Funding Body/Client: Cultural Solutions UK / Lincolnshire County Council

Goals: To break down cultural barriers and improve relationships between migrant communities and UK citizens

2015 marks the 800th anniversary of the sealing of the Magna Carta. Lincoln holds one of only four copies of the document, and Blueprint: Film Foundation, with it's roots in Lincolnshire has worked on a variety of creative cultural projects to help the city celebrate and reflect upon this historic milestone.

In the Magna Carta Radio Play project, Darren Bolton was commissioned to write a series of radio plays to be showcased at the Festival 800 Poets Laureate Landscape Event. Each play was based upon the experiences of migrant communities.

In preparation for the project, Darren worked alongside the Boston Lithuanian community, listening to their history, their experiences of travelling to the UK, stories of their home countries and their hopes for the future. Darren wrote three plays based on what he learnt from the communities, linking in the themes of the Magna Carta and even inspired one member of the group to write her own play.

Blueprint: Film Foundation then took to the studio to record all four plays. Once again we collaborated with the Boston Lithuanian community, giving them the opportunity to act in the radio plays. The plays were then edited together by David Brook and Mikaela Smith, ready to be aired for a wide audience at the Magna Carta Poets Laureate Lincolnshire Landscape project alongside an excellent programme of creative projects designed to explore the themes of freedom of speech, human rights and democracy.