making myself up all over again is an evening of readings curated by writer Alice Hattrick, bringing together their own work alongside that of Arifa Akbar and Naomi Pearce.
Each author shares an interest in weaving autobiography with historical narrative, and their writing moves fluidly between forms, spanning autofiction, memoir, research-based practice and even murder mystery.
The readings take place within Very High Frequency, a commission by Hilary Lloyd that reflects on the legacy of television dramatist Dennis Potter (1935–1994). Although Potter was often reluctant to describe his work as autobiographical, it frequently bordered on autofiction – most notably in The Singing Detective (1986), which dramatises his childhood in the Forest of Dean and centres on a protagonist afflicted with the same chronic illness he experienced.
making myself up all over again looks to and expands upon key themes present in both the exhibition and Potter’s work, exploring illness, memory, loss of control, fantasy and beauty.
The title for the event is borrowed from Potter’s James MacTaggart Memorial Lecture on 27 August 1993, in which he discussed turning to a career in television following the onset of psoriatic arthritis in the early 1960s.
Standard tickets £5, concessions available
