Over the last few years there has been an increasing demand for Clare to appear at conferences, universities, for groups and organisations and present various talks addressing the subject matter of plays she has worked on: LGBTQ history, lesbian and gay asylum seekers, and mental health. All her talks contain performed theatrical segments from the relevant plays and films to which they relate.

TALKS OFFERED

• In Our Own Words In this presentation Clare Summerskill  leads the audience through several decades of critically significant LGBT historical events in the UK, from the 1950s to early 2000s. Offering her own analysis of why oral testimony is such an important form of historical documentation for members of marginalised communities and in particular, the LGBT population, Clare enacts monologues from her recorded interviews. Their voices tell stories of trans people who lived in ‘the twilight zone’, the 1967 Sexual Offences Act, lesbian custody cases, the formation of the Gay Liberation Front in England, the work of the Campaign for Homosexual Equality, bisexual groups in the 1980s, the impact of HIV/AIDS on the gay population and that of Clause 28 on the education sector. Comes with a powerpoint. 
• Gateway to Heaven, a talk. Following the writing of the play version of Gateway to Heaven, based entirely on memories from older lesbians and gay men, two national tours and the adaptation of this production into a film commissioned by Age Concern, Opening Doors, Clare now presents a talk about the research of this play and the interviews she had with 35 older people about their own experiences of growing up lesbian and gay and living in a world for much of their lives where the majority of society did not accept their sexual orientation. This talk is particularly popular in LGBT History Month.
• At the Rainbow’s End, a presentational talk about two theatre projects Clare has worked on addressing older LGBT people’s concerns about their care in later life, either in their own homes or in residential homes. Testimonies from older LGBT interviewees are also presented about personal experiences of homophobia and transphobia while receiving ‘care’.   Possibilities of how LGBT people might feel safe in care settings in later life are discussed.
• Hearing Voices, a talk about Clare’s play based on interviews with those who are mentally unwell, set in a secure psychiatric ward.
• Rights of Passage, a talk about the making of Clare’s latest verbatim play based on interviews with lesbian and gay asylum seekers. 

 

Extract from Clare’s Presentational Talk, Gateway to Heaven

 

• In Our Own Words. University of Greenwich.
• In Our Own Words. Birmingham University.
• Gateway to Heaven – Fifty Years of Lesbian and Gay Oral History. Linklaters. 
• Gateway To Heaven – Fifty Years of Lesbian and Gay Oral History. HMRC Dept for Business Innovation and Skills Conference. London.
• Gateway To Heaven –  Fifty Years of Lesbian and Gay Oral History. Carpmaels & Ransford law firm.
• Gateway To Heaven – Fifty Years of Lesbian and Gay Oral History. Teeside University.
• Gateway To Heaven – Fifty Years of Lesbian and Gay Oral History at Birmingham LGBT Centre
• Gateway To Heaven – Fifty Years of Lesbian and Gay Oral History at South Bank University.
• Gateway To Heaven – Fifty Years of Lesbian and Gay Oral History at LSE.
• Rights of Passage – Lesbian and Gay Asylum seekers in the UK. London and Quadrant Housing
• Rights of Passage – Lesbian and Gay Asylum seekers in the UK. Surrey University
• Hearing Voices – stories from patients who met on a locked psychiatric ward. Emory University, Atlanta, US
• Hearing Voices – stories from patients who met on a locked psychiatric ward. Hertfordshire NHS conference
• Hearing Voices – stories from patients who met on a locked psychiatric ward. PACE (the LGBT mental health organisation).

Comedy Writing Workshops

Clare runs comedy writing workshop on line and in person. These last approximately three hours and the participants look at how to write stand-up, comedy sketches for cabaret or radio and humorous short stories. They are not only a lot of fun and always found to be extremely encouraging to those who may sometimes hide their writing ability under a metaphorical bushel! For more information  contact admin@claresummerskill.co.uk for details and bookings.