John Constable
Having read English at Queens College, Cambridge (BA, MA), John Constable travelled widely in the Far East, then toured Europe with the theatre groups Sheer Madness - in the prize-winning SHAKESPEARE'S GREATEST HITS - Samba Salad, and Kaktus, who produced his play SPACE MONKEY.
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Books
Having read English at Queens College, Cambridge (BA, MA), John Constable travelled widely in the late 1970s, then toured Europe with Sheer Madness in the prize-winning devised show SHAKESPEARE'S GREATEST HITS. His first play BLACK MAS toured the UK in 1984 with Foco Novo.
THE SOUTHWARK MYSTERIES, his epic cycle of contemporary Mystery Plays, was first performed in Shakespeare's Globe and Southwark Cathedral on Easter Sunday, 23rd April 2000. A new production, directed by Sarah Davey-Hull, was performed in Southwark Cathedral in April 2010 with a professional core cast and a hundred-strong community cast.
John's many plays include TULIP FUTURES and the stage adaptations of Mervyn Peake's GORMENGHAST and Paul Theroux’s THE MOSQUITO COAST. His radio adaptations of John Wyndham’s novels THE KRAKEN WAKES and CHOCKY were released in the BBC’s Classic Radio Sci-fi series. Solo shows include I WAS AN ALIEN SEX GOD, RAINGODS BECOME ME and SPARE, inspired by the artist and occultist Austin Osman Spare. He wrote and directed the ST GEORGE MUMMERS PLAY performed in Glastonbury Abbey for the 2022 Queens Platinum Jubilee.
SHA-MANIC PLAYS, GORMENGHAST, THE SOUTHWARK MYSTERIES and SECRET BANKSIDE – WALKS IN THE OUTLAW BOROUGH are all published by Oberon Books / Bloomsbury. SPARK IN THE DARK, a selection of his poems, is published by Thin Man Press. His poems and essays appear in anthologies and magazines including URBAN SHAMANISM (Outside Poets, with Aidan Dun, Niall McDevitt and David Amery), MU, International Times and Undefined Boundary.
In 2022 he published GRAIL, interweaving myth and legend with vignettes from contemporary life in his new home in Glastonbury.
As Artistic Director of SOUTHWARK MYSTERIES (2004-11), John pioneered unusual historical/literary walks and promenade performances around Borough and Bankside and in the City of London. He wrote the libretto for SOUTH OF THE RIVER, a community opera commissioned by the ENO. In November 2010, he was awarded an Honorary Fellowship by London South Bank University for services to the arts and community: 'for his vision and imagination, for his deep commitment to our local area, for his work in reclaiming lost histories and, above all, for his belief in the transformative power of writing and drama...'
In his John Crow persona, he created the monthly Cross Bones Vigils and the annual HALLOWEEN OF CROSSBONES site-specific performances, establishing a shrine and a Garden of Remembrance on the site of Cross Bones, the outcasts' burial ground in Southwark. He has given many talks on literature and magic, from the Latitude Festival to Breaking Convention and the Glastonbury Occult Conference.
Audio-recordings include: THE SOUTHWARK MYSTERIES, GOOSE & CROW: SPIRIT SONGS, and the 2022 album ANCESTOR SOULS (John Crow and Queen Space Baroque)https://johncrowandqueenspacebaroque.bandcamp.com/releases
For more on John Constable's work: crossbones.org.uk
Non-Fiction
Publication Details | Notes |
|---|---|
GRAIL Blue Cedar Printworks Publishing | |
SECRET BANKSIDE - WALKS IN THE OUTLAW BOROUGH Oberon Books |
Other
Publication Details | Notes |
|---|---|
Oberon Books | |
Oberon Books | |
Oberon Books |
Poetry
Publication Details | Notes |
|---|---|
Thin Man Press |
Film, TV & Theatre
John's many plays include BLACK MAS, TULIP FUTURES and the stage adaptations of Mervyn Peake's GORMENGHAST and Paul Theroux’s THE MOSQUITO COAST. His radio adaptations of John Wyndham’s novels THE KRAKEN WAKES and CHOCKY were released on DVD in the BBC’s Classic Radio Sci-fi series. Solo shows include I WAS AN ALIEN SEX GOD, RAINGODS BECOME ME and SPARE, inspired by the artist and occultist Austin Osman Spare.
THE SOUTHWARK MYSTERIES, his epic cycle of contemporary Mystery Plays, was first performed in Shakespeare's Globe and Southwark Cathedral on Easter Sunday, 23rd April 2000. A new production, directed by Sarah Davey-Hull, was performed in Southwark Cathedral in April 2010 with a professional core cast and crew and a hundred-strong community cast. There were free
open-air performances of scenes from the play at The Scoop, More London.
