One Night in London



Last Friday (22nd July) I had the most amazing time at the National Gallery in London.  I was one of five winners of a competition run by the Gallery and Liars' League London for new short stories inspired by a painting in the National Gallery.  I chose The Family of Darius Before Alexander by Paolo Veronese, which you can see behind me in the photo.  I was so excited to find the real painting in the Gallery; I was practically dancing about in front of it!

Picture courtesy of Liars' League

Related Post: Ladies, Gentlemen and a League of Liars


The event was part of the National Gallery's Inspiration Late event.  There were loads of different activities going on in different rooms, and our storytelling event was in Room 61.  As you can see from the photos, each story was read by an actor, next to a print of the painting that inspired it.  It was fascinating to hear all the stories, and to discover the different ways in which the authors had taken inspiration from the paintings.  The actors were wonderful, and each brought the story to life in their own, unique way.  I was especially impressed by "my" actor, Nicholas Delvalle, who read my story with wonderful expression and understanding.  I hope he gets lots of work after this, and if I ever hit the big time, he will be my first choice for the audio book!

Picture courtesy of Liars' League

The National Gallery were really generous with their prizes, too.  We each got two tickets for free drinks on the night, two free tickets for their special exhibition Painters' Paintings (which I went to the next morning and really enjoyed) and the print of "our" painting used in the event.  I've managed to get it home; now I just have to find somewhere to hang it!  I have also had great publicity out of this win (including a spot in my local paper, with only two factual errors!)  I think it's one of the best things I've been involved in, and I would like to thank The National Gallery and Liars' League again for this wonderful opportunity.




Here is Nicholas Delvalle's masterful performance of my story "Desperately Seeking Hephaestion."  You can find the other stories on the Liars' League YouTube channel as well.





Location: Bradford, UK

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