David William Parry

David William Parry (born 25 August 1958), is a published author, poet, dramaturge, Fellow of The Royal Society of Arts, active Libertarian and Valentinian (Gnostic) Bishop. He was the founder and chair of Gruntlers' Group.

In the early eighties he moved to London from Fareham in Hampshire. After living in South London for a few years, he graduated in religious studies at King's College London (1990). Later, in 1996, he obtained a Master's degree in Pastoral Theology at Heythrop College, London.

Career

Parry was teaching contemporary English literature, drama, language and semantics. He has given readings as a poet and practising Pagan; delivered lectures, offered sermons and performed public rituals across the United Kingdom since 1996.

Parry founded Gruntlers' in 2008 as a loosely connected group of "Imagist" writers. By November 2009 this group had developed into "Gruntlers' Arts Group", which staged regular multimedia events at the Poetry Place in Covent Garden.

Also, as producer, director and an actor in Gruntlers' Cabaret, he helped to develop Gruntlers Theatre, which performed the "The Botanist Monsieur Jordan and The Sorcerer-Dervish Mastali Shah", written by Mirza Fatali Akhundov, in 2010 at the "Arts Educational School", where he played the character of "Lord Hatamkhan". In the late autumn of the same year, Gruntlers' introduced Imadaddin Nasimi to the English speaking public at Pushkin House, London. In December 2011, he directed the first English language production of "Shakespeare: a comedy in ten scenes, both serious and tragic" (by the Azerbajiani playwright Elchin Afandiyev). Gruntlers' were a three pronged Arts Collective, consisting of a Theatrical Company, a literary salon and an international multimedia cabaret. In the tradition of DaDa, Absurdism and Surrealism, the principal intention of Gruntlers' Theatre was to promote Fringe arts in a contemporary setting.

Gruntlers' finished in 2012 and Parry started "Allting UK", to promote Literature and the Arts. Following financial problems, however, this company has now become Theo-Humanist Arts Ltd.

Recently, he wrote "A preface with smoke and mirrors" as an introduction to Elchin's first collection of plays in English.

Since 2013, David started additional career as a producer at The Azerbaijan Russian State Theatre.

In 2013, David Parry was accused of being a Neo-Fascist by Indymedia UK and Circle Ansuz.

On 3 June 2013 David Parry co-convened an academic conference "Quest of the Heart" with Dr. Minna Koivuniemi, where he read an academic paper, entitled "Henrik Ibsen, Love and the Staging of Kierkegaard's World View". The conference was co-sponsored by the University of Helsinki and University of London.

In July 2013 David Parry produced Elchin Afandief's theatre play "Citizens of Hell", which was reviewed by Digital Journal.

In January 2014, David was made a celebrant for the Fellowship of Independent Celebrants (FOIC). This makes him the first recognised Godhi in United Kingdom with authority to officiate at weddings, funerals, and Child Namings.

On top of this, David has recently extended the reach of Theo-Humanist Arts by co-hosting on the alternative podcast show THA Talks with Paul Obertelli. Furthermore, reviving his credentials in British Surrealism, David has started to co-produce, occasionally write, and direct, for Inlight TV, internet television station.

In December 2014, Parry made history by staging a scene from his play "A Day in the Light" (based on the meeting between Albert Schweitzer and James Cameron) at the British House of Lords.

David Parry and Jez Turner founded the extremist club, as a way to blend serious arts and active politics in 2015.

Parry is convening Arts, Spirituality, and Cern through Kickstarter as a two day conference in February 2016.

Academic Forums

David Parry is a regular round table panellist, contributing academic papers:

• 1996 - Delivered 5 papers on "Mystical Christianity". Theosophical Guest House, Tekels Park, UK
• 2010 - "British Fringe Theatre as Folk Laboratory". First international Theatre Conference. Baku, Azerbaijan.
• 2011 – "Images of Mount Athos in English Literature", (Salzburg, Austria).
• 2012 – "The influence of Athos in the Arts", (Weimar, Germany).
• 2013 – "Orthodoxy, Askesis, and Traditionalist Themes in English Literature", (Belgrade, Serbia).
• 2013 – Panellist at "Modern Mass media and new Challenges" at Baku International Humanitarian Forum.
• 2014 - Panellist for "Religion - What's the point?" at the House of Lords (London, UK)
• 2014 - Panellist and moderator for 3rd Open Central Asian Book Forum and Literature Festival, Almaty, Kazakhstan.
• 2014 - Panellist and guest speaker at Paracon UK, Derby, UK.

