tickets: https://ropetacklecentre.co.uk/events/shoreham-catalyst-club-2026/

Shoreham Catalyst Club returns on the fourth Tuesday of January (for this month only). Guests are production designer Richard Drew, Martin Allen and Ropetackle’s own Annie Alexander.

QUENTIN CRISP: NAKED HOPE Written and performed by Mark Farrelly (Jarman, Howerd’s End, The Silence of Snow)
Directed by Linda Marlowe
Back by popular demand! 

Mark Farrelly brings his hugely-acclaimed solo play to Brighton for an up-close encounter with the original Englishman in New York.
From a conventional upbringing to global notoriety via The Naked Civil Servant, Quentin Crisp was one of the most memorable figures of the twentieth century. Openly gay as early as the 1930s, Quentin spent decades being beaten up on London’s streets for refusing to be anything less than himself. His courage, and the philosophy that evolved from those experiences, inspire to the present day.
Naked Hope depicts Quentin at two phases of his extraordinary life: alone in his Chelsea flat in the 1960s, certain that life has passed him by, and thirty years later, performing An Evening with Quentin Crisp in New York. Packed with witty gems on everything from cleaning (“Don’t bother – after the first four years the dust won’t get any worse”) to marriage (“Is there life after marriage? The answer is no”), Naked Hope is a glorious, uplifting celebration of the urgent necessity to be your true self. 
Running time: 75 mins no interval.

★★★★★ “A stunning piece of theatre, masterfully told” Broadway Baby
★★★★ “An uncanny feat of resurrection. Farrelly’s mastery of his audience is total” Time Out
★★★★ “Brilliant” The Stage
★★★★ “A sensational performance” Theatrescene.net (Off-Broadway)
★★★★ “A riveting and quite hysterically funny show” British Theatre Guide
★★★★ “Reveals both the frailty and fearlessness of a trendsetter” Metro
★★★★ “Highly recommended” North West End
★★★★ “Spectacularly metamorphic” The Reviews Hub
★★★★ “A brave celebration of a truly witty outsider” London Theatre 1

In January Bridget Prince revealed some of her adventures as an international private investigator; Kit Hardy shared her passion for Shelley and his poem, The Mask of Anarchy; and Ian Greaves talked about the 1973 Play for Today, Penda’s Fen, which, over fifty years, has gained a reputation as a work of visionary brilliance.
For February we welcome the return of Pete Fij (Eurovision/ Wojtek the Bear) and newbies George Butcher and Elizabeth Field. 

In January we had a harmonium-themed song from Jane Bom-Bane; Kerry Boettcher and Suzanne Rolfe shared their very recent adventures at the  International festival of Masquerade Games in Surva and the bear dances of Northern Romania; Atiya Gourlay told us about the creation of her Mehfil Space events for south east Asian classical music; and Jak Hutchcraft shared incredible stories of how near death experiences have led some to take up musical instruments with astonishing results. 
We’re back Feb 12th with Haskel Adamson, Elizabeth Field and Pete Fij. Plus our one-woman in-house band, Jane Bom-Bane.    

Jay Griffiths

The presence of animals can help heal the epidemic of loneliness. Animal sounds, from insects to birdsong and the purring of cats, are directly medicinal. Dogs can smell cancer and give an alert for a diabetic incident. Animals can be natural therapists for the hurt psyche, alleviating trauma, fear and depression.

True health includes the wellbeing of society, in terms of morality, justice and indeed politics, and animals can be good role models. Tonight Jay Griffiths explores some of the big themes from her book How Animals Heal Us putting animals at the heart of a restorative vision of health.

Jay Griffiths is the award-winning author of ‘How Animals Heal Us,’ ‘Wild: An Elemental Journey’ and ‘Why Rebel’ among many others. Brian Eno has said: “Nobody writes about Nature – the world and us in it – with more beauty and grace than Jay Griffiths”

Max Milligan Wildlife and Nature Photographer 

Max is an author, raconteur and fine art photographer. He began his career working as a wildlife cameraman for the BBC and National Geographic Video in the Amazon jungle before becoming a documentary editor at the BBC and Channel 4 in London. 

Tonight he will take us on a dazzling journey with some of his most extraordinary wildlife photographs from around the world.

30 years of Ancient Site Exploring on the Web with The Megalithic Portal’s Andy Burnham
Andy Burnham – founder of The Megalithic Portal ancient sites web resource and Editor of the community’s award-winning book The Old Stones – looks back on an incredible 30 years of stones enthusiasm. Embarking on a whistlestop tour of sites, stories, theories, discoveries and early web geekery … he asks, ‘Was it all worth it* – and what’s next?’ 
* spoiler: yes

A brief History of Stone Club with Matthew Shaw and Lally Macbeth 
Through their explorations of landscape and ancient sites, Stone Club, aim to bring new perspectives to prehistory in a collaborative way. In this talk, Matthew and Lally cover the founding of the club and explore how their approach and aims have formed a deeply engaged community that although has stone at its heart has opened up a much wider conversation around land access, inclusivity, mental health and forming positive solutions to climate anxiety and navigating the world in an increasingly unstable environment. 
Lally MacBeth is an artist, writer and curator based in Cornwall. Her work takes in history, folklore, performance, ritual and artifice – and the links between high and low culture. The Lost Folk, published by Faber, is her first book.
Matthew Shaw is an artist, author & curator based in Cornwall. Atmosphere of Mona, a book of poetry and photography was published by Annwyn House in 2020. Matthew is a co-founder of Stone Club with artist Lally MacBeth.

Operation Bogeyman: The Folk Horror Landscape of 1970s Northern Ireland (director Simon Aeppli 67min) plus Q&A with Simon Aeppli

An essay film that navigates the intersections of folklore, horror, and psychological warfare during the Troubles in Northern Ireland. Beginning in the filmmaker’s childhood home of Carrickfergus, Simon Aeppli embarks on a personal journey through haunting landscapes and archival discoveries to reveal a past steeped in strangeness and horror. The film examines a bizarre propaganda operation in which the British army staged fake black magic rituals to smear the IRA as ‘Satanists’. This unique blend of video essay and desktop documentary explores the spectres of Northern Ireland’s history through landscape and archival footage, audio interviews, and personal reflections. 

Born in Belfast, Simon Aeppli is a documentary and essay filmmaker whose work explores overlooked and marginal histories from the region’s troubled past. His films have screened at festivals and galleries across the UK and internationally.
www.simonaeppli.co.uk

​Hosted by David Bramwell, Matthew Shaw and Lally Macbeth

**We don’t want anyone to not come through lack of funds. If money is really tight just drop us a line.**