Kathleen McCreery, Phil Asquith and Sophie Huckfield

Join us for an afternoon of stories, discussion and exploration around the exhibition A Socially Useful Production: “The Participation Waltz”.

We will be joined by Kathleen McCreery, co-writer and director of the play The Participation Waltz and co-founder of Broadside Mobile Workers Theatre; Phil Asquith, one of three surviving members of the Lucas Aerospace Combine Shop Stewards’ Committee; and artist Sophie Huckfield.

Together, we will walk through the exhibition, look through archival materials and share stories from the Lucas Plan and The Participation Waltz. The afternoon will explore the connections between these two histories, the struggles to imagine and bring alternative worlds into being, and the legacies of the Lucas Plan in the 50 years since it was written.

Bring along your own stories and personal archives of Kingston’s aviation industries, experiences of organising against militarisation, or connections to the Lucas Plan and radical theatre. There will be space for conversation and discussion, and for sharing memories, ideas and reflections with everyone who attends.

Schedule

1:00pm – Welcome and introduction to the project, followed by introductions from Phil Asquith and Kathleen McCreery

2:00pm – Gallery tour while Sophie introduces the exhibition and her practice.

2:30pm – Short break for tea, coffee and snacks

3:00pm – Group discussion – regroup in the gallery for a more open discussion about the relevance of these histories today, with time to look through archive and other materials that participants may have brought along.

4:00–4:30pm – Wrap-up

All public spaces at the Stanley Picker Gallery are ground-floor and step-free. Dedicated accessible parking is located right outside the Gallery, let us know in advance if you require a space. Please call us on 0208 417 4074 or email stanleypickergallery@kingston.ac.uk if you have any access needs, or questions or need any assistance with planning your visit.