Chrys Salt writes poetry, plays, books, features and direct in the theatre. She has written and edited many books and magazines and held residencies and performed her work in the UK, American, France, Canada, Germany and Finland. Work has been broadcast on both Radio 3 and 4, read by Chrys and by others, and has appeared in many anthologies, magazines and journals. Chrys is a trained performer and worked as an actress for many years before focussing on directing and writing. She is Artistic Director of the Bakehouse, a flourishing arts venue in South West Scotland and runs performance and skills development workshops for professional actors at the London Actors Centre, and in writing and performance country wide.

The following is a summary of her wide ranging work in the literary arts

Poetry collections

Inside Out. Pub: Autolycus Press/Thames Publishing 1989
Daffodils at Christmas. Pub: The Galloway Poets Series 1998
In Town Tonight. Pub: Markings 1998 (Solway Festival Poets Anthology)
Collateral Damage. Pub: Markings 2004
Greedy for Mulberries. Pub Markings 2009
Old Times. Pub: Roncadora 2009
Grass. Pub:Indigo Dreams July 2012

Books include:

Here We Go – Women’s Memories of the 1984/85 Miners Strike – CRS National Media Award
We Are of One Blood Pub: The Woodcraft Folk
Of Whole Heart Cometh Hope Pub: Age Exchange
College Lives Pub: London University
Make Acting Work. Pub: Bloomsbury and Methuen. Third edition. UK and US
The Methuen Book of Contemporary Monologues for Men. Pub: Methuen. UK and US
The Methuen Book of Contemporary Monologues for Women Pub: Methuen. UK and US
The Methuen Book of Modern Monologues for Men Pub: Methuen. UK and US
The Methuen Book of Modern Monologues for Women: Pub. Methuen. UK and US
The Methuen Book of Classical Monologues for Men: Pub. Methuen. UK and US
The Methuen Book of Classical Monologues for Women: Pub. Methuen. UK and US

Poetry performances include:

BBC Radio 3 and 4, The Glasgow Book Festival ( Aye Write) Piccadilly Poets (London) Portobello Poets (Edinburgh), The Fruit Market (Edinburgh). The Scottish Poetry Library (Edinburgh). The Poetry Café (London) The Tricycle Theatre (London). The Bowery Poetry Club (New York), The Imperial War Museum (London) , Lancaster University Concerts, The Edinburgh Festival (various venues), The Cheltenham Festival, The Langholm and Eskdale Festival, The Dumfries and Galloway Arts Festival (various venues), The Wigtown Book Festival, and many more.

Poetry installation
Toutes Directions – a poetry installation in collaboration with poet John Hudson and two French artists involving film, fine art, performance and a physical installation.

Plays include:

Of Whole Heart Cometh Hope for Age Exchange Westminster Hall, Festival Hall and tour
College Voices for London University
Old King Coal (Major Road). Director Graham Devlin. National tour.
Striking Out (feature) BBC Radio 4
Moths (drama adaptation) Director Janet Whitaker. BBC Radio 4.
A Little Scandal is a Dangerous Thing (drama feature). Director Janet Whitaker. BBC Radio 4.

Directing includes:

Trapping The Antelope – Anne Rigal and Rachel Silver – (Nadia Sawalha) The Young Vic.
Dusa, Fish, Stas and Vi – Pam Gems – The Thorndike, Leatherhead
Star Turns – Stephen Lavell –Jewish Theatre Productions/The New End Theatre
On The Road to Jerusalem – Nomi Sharon – The New End
Sophie: Last of the Red Hot Mommas – Bernard Kops – New End Theatre Productions
A Wing and a Prayer – Alan Franks – New End Theatre Productions
Little Malcolm and His Struggle Against the Eunuchs – David Halliwell – The Boulevard Theatre.
Muck from Three Angles – David Halliwell – The Hackney Empire
Confusions – Alan Ayckbourne – The Tristan Bates
Alyson – the Story of a Green Witch – Julia Aston Smith – Greenwich and World tour
The Cutteslowe Walls – David Halliwell – The Cockpit
Killing Time, The Singer and The Pencil Letters – three short operas by Christopher Littlewood – Jolly Music. Showcased at The Fortune Theatre.
The Prisoner’s Pumpkin by Alan McMurtrie (Yvonne Antrobus and Carl Forgione) The Chelsea Centre Theatre (Best New Play Award)
The Witlings by Fanny Burney adapted by Chrys Salt (Annette Badland, Delia Lindsay, Simon Cox) Tristan Bates
The Last Obit by Peter Tinniswood (Angela Pleasence) – The Pleasance, Edinburgh Festival (Fringe First), Southern Scotland tour (in association with Pleasence/Salt Productions)
On the Whole It’s Been Jolly Good by Peter Tinniswood (Leslie Phillips) – The Pleasance, Edinburgh Festival, tour and The Hampstead Theatre, London
Viva La Diva by Chris Ballance (Jean Boht and Ian Angus Wilkie) – The Pleasance, Edinburgh Festival.
Aphrodite Blues by Robert Hamilton (John Pickard, Jacqueline Pearce) New End Theatre (In association with ArtiZan)
The Chicken Show ( Eryl Maynard) – The Pleasance, Edinburgh Festival, Radio 4 (‘Pick of the week’ and the play audiences most wanted to hear again)
Augusta by Alan Franks – the New End Theatre (London)
Laughing in the Dark by Graeme Messer – The New End Theatre (London)
Chrys was both director and lyricist on this production.

Directing on Sound
Chrys has directed and compiled over three dozen audio products of Classic Short Stories (Sir Derek Jacobi, Edward Fox, Joanna David, Rosalind Ayres, Harriet Walter, Patrick Malahide, Edward Hardwicke and many more)

Poetry anthologies on audio include:
Rupert Brooke. His Life and Work (Douglas Hodge and Mike Read)
The Best of Second World War Poetry ( readers include Martin Jarvis, Lord Dennis Healey, T.P. McKenna, Richard Todd, Spike Milligan and Phil Collins)

 

Workshops
Chrys facilitates regular skills development workshops for professional actors at the London Actors Centre.
Regular workshops for writers include Make your writing speak to help poets better perform their work for an audience, and Capturing the thought – a practical workshop to support the process of writing.

 

Acting
Chrys trained at the Birmingham Theatre School and The Birmingham School of Speech and Drama and developed her skills through the repertory system. Periods in The Archers and many radio performances and TV series followed, along with continuing stage performances, touring and work in the West End.

 

Awards, and Residencies

Awards, and Residencies:
National Media Award (CRS) New Writing Bursary (English Arts Council) Work Development Grant (Scottish Arts Council) Fringe First (Edinburgh Festival). Writer’s Residencies include Royal Holloway and Bedford New College (London University) and Poitou Charente Region (France 2009). The Bakehouse has been nominated three times for an Arts and Business Award with its corporate partners The Crichton Development Company and Bibilographic Data Services.Winner of Arts and Business Award 2012 with corporate partner WeeSleekit

Weaver of Grass ( Pub: Hatterick's House. Artwork Deirdre Carlisle) shortlisted for The  Callum Macdonald Memorial Award 2014
Awarded a Creative Scotland Writing Bursary 2014
Chrys was awarded an MBE for services to The Arts in Dumfries and Galloway in The Queen's Birthday Honours List 2014