John Constable

south London playwright, poet, performer and 'purveyor of unusual walks',
author of The Southwark Mysteries.

Having read English at Cambridge, he travelled widely in the Far East, then toured Europe with Sheer Madness - in the prize-winning Shakespeare’s Greatest Hits - Samba Salad, and Kaktus, who produced his first play Space Monkey. John's plays include Black Mas, Tulip Futures and stage adaptations of Mervyn Peake's Gormenghast and Paul Theroux’s The Mosquito Coast. His radio adaptations of John Wyndham’s novels The Kraken Wakes and Chocky were released on DVD in the BBC’s Classic Radio Sci-fi series. His solo shows include I Was An Alien Sex God and Raingods Become Me.

The Southwark Mysteries began in 1996 as a cycle of ‘Vision Books’, mystical poems inspired by a Winchester Goose allegedly buried in the Cross Bones Graveyard. By 1999, it had expanded to include a cycle of contemporary ‘Mystery Plays’, first performed in Shakespeare's Globe and Southwark Cathedral on Easter Sunday, St George's Day, 23rd April 2000. The book, published by Oberon Books, also features a third section, a ‘Glossolalia’ of local history and folk-lore.

John gives talks on magic and mysticism and leads unusual guided walks. He is also widely known as John Crow, the south London shaman who channels The Goose, the spirit of a medieval prostitute allegedly buried in Cross Bones, the muse of The Southwark Mysteries. He played the role in the original production in The Globe and The Cathedral. John Crow conducts the annual Halloween of Cross Bones and other rituals and workshops such as Shamanic Playhouse. Again often appearing as John Crow, John has performed his poetry and songs world-wide, as well as hosting events such as The Palace of Wisdom, the all-night poetry tent at the Glastonbury Festival.

John Constable’s Sha-Manic Plays, his adaptation of Gormenghast, The Southwark Mysteries and Secret Bankside – Walks In The Outlaw Borough are all published by Oberon Books.

John’s books and his CDs goose & crow: spirit songs and The Southwark Mysteries: shamanic songs, poems and raps are available from: gooseandcrow AT gmail DOT com

An Arts Council residency at Winchester Cathedral produced his prose-poem Time Out Of Mind, published online by ArchiTEXTS.

As Artistic Director of SOUTHWARK MYSTERIES John has directed many workshops and community drama performances. He is also patron of REWRITE, a Southwark-based charity bringing together young people from different backgrounds to fight prejudice and injustice, particularly surrounding refuge and asylum, through the power of drama and creative writing.

In November 2010, John Constable was awarded an Honorary Fellowship of London South Bank University for services to the arts and community: "for his vision and imagination, for his deep commitment to our local area, for his work in reclaiming lost histories and, above all, for his belief in the transformative power of writing and drama..."