Ed Berman

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Biographical Information

"ED Berman arrived in Britain as a Rhodes Scholar to Oxford from Harvard in 1962. In London from 1966 he continued his work on developing the theory and practice of inter-active games —the Inter-Action Creative Game Method-- working with young people, actors and community groups in West London around Beauchamp Lodge and Notting Dale. He created his first community theatre piece, Beowulf, staged on a barge with young people on the Regent’s Park Canal Around this time he met Clive Barker, who was teaching at Warwick University and developing his own theory of games. Their work influenced each other, though ED’s was more focused on the psychology and creativity of individuals and groups generally and Clive’s on theatre games. Clive Barker served on the Board of Inter-Action from its founding in 1968. Berman’s own first five plays were produced in 1967-68 by the International Theatre Club (The Mercury Theatre in Notting Hill). The group which formed around these plays decided to leave with ED and Naftali Yavin to establish two new companies within the newly formed charity, Inter-Action Trust...

"ED Berman negotiated with British Rail to take over several tracts (10,000 acres) of British Railway land which were unusable for development under modern planning legislation because of their proximity to the railway lines. Inter-Action established the first City Farm in Britain in Kentish Town, north London, in 1971. Originally called the Fun Art Farm it rapidly became a model for city farms which sprang up across the country. The new Inter-Action Centre at Talacre was the first home of the National Federation of City Farms and Community Gardens. As with most of Inter-Action’s projects, ED Berman put great emphasis on information using activities as a model that could be recreated elsewhere with Inter-Action publishing ‘How To...’ guides with its publishing company, In-Print, to encourage initiatives elsewhere. This National Association and its grants were devolved within a few years to a democratically elected lead group. Inter-Action no longer played a role in the movement except for running City Farm I—this policy of completely devolved independence characterised ED Berman’s approach to community work...

"Numerous other activities including the establishment of WAC- the Weekend Arts College, the first Community Media Van, a community print shop including the publishing arm, Inter-Action In-Print, a film company, Infilms, a free school and a plethora of computer projects from the 1980s onward; then two more theatre companies: the Old Age Theatre Society (OATS) working in old people’s homes and the British American Repertory Company (BARC), the first joint company approved by both Equity Unions and both countries for non-star actors and stage staff.

"ED Berman became a British citizen in 1976 and received an MBE in 1979. He has worked in Hong Kong, Germany, Holland, Norway, Sweden, South Africa and India as a Director/Trainer as well as advising on developing new social enterprises. In Russia he worked as an Adviser to three State Ministers and in the UK as a non-party-political Special Advisor on Inner City Matters to Cabinet Ministers, Michael Heseltine and Tom King]. Among other actions, he has been the Chairman of the successful Save Piccadilly Campaign (to stop the high rise office development surrounding the Circus) and the action against JP Morgan to open their blocking of a walkway/cycling path of the Thames Walkway on the Isle of Dogs. He continues to spend part of each year in India, advising on social enterprise projects, mainly with women, and environmental projects, especially water developments."