John Constable’s SHA-MANIC PLAYS, his adaptation of GORMENGHAST, THE SOUTHWARK MYSTERIES and SECRET BANKSIDE - WALKS IN THE OUTLAW BOROUGH are all published by Oberon Books. His poetry collection SPARK IN THE DARK is published by Thin Man Press. His poems appear in URBAN SHAMANISM (Outside Poets), an anthology of four London poets, along with the work of Aidan Dun, Niall McDevitt and David Amery. An Arts Council residency at Winchester Cathedral produced his prose-poem TIME OUT OF MIND, published online by ArchiTEXTS:http://www.art-architecture.co.uk/architexts/?location_id=21
John pioneered and regularly conducts unusual historical and literary walks around Borough and Bankside and in the City of London. Some of these innovative tours are in the form of promenade performances - such as SHAKESPEARE'S BANKSIDE and THE MYSTERIES PILGRIMAGE. His hugely popular DRAGON QUEST was developed for Mental Fight Club. He also leads bespoke private tours.
In his John Crow persona, he has performed his poetry world-wide and hosted events such as THE PALACE OF WISDOM, the all-night poetry tent at the Glastonbury Festival. He also conducts the annual HALLOWEEN OF CROSSBONES site-specific performances and monthly vigils, and has established a shrine and a Garden of Remembrance on the site of Crossbones, the outcasts' burial ground. He has given many talks on literature and magic, and appeared on Robin Ince's panel discussion THE MAGICK OF ART: THE WIZARDRY OF THIN WHITE DUKES at the Latitude Festival.
Audio-recordings include: THE SOUTHWARK MYSTERIES and GOOSE & CROW: SPIRIT SONGS - a new collection of his songs performed with George Hoyle and Katy Carr.
As Artistic Director of SOUTHWARK MYSTERIES (2004-11), John Constable directed many guided walks, workshops and community drama performances, using the arts to help people connect with and creatively respond to their inner-city environment. He wrote the libretto for SOUTH OF THE RIVER, a community opera commissioned by the ENO. He is also patron of REWRITE, a charity bringing together young people from different backgrounds to fight prejudice and injustice, particularly surrounding refuge and asylum, through the power of drama and creative writing.
In November 2010, he was awarded an Honorary Fellowship by London South Bank University for services to the arts and community: 'for his vision and imagination, for his deep commitment to our local area, for his work in reclaiming lost histories and, above all, for his belief in the transformative power of writing and drama...'
Radio
Production | Company | Notes |
|---|---|---|
CHOCKY | Radio 4 / BBC Worldwide | |
THE KRAKEN WAKES | Radio 4 / BBC Worldwide |
Short Films
Production | Company | Notes |
|---|---|---|
CATCH MY DRIFT | BOLD Elephant | Directed by Sarah Davey-Hull & Sammy Dowson. |
Theatre
Production | Company | Notes |
|---|---|---|
THE ST GEORGE MUMMERS PLAY | Glastonbury Abbey | Director: John Constable |
SPARE | White Bear Theatre, Kennington | Director: Di Sherlock Solo Show |
THE SOUTHWARK MYSTERIES | Shakespeare's Globe / Southwark Cathedral | Director: Sarah Davey |
THE GOOSE AT LIBERTY | Southwark Playhouse | Director: John Constable |
I WAS AN ALIEN SEX GOD | BAC / Edinburgh Fringe / Komedia Brighton / Grahamstown Festival (Cape Town) | Director: Di Sherlock Solo Show |
ICEMAN | Brute Farce / White Bear Theare, Kennington | Director: Phil Graham Shortlisted for the Verity Bargate Award |
THE FALSE HAIRPIECE | Proteus Theatre Company / Southwark Playhouse | Director: Chris Baldwin |
THE MOSQUITO COAST | David Glass Ensemble | Director: David Glass Young Vic & Tour |
TULIP FUTURES | Soho Theatre Company | Director: Abigail Morris Nominated for the Peggy Ramsay Award |
GORMENGHAST | David Glass Ensemble | Director: David Glass Lyric Hammersmith UK & International British Council Tours |
DEAD MAN'S HANDLE | Soho Theatre Company | Director: Alex Perrin |
THE EMPEROR'S NEW CLOTHES | Proteus Theatre Tour | Director: James Brining |
THE COMPLETE CASANOVA | Proteus / Horseshoe Theatre Tour / Warehouse Theatre Croydon | Director: John Constable |
HOT FONDUE | RADA | Director: Roland Rees RADA Student Production |
THE FIT UP | Nuffield Theatre Southampton | Director: Justin Greene Originally commissioned by the Bush Theatre |
BLACK MAS | Foco Novo / Albany Empire / Hampstead New End / UK Tour | Director: Roland Reed |