Certificates and Awards

• 2011 - Certificate: "Word Union of Culture" for contribution made for cultural contacts between creative people and studios.
• 2014 - Medal: Golden medal for Contributions for developing theatre, Almaty, Kazakhstan at "3rd Open Central Asian Book Forum and Literature Festival"
• 2014 - Certificate: "For the strengthening of peace, friendship and mutual understanding between people" at International association "Generals of the world for peace"
• 2014 - Honorary Life Member of The Doreen Valiente Foundation & The Centre for Pagan Studies for "continued commitment and dedication to the wider Pagan Community".
• 2014 - Certificate of Merit by International Association "Generals of the World for Peace"
• 2014 - Parry was awarded a Fellowship with the Royal Society of Arts (8031816)
• 2014 - Certificate of Continuing Professional Development: "The Artist's Gift - The Contest of Arachne & Athene" Presented by Jim Fitzgerald
• 2015 - Certificate of Continuing Professional Development: "In the Realm of the Ancestors" Presented by Jim Fitzgerald
• 2015 - Certificate of Continuing Professional Development: "Jacob's Ladder: An Adventure in Individuation" Presented by David Freeman
• 2015 - Certificate of Continuing Professional Development: "Incest and the Myth of Myrrha" presented by Julian David

Publications

Parry has published a number of reviews, experimental essays and literary introductions, including:

• "Caliban's Redemption" (Mandrake 2004 / Finatran),
• "The Grammar of Witchcraft" (Mandrake 2009),
• Preface to Gulvin's "Pyramid theory of Marriage", (2009)
• Editor: Akhundov's "Botanist Monsieur Jordan and the Sorcerer-Dervish Mastali Shah", (2010)
• "Preface to Elchin: My favourite Madman and other Plays", (2012)
• "National Anarchism: Methodology and Application" (2013) – Essay entitled "Heathenism and Tradition of Dissent"
• TEAS Magazine June 2012 (Page 13) – "Getting 'The Hump' at Eurovision"
• "Deconstructing Mount Athos: An Image of the Sacred in English Literature" - Tradition (2015)
• "Performing Gnosis: A Few Investigative Jottings" - C. G. Jung Club London Newsletter Summer 2015 (Page 6)
• "THE COURAGE TO BE" - Norskk
• "My Homeland, Oh My Crimea" (Silk Road Media 2015): as Editor
• "The Plight of a Postmodern Hunter" (HERTFORDSHIRE PRESS 2015): as Editor
• "Goethe and Abay" (HERTFORDSHIRE PRESS 2015): as Editor
• "The Wormwood Wind" (Silk Road Media 2015): as Editor
• "THE HOLLYWOOD CONUNDRUM OR GUARDIAN OF TREASURE" (Silk Road Media 2015): as Editor

(Source: https://annamb2276.wixsite.com/fieraesoterika/single-post/2017/07/04/David-William-Parry)

David Parry's address to the Baku IHF, October 2013

Delivered to the Baku International Humanities Forum in October 2013

Introduction: Trivia and Dissent

My fear is that the press increasingly communicates in a one dimensional manner, no matter what language it speaks in. Put differently, it talks in the parlance of conjecture. Yet, there is on old saying in Great Britain claiming “assumptions” make an “ass” out of “you” and “me”, which may be why I find the very title of the topic under discussion on this round table problematic. If is not simply the philosophical fact that notions of the “topical” seem driven by a rampant ideological depersonalisation sadly prevalent in our modern times, but that “globalizing” is itself held up as an unquestionable “good”, along with its quasi-demonic twin the “information network”. We are all human beings, undoubtedly, and access to raw data could be classed as a human Right, but boundaries and boarders are equally important, particularly against the manufactured flow of Media generalisation and the dangerous dismissal of informed dissent.

