. Goll is confident that this mixture is strongly beneficial for the members. ‘They can learn from each other,’ she said. But it’s not only the forms that set the writers apart. Goll revealed that ‘they’re different ages and from all different backgrounds. They’re all from very beginner up to people who have perhaps finished one novel, they’ve even published one novel and working on a second.’ Some have gone down the self-publishing route while others have now secured an agent.

Anyone can apply as long as they live in London and have started working on a project. ‘If they’re just thinking about writing or they’ve always wanted to write but haven’t actually started, then I would say that they’re probably not quite ready for us,’ she explained. The group is the perfect space for any Creative Writing student to receive more invaluable feedback from fellow writers outside of their university course.

You might be thinking that it’s all work and no play, but that’s not the case. ‘I’ve made a lot of great friends in the group’, said Goll. ‘That’s a really nice thing to have, a group of friends who you can just talk about writing and really geek out [with]’. They often have a drink and talk after sessions in a more relaxed setting, adding to that strong community bond – something that Goll adores. ‘I think it’s all about getting writers from all over to come together’.

What’s the future for LWC? According to Goll, quality is the main priority. ‘I think [it] works best when we have just a couple of sessions that are very well formed, so that’s what we’re going to focus on this year. It’s going to be more about quality feedback sessions and making some talks and workshops that people really need. In terms of the next twelve months, that’s where we are. Beyond that, I’m never sure. It goes in completely its own direction. It kind of has a destiny all of its own’.

After a decade of helping writers advance and develop, The London Writers’ Café’s birthday is definitely something to celebrate.

For more information on prices and dates visit The London Writers’ Café’s website HERE