OffScript

In this episode of OffScript, Dash Arts' Artistic Director Josephine Burton is joined by Dr. Neil Buttery—food historian, cook, and the voice behind The British Food History Podcast—for a delicious and wide-ranging conversation about the edible stories that define us.Josephine and Neil trace the history of English food from the kitchen outwards, exploring how our national palate has been shaped by invasion, trade, and social change. They discuss how the ingredients on our plates reflect the class fault lines of history, the evolution of the "traditional" English diet, and why food is perhaps the most intimate way to understand the changing identity of a nation.They talk about the culinary "soft power" of the dinner table and who gets to define what constitutes "proper" English food. From the voracious appetite of early global trade to the regional dishes that have stood the test of time, they unpick why our hunger for new flavours, far from diluting our traditions, is precisely what keeps our food culture vital and alive. Plus Neil designs a small plates menu which tells a story of English food today And because the conversation sits alongside Our Public House, Dash Arts' new touring theatre production, a state-of-the-nation play set in a pub, Josephine and Neil discuss the role of the pub as part of our culinary history!The British Food History Podcast can be found here: britishfoodhistory.comOur Public House is currently touring England. Find out more at https://www.dasharts.org.uk/our-public-houseThis episode is part of Dash Arts' Albion series — an ongoing exploration of what it means to be English today.Our intro music is Fakiiritanssi by Marouf Majidi

In this episode of OffScript, Dash Arts' Artistic Director Josephine Burton is joined by Lynne Murphy, Professor of Linguistics at the University of Sussex, author of The Prodigal Tongue, and the American voice behind the long-running blog Separated by a Common Language, for a wide-ranging and surprising conversation about the language we think we own.Josephine and Lynne trace English from its violent beginnings, a language forged through invasion, layered with the speech of Angles, Saxons and Normans, carrying the class fault lines of its Saxon-French inheritance all the way into the present, to the extraordinary global story of a tongue that has long since outgrown its origins. They explore how migration has always remade English from below, how empire exported it across the world, and what it means that English is now spoken by more people as a second language than as a first.They talk about language as soft power and who gets to wield it. About the difference between a language of place and a language of people. About the voraciousness of English, its restless appetite for new words, new rhythms, new speakers and why that hunger, far from diluting the language, is precisely what keeps it alive.The conversation finds its way into Our Public House, Dash Arts' new touring theatre production, a state-of-the-nation play set in a pub, born out of three years of travelling England and listening to over 700 people talk about the country they want to live in. Because if English is a language that belongs to everyone who speaks it, then Englishness might work the same way — and that's exactly what Our Public House is asking. Dead Language Society can be found here: www.deadlanguagesociety.com Lynne Murphy’s blog can be found here:  https://separatedbyacommonlanguage.blogspot.com Our Public House is currently touring England. Find out more at https://www.dasharts.org.uk/our-public-house This episode is part of Dash Arts' Albion series — an ongoing exploration of what it means to be English today.Our intro music is Fakiiritanssi by Marouf Majidi

In this episode of OffScript, Josephine Burton is joined by historian, journalist, and writer Paula Akpan. A specialist in Black British history and queer identity, Paula brings a vital perspective to our exploration of Albion.Drawing on her acclaimed book, When We Ruled: The Rise and Fall of Twelve African Queens and Warriors, Paula discusses the power of restoring overlooked narratives to the centre of our global and national stories. Together, they examine how history shapes the idea of who gets to be seen as "English" and the intersections of race, memory, and belonging.From pre-colonial African leadership to contemporary British activism, this conversation explores whether Englishness can ever be fully inclusive and how learning untold histories can reshape our understanding of identity today.Our Public House is currently touring England. Find out more at https://www.dasharts.org.uk/our-public-houseThis episode is part of Dash Arts' Albion series - an ongoing exploration of what it means to be English today.Our intro music is Fakiiritanssi by Marouf Majidi

Josephine Burton takes us inside the rehearsal room of Our Public House, Dash Arts' new touring theatre production and the culmination of our series of work on Albion.We join the company during their rehearsals at Toynbee Studios while some of the country heads to the polls in local elections. Assistant Director Scott Hurran shares insights into the collective creation of characters and how communities across the country have shaped the play's development.Set in a pub, Our Public House is a play about Englishness: who we are, what we've lost, and what we might still become.Our Public House tours England from May 2026. Get your tickets and find out more on the Dash Arts website: https://www.dasharts.org.uk/our-public-houseOur intro music is Fakiiritanssi by Marouf MajidiYou also hear a preview of Rent Controls Now and All The Same by Jonathan Walton, arranged by Yaniv Fridel.Thanks to the cast and crew for welcoming us in with our microphones. Mary - Gabriella LeonSanjana - Bharti PatelAnika - Chaya GuptaScott - Fergus O’DonnellJo - Lauren MoakesTom - Kit EsuruosoCompany Stage Manager - Cora Frank Deputy Stage Manager - Alice KellyWritten by Barney Norris Created and Directed by Josephine Burton