Ostensibly, the fields of Media, Entertainment, and Communication have never been more exciting. Additionally, the vigorous investment-opportunities in this area over the past three decades bear clear testimony to an unabated enthusiasm for technical development. Overall, such excitement is due to the alleged benefits of electronic innovations like Infobahn’s, as well as new methods of digitalised transmission Indeed, the working paper No. 179, 1994, (old news) of the Centre for Coordination Science at MIT describes the concept as follows: “The information superhighway directly connects millions of people, each both a consumer of information and a potential provider. Most predictions about commercial opportunities on the information superhighway focus on the provision of information products, such as video on demand, and on new sales outlets for physical products, as with home shopping. The information superhighway brings together millions of individuals who could exchange information with one another. Any conception of a traditional market for making beneficial exchanges, such as an agricultural market or trading pit, or any system where individuals respond to posted prices on a computer screen is woefully inadequate for the extremely large number of often complex trades that will be required.” However, even a cursory examination of these concerns quickly reveals inauthentic ideological assumptions.  Do we really, as individuals, need to barter in a twenty four hour feeding frenzy of theoretical gains, or pick up a date in the perpetual, unsleeping, purgatory of the sexually available? Is it actually a burning issue of the day to be informed about tax benefits gifted to a Manchester United Soccer player, the price of cheese in Beijing, or how many fist fights a Hollywood celebrity has had with prying paparazzi? Malcontented media bosses and info-junkies to one side, potential usage is an important factor in terms of environment sustainability, and in their nightmare world of broken machines only the affluent seem to benefit.

British Theatre, curiously, is an instructive reminder of quality over quantity.  Not merely a diversion from the dreary realities of our workaday lives, unlike so many democratising Apps, televisual entertainments, pushbike exchanges, or consciously narcotising podcasts. It explores Beauty, both great and small: in itself, an act of information-dissent. Traditionally, standing against the type of collectivisation placing facticity above all, along with embodying an opposition to the decrementing and cynical way commerce inculcates issue-priorities it refuses to surrender idea-rich content to reductively manageable bytes. And as such, Theatre reminds us all that knowledge is not only information, but a superior, intrinsically unique, source of human freedom, along with the enlightening realisation that facts never equate with truth; a very poor equation in qualitative human cognition. 

David Parry: Forging a Cultural Exchange between Azerbaijan and Britain

There are two things that can be said of Elchin Afandiyev: you will probably not have heard of him; you will be hearing a lot more about him in the future.

David Parry is a multi-talented individual, and when I attended, by invitation, a viewing of Citizens Of Hell Tuesday night, he was wearing his producer’s hat. Over the past few years, Parry has been nurturing cultural ties with the government of Azerbaijan, a country that has existed in its own right since only 1991.

Like Parry, Elchin Afandiyev is a multi-talented individual, a politician as well as a playwright, and this performance of his play Citizens Of Hell at Theatro Technis was a world first: the first time it had ever been performed either in the West or in English.

Community theatre is not for everyone, nor is Citizens Of Hell because it requires at least a superficial knowledge of one of the darkest periods of 20th Century history outside of its frequent wars, namely the Soviet Union under Stalin, in particular the denunciations and show trials which, contrary to what some continue to claim, was not a myth.

The play has only three characters: a husband and wife, and a mysterious visitor to their 5th floor apartment on New Year’s Eve 1937-8.

The play actually begins and ends with an art slide show set to music; there is a dialogue at the dinner table between the couple, then the stranger appears, and the wife recognises him for who he is at once, the Devil. That doesn’t stop her lending a hand when her husband attempts to strangle him, but after two resurrections there can be no doubt

Why would they resort to such violence? Because he tells them both some uncomfortable home truths about their respective roles in denouncing people to the authorities, and produces a letter the husband had written to Comrade Stalin himself.

Old Nick’s physical manifestation is hardly a new theme of course, it can be found in both literature and films including The Devil’s Advocate and ten years earlier in Angel Heart, but there is nothing as covert as either of those appearances here.

How does the story end? That would be telling, suffice it to say, the Devil is the only good guy in this two act play. The role is filled by Dominic O’Flynn, who currently has five entries in the IMDb. Expect to see a lot more in future.

