Literature, Theatre & Film

What do we do?

Our aim is to promote friendship through reading. Our book choices are suggested by members for an annual reading list. We try to cover a wide range from the classics, thrillers, historical novels, biographies, detective fiction, as well as current best sellers. Members volunteer to lead the monthly review. We also recommend and chat about other books we’ve been reading.

Click here for a picture of our group

Read our latest book reviews here

Other books we’ve been reading and recommend are:

The Trees, Perivale Everett
Caledonian Road, Andrew O’Hagan
Two Worlds, the autobiography of A J Cronin
Damned to Fame, a Biography of Samuel Beckett
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Philip K. Dick
The Secret Hours, Michael Herron
The Complaint, Ian Rankin

It’s that time of year again when we suggest titles for the next (academic) year’s reading list. Categories we consider when casting our votes are autobiography, best seller, biography, crime, classic/or twist on classic, comedy, espionage, fantasy/science fiction, historical fiction, non-fiction, overseas author and psychological drama.

The Group is currently full and there is a short waiting list.
Alternatively, waiting list members could start a new Group – please fill in the form, section 1  https://www.u3aburystedmunds.co.uk/joining-a-group/

What do we do?

Our Group members decide on a range of books that they would like to read and discuss over the coming months. This results in a wide and enjoyable selection.

Unfortunately, this group is currently full. However please contact the group leader if you’d like to be added to the ‘interest/waiting’ list and also email interestgroups@u3aburystedmunds.co.uk so that when there are enough numbers you can be contacted to learn how to start another book group – all support and help provided.

What do we do?

Our aim is to promote friendship amongst u3a members through reading.
The group does not have a formal leader, but functions as an informal co-operative. Each monthly meeting is led by the member who suggested the book for that month.

A quarterly reading list is assembled from suggestions submitted by members of the group. Over time a wide range of different genres is covered. This includes old and new classics, historical novels, biographies and autobiographies, thriller and crime novels, factual and fiction. Current best sellers are included once they are available in paperback or on Kindle.

The Group currently has some vacancies, please contact the Group leader if interested.

What do we do?

With a shared obsession and love of reading, we are a small group who thoroughly enjoy discussing a diverse range of books.
We have no set genre.
One of the joys we find of being in a book group is reading books we wouldn’t necessarily choose.

Read our latest book reviews here

The Angel Book Group is now full.  Should anyone like to be added to the waiting list then they should email Desme directly to be added to the waiting list.

What do we do?

We aim to read books of all types, which will be suggested by members, but the emphasis will be on modern(ish) fiction.

The many pleasures of belonging to a book group include reading books you wouldn’t have otherwise read and listening to a surprisingly wide range of opinion on each book!

The group is currently full, if interested please contact the group organiser to be added to the waiting list. You can also add your name for a potential new book group – click here Joining an Interest Group | u3a Bury St Edmunds

What do we do?

We choose one or two films to see independently and then we discuss them at the following meeting. Normally one person gives a short presentation on each film.

Please contact Maggie to check availability of places.

What do we do?

We are a group of like-minded people who enjoy movies. Meeting once a month, over a cup of coffee, we have the opportunity to share what movies we have seen and what is coming up.

Due to the difficulties over the past 18 months, we have expanded our viewing to include streaming platforms such as Netflix.

Time is also given for individuals to make a presentation to the group on aspects of the world of movies that are of particular interest such as favourite directors, actors, music etc.

The Group is currently full and there is a short waiting list.
Alternatively, waiting list members could start a new Group – please fill in the form, section One  https://www.u3aburystedmunds.co.uk/joining-a-group/

What do we do?

Writing and story-telling have played different roles in our lives, but we share a common love of words and stories, and a wish to improve our writing abilities.

We are currently full and are unable to take on new members.

Information for prospective members:
Writing is a solitary activity but telling your stories requires an audience. Each month we agree on a writing prompt, and over the following weeks we write a story of some 1500 words (just a guideline, not a requirement) to read to other members. Do we laugh or gasp at the right moments? Can we suggest a word or phrase that better conveys your intention?
Together we get better at expressing our thoughts and finding our own voices.

If you are already working on a writing project and would like to bring chapters along to try out, that is also encouraged.

Each year Let’s Talk Suffolk magazine runs a short story competition to select the stories that will appear in the magazine over the next 12 months. This year, three members of the Creative Writing Group have had stories chosen for publication. Congratulations to Eunice Roberts, Susan Daniels, and Kate King.

What do we do?

The English Medieval Literature group (previously Chaucer Group).

After completing our reading of Beowulf we’ve spent an interesting year expanding our knowledge of Anglo-Saxon poetry and Anglo-Saxon life in general with help from Kevin Crossley-Holland’s The Anglo-Saxon World. Readings have ranged from the Battle of Maldon, which ends frustratingly on a cliff-hanger (it turns out we lost) to the Dream of the Rood, a highly sophisticated blend of Christian and Pagan thought and from the Laws of Wihtred (including the gory details of Trial by Ordeal to the Passion of St Edmund).

In September we’ll be returning to the fourteenth century, embarking on Simon Armitage’s translation of Gawain and the Green Knight.

We are currently full, but please email the group leader to be added to the waiting list.

What do we do?

Western theatre has its roots in the theatre of Ancient Greece.  Written over 2,000 years ago, the Tragedies deal with the big themes of love, loss, pride, power, and the relationship between man and the gods.

We read and discuss the plays and share any information we discover from other sources.

THE ODYSSEY

Having covered most of the main tragedies, we’ve decided to move on to The Odyssey in Emily Wilson’s modern verse translation.

This would be a good time for anyone thinking of joining us to try a ‘taster’ session, as we now have vacancies for two new members.

We meet at 10am on the 3^rd Thursday of the month at the Quaker Meeting House.

What do we do?

We are about to begin our second year as a group.

Last year we looked at: W.B.Yeats, James Joyce and Seamus Heaney, spending a term on each. In January we will complete our work on Heaney before moving on to the plays of Samuel Beckett (Waiting for Godot and Endgame) and Brian Friel (Dancing at Lughnasa, Translations and Making History).

We have space in this group for up to 4 more members. if you’re interested to join, please contact Group Leader, John Byrne.

What do we do?

We are a lively, informal group who meet fortnightly to read poems aloud over a cup of tea and a biscuit.
Each person chooses a few poems on a pre-agreed topic and a brief discussion follows a reading.

Topics include individual poets (Jackie Kay for example) or particular themes (Sun, Moon and Stars for example).
And sometimes we try to read a longer poem ‘in the round’ (The Rime of the Ancient Mariner for example.)

There is space for a new member, please contact the group leader – Jan, if you’d like to join the group.
Please also add your name to Section 1, “If the Interest Group is Full and you would like to add your name to an additional group of the same Interest subject” – click here https://www.u3aburystedmunds.co.uk/joining-a-group/ 

What do we do?

We read, study and discuss a selection of Shakespeare’s plays. The idea is to have some intellectual stimulation and plenty of fun.

Recently we have read and discussed Cymbeline, Henry V and Romeo and Juliet and are about to embark on Timon of Athens.

We have space in this group for up to 4 more members. if you’re interested in joining, please contact Group Leader, John Byrne.

What do we do?

The Theatre Group is thriving, managed by a very active Committee who assume different responsibilities for running the group.

There are nearly 200 members currently, with an active core of 60/80. The Committee arranges about one theatre visit per month: these include plays, ballet and musicals, chosen by members from a list suggested by the Committee and ideas put forward by the group. The visits range across East Anglia but we also include London and Stratford upon Avon.

If you are interested in joining or would like more information, please contact Ann Seymour