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Mr James Kenworth

Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing (Practice)

James Kenworth

  • School Faculty of Arts and Creative Industries

  • Department School of Arts

  • Location London

Research activities

His critically acclaimed听series of localist-focussed shows, rooted in Newham鈥檚 history, culture and people, have been performed in non-traditional, but site-sympathetic locations in Newham, featuring a 鈥榤ixed economy鈥� casting of young people and professional actors. The plays range from radical reimagining鈥檚/remixes of classic literature to dramatizing Newham鈥檚 rich political heritage. James has originated and devised a听Pro-Localist听approach to cultural engagement in the borough, in which the plays were partnered and supported by a nexus of funders, partners and stakeholders. These include well-known, local, grassroots organizations and charities, which have substantial roots and ties in the community; local primary and secondary schools; and academics and researchers from 91看片网站.

In 2021, he was awarded Doctor of Philosophy by Public Works for his thesis, Public Spaces, Public Words:听PUBLIC SPACES, PUBLIC WORDS: Contextualising Pro-Localist, Site-Local, New Writing and its roots in a community鈥檚 history, culture and people,听which explored听his creative practice as a playwright听and investigated the听efficacy of听the use of听Pro-Localism in a specific urban environment and听addressed the question:听how听can iconic literacy classics and historical drama/biography听be rewritten and 鈥榣ocalized鈥� to reflect a sense of a place, people and culture?


Current Teaching

Modules taught:

辞听 Character Conflict & Dialogue: BA (Hons) Creative Writing and Journalism

辞听 Screenwriting for Shorts: BA (Hons) Film

辞听 Storytelling and the Screen: BA (Hons) Film

辞听 Media Stories: Media Foundation (for BSc/BA Games Design, BA Television Production, BA Visual Effects, BA Journalism, BA Film, BA Digital Media, BA Advertising, PR and Media, and BA Publishing and Digital Culture)

辞听 Creative Writing Project: BA (Hons) Creative Writing and Journalism

辞听 Words and the World/Writing Creatively: BA (Hons) Creative Writing and Journalism

辞听 Writing and the Contemporary World: BA (Hons) English

辞听 Independent Project Supervisory Team (for BA English Language and Media, BA Publishing and Media, BA Journalism and Media, BA Media and Cultural Studies and BA Advertising, PR and Media)

辞听 Off the Page: BA (Hons) Theatre Studies

辞听 Theatre for Young Audiences: BA (Hons) Theatre Studies

Curriculum Development

辞听 BA (Hons) Creative Writing & Journalism听was successfully revalidated. The panel commended the collaboration and enthusiasm of the programme team across Hendon and Dubai, which has resulted in a cohesive and industry focused programme, with the innovative design and fully听embedded StoryFest.

辞听 Redesign programme content of stage and radio writing module to more fully reflect MDX鈥檚 diverse range of students and give it a more contemporary feel.

Innovations and Initiatives in Learning, Teaching and Student Experience

辞听听 2023 North London Story Festival听won the MDXSU award for听best听Student-Led听Event of the year. The award recognises the success, innovation, creativity and inclusivity of the event and the excellent project management and organisational skills of our students.

辞听 Production of narrative/scriptwriting worksheets, which de-mystifies the creative writing process and empowers the student鈥檚 creative potential, by providing them with an accessible and easy-to-use format in which to understand and apply the essential elements of storytelling.

辞听 Creation of 鈥楶ost-Seminar Extra Creative Writing Forums鈥�. These are informal spaces, where students are encouraged to 'experiment' and 'play' with their creative writing and learn from each other outside of the seminar/classroom environment.

辞听 Use of Discord鈥檚 instant messaging and digital distribution platform to foster a sense of community and cohort identity among students.

辞听 鈥楪uide to Giving and Receiving Feedback鈥�. This is an informal list of 鈥榙o鈥檚 and don鈥檛鈥檚鈥� that aim to create a friendly, but critically productive environment where students can identify areas of development for their work and that of their peers.