What does Englishness sound like?In this episode of OffScript, Dash Arts' Artistic Director Josephine Burton is joined by musician, songwriter, and activist Billy Bragg for an electric conversation about England - its flags, its contradictions, and its capacity for protest.Billy and Josephine dig into what it means to love a country and argue with it at the same time. They explore the politics of the English flag, the radical traditions buried in folk music, and whether a song can actually change the world. Billy even sings.The conversation spills into Our Public House, Dash Arts' new touring theatre production, a state-of-the-nation play set in a pub, born out of four years of travelling England and listening to over 700 people talk about the country they want to live in. It's the kind of England Billy Bragg has been singing about for decades, and it turns out he has a lot to say about it.Because if anyone has spent a lifetime making the case for a different kind of Englishness, one rooted in solidarity, humour, and dissent, it's Billy Bragg.Our Public House is touring England, opening at Leeds Playhouse from May 15th before touring to Prescot, Coventry, Sheffield, Cornwall and London. Find out more at https://www.dasharts.org.uk/our-public-houseThis episode is part of Dash Arts' Albion series - an ongoing exploration of what it means to be English today.Our intro music is Fakiiritanssi by Marouf MajidiBilly Bragg photo by Murdo MacLeod

What makes someone English - and who gets to decide?In this episode of Off Script, Dash Arts' Artistic Director Josephine Burton is joined by choreographer Shobana Jeyasingh, born in India, raised in Sri Lanka and Malaysia, and educated in the UK, whose internationalism has always been at the heart of her practice.Shobana and Josephine explore what Englishness and Britishness actually mean, and why the tension between them matters. Shobana reflects on how English literature and a culture of open debate shaped her own values, even as she felt, in many ways, an outsider looking in.At the centre of the conversation is Shobana's production We Caliban, which draws on Shakespeare's The Tempest to interrogate the encounter between non-European cultures and the colonising gaze of Prospero. It's a work about empire, migration, and the questions that remain stubbornly unresolved. The Tempest is also the source material for Dash Arts’ forthcoming production, Our Public House. Together, Josephine and Shobana make the case for why the arts, more than politics or policy, can hold the complexity that simple definitions of belonging refuse to.You can now buy tickets for our new touring theatre production, Our Public House. Find out more on the Dash Arts website : https://www.dasharts.org.uk/our-public-house

What does Englishness mean to you?In this episode of OffScript, Dash Arts’ Artistic Director Josephine Burton is joined by journalist, writer, and Editor-in-Chief of Byline Times, Hardeep Matharu, for a wide-ranging conversation about the complex and overlooked stories shaping contemporary England. Drawing on her work leading an independent, reader-funded news outlet committed to investigative journalism and democratic accountability, Hardeep brings a sharp perspective on the narratives that dominate public life — and those that are too often ignored.This podcast series sits within Dash Arts’ ongoing exploration of landscape and language, Albion,  from reimagining Middlemarch in 1980s Coventry to running speech-making workshops with over 700 people across the UK. Throughout these projects, we’ve been listening closely to how people express identity, voice, and place.In 2026 Albion will culminate with our new touring theatre production, Our Public House. Get your tickets and to find out more on the Dash Arts website : https://www.dasharts.org.uk/our-public-house Our intro music is Fakiiritanssi by Marouf Majidi

In this episode of OffScript, Dash Arts' Artistic Director Josephine Burton takes us inside the rehearsal room and into the pub, as she introduces the people and ideas behind Our Public House, Dash Arts' new touring theatre production and the culmination of the Albion series.Josephine reflects on three years of speech-making workshops with over 700 people across the country, from community centres, schools, working men’s groups to HMP Styal, and what she has learned about who we are, and who we could be. She talks about how those voices have shaped the play, and how 150 of the people who inspired it will step onto the stage alongside the professional cast.She's joined by several guests including BSL Consultant Charly Arrowsmith, who talks about the work happening behind the scenes to build a production that speaks, in every sense, to everyone; by actor Lauren Moakes, who reflects on what it meant to meet inmates at HMP Styal and how that encounter will ground her performance; and by playwright Barney Norris, who takes us into the heart of a play about a community that has lost faith in politics and what happens when it finds its voice again.Set in a struggling pub on election night, Our Public House is a play about Englishness: who we are, what we've lost, and what we might still become. It sits at the very heart of Albion.Join us as we ask: what kind of future can we imagine together?Our Public House tours England in 2026. Get your tickets and find out more on the Dash Arts website: https://www.dasharts.org.uk/our-public-houseOur intro music is Fakiiritanssi by Marouf MajidiYou also hear a preview of Community by Jonathan Walton, arranged by Yaniv Fridel

In this episode of OffScript, Dash Arts’ Artistic Director Josephine Burton is joined by Jeremy Deller for a wide-ranging conversation about how art uncovers the contradictions, radical traditions, and hidden stories that shape contemporary England.Jeremy and Josephine reflect on why Englishness remains so slippery to define; how popular culture, folk traditions, and street art reveal who we really are.Dash Arts has been digging into landscape and language — from reimagining George Eliot’s Middlemarch in 1980s Coventry, to running speech-making workshops with more than 600 people across the country. We’ve been listening to who we are — and who we could be.Join us as we ask: what does Englishness mean to you?In 2026 Albion will culminate with our new touring theatre production, Our Public House. Get your tickets and to find out more on the Dash Arts website : https://www.dasharts.org.uk/our-public-houseOur intro music is Fakiiritanssi by Marouf MajidiThis podcast is marked explicit for language only.