Hack Circus

Luke Jennings is the creator of the hit TV series Killing Eve, about the mutual obsession between an MI6 agent and a female assassin. He was also, until recently, the dance critic for The Observer newspaper, and worked as a professional dancer in his youth. 

We discuss the process of writing Killing Eve, sexism and bias in the dance world, and how seeing women empowered through dance has inspired his writing.

Luke on Twitter

Luke's Wikipedia page

Watch Killing Eve on iPlayer

Libsyn feed (browser)

iTunes link

PlayerFM

Spotify coming soon!

Hazel Findlay is a top professional climber, constantly touring the world in search of new adventures and breaking records. In recent years she has been working as a coach, helping climbers of all abilities to overcome their fears and progress to the next level. 

Some of the subjects covered in this chat include idea of mastery (as opposed to competitiveness), the mental health benefits of climbing, coaching as a kind of giving back, how climbing is similar to public speaking, and how training an awareness of the body helps to increases one's awareness in general. 

This episode was recorded at an arts organisation called Access Space in Sheffield. Access Space supports those developing skills and interests in creative technology and is well worth checking out.

Hazel's blog

Hazel's Wikipedia page

Watch her climb

Libsyn feed (browser)

iTunes link

PlayerFM

Spotify coming soon!

The Hack Circus podcast is back with a bang after an enormous break of two years!

The star guest this episode is Tom Tobia – a creative entrepreneur based in Sheffield. We cover the origins of an organisation he helped to found, Makerversity, his principled drive, and the way he approaches consulting with the range of businesses he works with. We also exchange some thoughts about creativity – how it arises from constraints, its relationship to failure, and why people should embrace a more open-ended approach to planning.

Tom's website: http://www.tomtobia.com

Tom's new project: https://www.anewfield.org/

If you want to get stuff made regularly, get your duty on and work out who you're doing it for.

In this episode, Leila addresses the common misconception that creative work always has to follow on from an urge, or desire. She explains why you can never put your hopes in motivation – it won't stick around. Get a routine, and do it for someone else, and you'll stand a chance of getting to done.

If you enjoy Hack Circus, don’t forget to rate or review on iTunes, or just tell a friend about it!

And remember to check out Hackcircuspodcast.com

In between episodes (uploaded every Thursday) you can glimpse behind the curtain by following us on Facebook (hackcircus), Instagram (hackcircus), Twitter (hackcircus) and Snapchat (can you guess?).

Enjoy!

How do you get inspired in the least inspiring circumstances? I answer a listener's question about staying creative even when exhausted and miles from home, this week – bringing in a mixture of my own experience and reading, as ever.

If you enjoy Hack Circus, don’t forget to rate or review on iTunes, or just tell a friend about it!

In between episodes (uploaded every Thursday) you can glimpse behind the curtain by following us on Facebook (hackcircus), Instagram (hackcircus), Twitter (hackcircus) and Snapchat (can you guess?).

Enjoy!

Emma Bearman founded Playful Leeds – now Playful Anywhere, and is the proud proprietor of the Playbox, a shipping container full of surprises, entertainment and imaginative potential that turns up in public spaces all over Yorkshire. Emma also founded The Culture Vulture, the very successful magazine site rounding up the best of the Leeds arts scene.

In this chat, we find out about the challenges of facilitating a vision of this scale on your own, how play relates to disobedience, and where the drive to create playful spaces comes from in the first place.

https://vimeo.com/68169045 (Urban Mischief video, with the diving board etc)

https://twitter.com/PlayfulAnywhere

http://www.playfulanywhere.co.uk

https://theculturevulture.co.uk/

https://uk.linkedin.com/in/emmabearman

http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/why-robots-are-set-to-take-over-leeds-1-6037956

A short but packed episode where I explain why you should create, rather than simply drink up experiences; why you may not be using your community to the full (but feel like you are) and why our constraints really do set us free.

To discuss any of these ideas and more, get in touch via [email protected], or on social media (@hackcircus and hackcircuspodcast on Facebook). You should also check out the weekly Creativity Clinic newsletter: leilajohnston.com/newsletter which delivers tips like these straight to your inbox every Monday, bringing actionable advice for your creative week ahead.

This week I meet showmen and fairground archivists at the National Fairground & Circus Archive in Sheffield, and learn about the fascinating and community-minded history of travelling show people of the UK.

https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/nfca

Lionel Bathe's photos of fairgrounds

https://patcollinsfunfairs.co.uk/

Anthony Harris (Youngest wall of death rider in the world, in the 1940s)

We need to look closely at what we're trying to protect, about ourselves, whenever we feel fearful of making big steps in our creative lives. When we really examine the anxiety, it often turns out to be a case of building a wall around a part of us that is in fact, totally dispensable. There's plenty more of us where that came from! We can take a few hits! 

Find out what we should really be protecting instead, in this short Creativity Clinic episode.

If you enjoy Hack Circus, don’t forget to rate or review on iTunes, or just tell a friend about it!

In between episodes (uploaded every Thursday) you can glimpse behind the curtain by following us on Facebook (hackcircus), Instagram (hackcircus), Twitter (hackcircus) and Snapchat (can you guess?).

Enjoy!

Neil Mullarkey is known as one of the Comedy Store Players – the famous long-running improv troupe with their own theatre in central London.

He also works with brands and businesses, helping the corporate environment to benefit from the agility of improvisational thought.

In this fun chat we discuss (among other things) Neil's creative background, a comedy career that started as President of the Cambridge Footlights, his old double act with Mike Myers, the benefits of improv, and the careful systems put in place to make improv work in a theatre – and on TV.

http://neilmullarkey.com/ 
http://twitter.com/neilmullarkey