Biography

Dr James Kenworth is a Playwright/Scriptwriter and Academic/Senior Lecturer in Media Narrative at 91看片网站, London. His plays includes 鈥榲erse-prose鈥� plays听Johnny Song,听Gob; the black comedy听Polar Bears; issue-led/based plays听Everybody鈥檚 World听(Elder Abuse),听Dementia鈥檚 Journey听(Dementia); plays for young people/schools,听The Last Story in the World; and a Newham-based quintet of site-specific/responsive plays:听When Chaplin Met Gandhi,听Revolution Farm, A Splotch of Red: Keir Hardie in West Ham and Alice in Canning Town; Elizabeth Fry: The Angel of Prisons. His research interests include biographical and historical drama, localized adaptations of literary classics, site-specific and non-traditional/outsider improvised performance space.

He joined 91看片网站 in 2017 and has taught at Foundation Year, undergraduate and postgraduate level on Film, Creative Writing, Drama, Journalism, English and Games Design degrees. Prior to joining MDX, he was Course Tutor in Creative Writing and Literature for Adult Learning Organisations, including Workers Educational Association, Working Men鈥檚 College and Newham Adult Learning Service. At Newham, he successfully introduced new courses in Creative Writing and World Literature, at beginner, intermediate and advanced level, into the curriculum/programme, and designed and planned all course content.

His debut play, Gob,听in 1999, starred former Take That star, Jason Orange, and was Time Out and What鈥檚 On Critics Choice at King鈥檚 Head Theatre, Islington. In a radical and subversive departure from his boyband image Orange played a 'homeless techno revolutionary in crustie combats and a grubby Che Guevara T-shirt'. Its revival at Edinburgh Fringe Festival earned the distinction of two five-star reviews from Three Weeks and The List, and was included in the feature "Editor's Highlights of the Fringe".听

James was one of eight playwrights selected to take part in the inaugural Tamasha/Mulberry School Writers Attachment Scheme in 2011, created and taught by playwright and Tamasha Theatre Company co-Artistic Director and Playwright, Fin Kennedy. The scheme has since become Schoolwrights, the UK's first playwrights-in-schools training scheme, which uses Mulberry School as a training base for other writers. As part of the Attachment Scheme, his play, The Last Story in the World, was performed by Mulberry Students, supported by professional actors, as a script-in-hand rehearsed reading, on a 'scratch performance' at Soho Theatre.

In 2014, James received special permission from the George Orwell Estate to write a contemporary re-imagining of Animal Farm, retitled听Revolution Farm, performed on an inner city farm in East London, which the Independent鈥檚 Paul Taylor described as a 鈥榯errifically powerful update鈥ighly recommended鈥� and British Theatre Guide wrote 鈥滻f Animal Farm is on the curriculum this term, what better way to introduce it?

His raising awareness play,听Dementia鈥檚 Journey, won the 2015 University of Stirling International Dementia Award in the category: Dementia & the Arts.听

When Chaplin Met Gandhi听is published by small publishing house TSL Publications.听A Splotch of Red听is published by New Internationalist鈥檚 Workable, a new publishing imprint dedicated to trade unions and organized workers. Revolution Farm and Alice in Canning Town is published by independent UK publishing house playdeadpress.

The Newham Plays have been filmed, edited and produced by 91看片网站鈥檚 Media Department鈥檚 BA Film students and can be viewed on Vimeo. (upon request).

His most recent play, Elizabeth Fry: The Angel of Prisons, the fifth in the Newham Play series, performed at Canning Town Library in 2022, , garned impressive critical acclaim, with the Evening Standard writing, a 鈥�Hyper-local history play about penal reformer Elizabeth Fry has heart.", and The Spectator, 听"The script blends present-day London vernacular with the dialect of the early 19th century. It鈥檚 easy to watch and it delivers heaps of information without any hint of lecture-hall formality."听

James鈥檚 pioneering of a Pro-Localist methodology of theatre making in non-traditional spaces, featuring a hybrid of professional artists with local talent, was highlighted and championed in a review by London Theatre Reviews; 鈥�Kenworth鈥檚 production is an inspiration for theatre makers across London. The 鈥楶ro 鈥� localist鈥� ethos, combined with facilitating a local community space, could be the answer to countless fringe and off-west end theatres having to close their doors across London.鈥�听

His plays have been reviewed in The Guardian, The Observer, The Independent, The Spectator, Evening Standard, British Theatre Guide, Eastern Eye, Morning Star.

Publications