Excellence in creative communications, health and welfare

We are a creative consultancy developing and delivering ideas to inspire, engage, inform, to entertain and to improve communications and health, headed by Writer and Arts&Health Practitioner Elspeth Penny.

We specialise in:

• writing, directing, filming or performance services
• arts and health projects
• bringing research and ideas to life, to stimulate debate and discussion.

Our  team is made up of award winning professionals and consultants working in the creative industries, academia, medicine, TV, theatre or on-line. We work with organisations such as The Wellcome Trust, The Heritage Lottery Fund, Nailsea Town Council, West of England Centre of Inclusive Living, EHCAP, The Technology Strategy Board, Bristol, Bath, Exeter and many other universities, The Arts Council, Discovering Blackdown Project, Regional Development Agency, the NHS and the BBC.

January 2020

Here’s my January blog post, featuring all the latest for Catch Your Breath Bristol including a virtual walk through of the exhibiton:

Catch Your Breath Exhibition and events, Winter 2019-20

2019 Nov

Script-writing: wonderful to be working with clinician Barny Hole at Bristol University to create script material using original data, and to direct them into short, acted vignettes, to act as focal points for discussion. These have been performed by actors at two events, a PPI day (patient and public involvement) in Fishponds, and a clinical conference at the Wills building in central Bristol. For more, see our Project page.

Catch Your Breath exhibition and workshop programme https://catchyourbreath.org/catch-your-breath-moves-to-bristol  has had a vibrant present in Bristol since September, for Life of Breath Project, starting with a launch at Southmead and many other activities. Some lovely feedback: 

‘A brilliant range of events, inventive and intelligent’. 

‘You were a great speaker – audible, succinct, interesting and measured (steady presence).’

‘What a rich, diverse and interesting array of exhibits and stories!’ 

Graphic novel: my own creative practice as an artist has recently been on my graphic novel, working with the steadying second opinion from graphic novelist Rachael Ball. I presented my work to 35 artists at the Laydeez do Comics meeting in Bristol in October. For more, see our Project page.

2019 July

In July, I ran a workshop, along with Dr Gene Feder and Dr Alice Malpass at the Storytelling for Health conference in Swansea. On display at the festival was “Suspended Breath” by Louise Jenkins, an art work which has been inspired by our Letter to the the Breath project. There was also the launch of a new paper by Alice and and myself freshly published in a special festival edition – Storytelling, Self and Society.

2019 June

Over Spring, I am feeling so fortunate to have been nourished on a series of creative residentials, with storytelling as an ongoing theme. All of these have brought my own creative practice together with a wider storytelling for transformation theme.

1. the first was Arts and Health South West’s Spring School on Storytelling and Young people’s mental health – an intensive residential school for health professionals, researchers and arts practitioners in a beautiful location in Dorset. Time for collaboration, action learning, and experimental practice. Wonderful.
2. The second was Storyworks for film makers, at Cherry Orchards Bristol looking at the stories that tell us, “the descent”, then restorying the World with Kanada Gorla and Tina Sharman, organised for women film makers by Bristol film maker Esther May Campbell.
3. The third was a graphic novel residency, run by Laydeez do Comics – which supportive critical feedback and clear direction from a small focused group (yes I am working on a graphic novel!). This was an inspiring, fun and creative weekend in the countryside near Grantham with graphic novelists Rachael Ball, Charlotte Bailey, Lou Crosby, Wallis Eates and Nicola Streeten, and Corinne Pearlman, Editor in Chief at Myriad Editions.

2019 April

I have a new role, as one of two Exhibition Consultants for Life of Breath Project’s end of project exhibition ‘Catch Your Breath’ at Southmead hospital and beyond. I’m working part time alongside Dr Catherine Lamont Robinson, artist, researcher and honorary lecturer in the School of Social and Community Medicine at University of Bristol… we’ve had a number of wonderful first meetings. We can’t wait to get deep into the discussions, plans, ideas and practicalities of bringing them all into being along with other artists, clinicians and academics and staff at Southmead.

2019 Delighted to announce that a new paper written by Elspeth Penny and Dr Alice Malpass, is now available Open Access: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17533015.2018.1555178. (Taylor Francis online). This comes out of our work with Wellcome Trust funded Life of Breath project. It is also due to be published in an issue of Arts & Health. 

2018-19  We’ve won funding from Life of Breath Project to pilot Letter to the Breath creative workshops in 3 schools.

2018 We won Arts Council England National Lottery funding to write, direct and preview a theatre play – Silva Lining’s Care Plan. Based on anonymised diaries kept by paid home carers who work with people with dementia, the work explores the world of the paid carer with the help of live music, plenty of mischief and a dose of tenderness. Special thanks to our partner Professor Justine Schneider at Nottingham University and all our wonderful cast and team, it’s been such fun. Onwards now to the next phase….

See trailer: Silva Lining trailer 

Contact us at: elspeth@2buproductions.co.uk

07736371087

2BU Productions Ltd,
Company No. 6833927
Registered Office:3 The Old Chapel, Blagdon, Bristol, North Somerset BS407TL

36 Hillcourt Rd, London, SE220PE