The play Citizens Of Hell was performed at the Theatro Technis in North London. It was only a small production at a community theatre, but there is one man who hopes to see a mighty oak grow from this tiny acorn. The play was directed by lecturer David Parry, and it is important because? This was the first performance in the West and in English of this miniature, which was written by Elchin Afandiyev, who is a politician as well as a playwright in Azerbaijan.

On the Saturday following its premiere, producer Parry and the rest of his small but enthusiastic team mingled with representatives of the Azerbaijan Government. The play was sponsored by the country’s Ministry Of Culture And Tourism, and supported by the London Embassy.

Parry’s next project is something entirely different, but don’t think he is finished with either Elchin or Azerbaijan. Here is the man in his own words. On the play: “this was the play I had always envisaged. An exploration of political paranoia and sexual frustration: a spiritual dystopia”.

And on the playwright: “...I find Elchin a remarkable, not to mention subversive, playwright. Therefore, if I get my way, I would like to stage all 100 of his plays.”

This young country is strategically important, being rich in natural resources, and also in culture. It can only be beneficial to the UK to develop strong cultural ties with it, and if it does, a hundred years from now our descendants might find the name Elchin Afandiyev in their school curricula alongside Dickens and Shakespeare. If they do, David Parry is the man they will have to thank.

Alexander Baron's interview with David Parry, about Citizens of Hell:
Digial Journal, 6th August, 2013

London - Last month, the play ‘Citizens Of Hell’ had its London, UK, Western and English language debut. David Parry was the man behind it.

Alexander Baron: David, thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule to talk to us. Can I ask you why you chose this particular play to introduce Elchin Afandiyev to a UK audience?

David Parry: Towards the end of our brief premiere run, this was the play I had always envisaged. An exploration of political paranoia and sexual frustration: a spiritual dystopia. As such, performances became even more demanding for all those involved. Indeed, the very long speeches and highly destructive atmosphere proved challenging and tempestuous for the actors. Also, like most people involved in professional theatre, we would have benefited from more time in rehearsals (without the prohibitive costs), and better publicity.

AB: I gather that on the following Saturday you rubbed shoulders with the great and good of Azerbaijan. How did that go?

DP: Regarding the Ambassador's reception, the Embassy was generous to a fault. What is more, the Ambassador extended his personal support for my work once again, delivering a very fine speech. Overall, this was the most successful evening, particularly in terms of dramaturgy and cultural exchange.

AB: What about your team?

DP: I believe we will be recasting this show due to other commitments on the part of the actors. That said, our technical supports were wonderful and can hopefully stay with us. Certainly, I want to work with the artist Filip Firsov again and the designer Eva Terzoni. Moreover, Nick Pelas, John Dunne and I will be expanding my company (Allthing Ltd) into the radical voice in British Theatre. We aim to tackle those issue that our colleague shy away from.

AB: What do you think of the playwright? Obviously you know a great deal about the man and his work.

DP: On a personal level, I find Elchin a remarkable, not to mention subversive, playwright. Therefore, if I get my way, I would like to stage all 100 of his plays.

AB: What is your next project?

DP: My next arts project is more akin to Chamber Theatre a la Strindberg. It will be radical occult performance, wherein we will attempt to reach the wisdom of our ancestors through seance and ritual. Titled An Act Of Necromancy, my aim is to mix an invited audience with practitioners of the hidden arts to recover lost knowledge. It is already being advertised on Facebook and will be staged on Saturday, October 26, at a location to be arranged.
All in all, those things admitted, I suspect my work as a Heathen Priest equally needs a lot more attention. Obviously, I will keep you informed of developments.

AB: Oh yes, David Parry is also a pagan. And a lecturer. You may not believe in the supernatural, but it usually makes good theatre.

David Parry's Production of 'Shakespeare Tonight' at the Edinburgh Fringe 2016

A promo for my production of Shakespeare Tonight:

as well as a recording of the play itself;

To be honest, this doesn't do our ensemble justice 😞


David Parry producer/Director. Brings Shakespeare back to the UK. With some  amazing writers...  Performed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2016.