Yam Yam!

We’re in the midst of an ongoing project here at the Albany around food – chickens that have taken up residence in the garden and allotments have sprung up. As part of this we’re about to launch Yam Yam!, a six week festival of performances, workshops and arts activities all revolving around food.

A food fight, a celebration of the history of fried chicken, foraging workshops, poetry a la carte and a theatre show where the audience cooks and eats a meal together: Yam Yam! draws inspiration from the eclectic community around the Albany, with a West African seasoning – and a distinctly Deptford flavour.

Highlights of the programme include Only Wolves and Lions (Fri 1st & Sat 2nd Nov, 7pm), an intimate theatre piece for just 25 audience members, in which participants are invited to bring an ingredient and work together to cook up a feast. The meal preparation forms part of a three hour performance exploring community, isolation and the meaning of the word crisis, and comes from Leo Kay, the artist behind critically acclaimed show It’s Like He’s Knocking.

The Groundnut, a South London based creative partnership producing digital and physical content about what we eat, will celebrate one of Britain’s best loved, much misunderstood food stuffs: fried chicken, in The Groundnut Workshop (Wed 16th, Wed 30th Oct & Wed 13th Nov). Exploring its history and how it became so prevalent on UK high streets, the trio will reinstate fried chicken to its rightful place as king of snacks, as well as serving up some delicious samples.

The event is kicking off this Sunday from 11am with a massive day of free events for all the family including a petting zoo, food workshops, a culinary tour of Deptford, a BBQ, music, poetry and performance. More details can be found here.