When Vibe catches up with Stella Duffy, it’s clear the Woolwich-born writer and theatre-maker is on a serious mission to have fun.

The Loughborough Junction resident is launching Fun Palaces this weekend (October 4 and 5) to bring art and science back into the streets for everyone to enjoy.

The initiative, which includes everything from mermaids in lidos to robots and behind-the-scenes theatre tours, the scheme is action-packed.

Stella believes the concept of the Fun Palace, devised by Joan Littlewood in 1961, is fundamental in ensuring everyone can enjoy the arts and sciences.

She says: “I never knew I could be an artist, until I was about 15 and even then, I thought only posh people were writers.

“Thinking about my own family in Woolwich, they might have gone to the theatre in central London once a year at the most. A lot of people feel it’s not for them.

“My grandfather was born in Griffin Street, Deptford, around where the Deptford Lounge is and in the Charles Booth poverty map it was a dark blue colour which meant it was a really poor area. He was working by the age of 14.

“I grew up in a council estate in the Woolwich dockyards until I was five and because I was the youngest of seven I used to play on the balcony.

“I remember hearing the sound of the ships coming along the Thames and now the river has ended up being a strong theme in my work.”

Stella moved to New Zealand when she was five but has since spent most her life in south London where she has spent countless hours preparing the Fun Palaces initiative.

She says: “The Albany in Deptford - which is where we’ve been organising the Fun Palaces – is only 20 minutes from my home in Loughborough Junction.

“It uses its space brilliantly and has so much going on including Meet me at the Albany, a social group for older people.

“There will things happening in Greenwich, and Deptford for example and Old Bexley Church of England Primary School, Hurst Road, is opening up its new building on October 4. 

News Shopper:

“I’ve never organised something as big as this – there are going to be 131 events going on around the country throughout a single weekend.”

Stella, who published her first novel 20 years ago, said: “It’s important everyone knows they can become involved in the arts and sciences if they want to.

“It was a lifechanging moment for me when I realised.”

Visit @FunPalaces or funpalaces.co.uk

Stella's Writing Tips

“Keep going – far too many people spend ages on their first three chapters thinking you just have to send these off to an agent with a synopsis but that was only ever the case for about three people in the 90s.

“No one writes a brilliant first draft, you don’t want to edit too much before you finish it, just keep writing until you’ve got it all down.

“Don’t feel like you have to give up your job – lots of people like Dostoyevsky kept on with their jobs.

“I teach Arvon courses and tell people, don’t write your novel in your sabbatical, what a waste that would be. Do it first thing in the morning or at night when you can’t sleep.

“And don’t feel like you have to do a course – most the writers I know haven’t. If you decide to do one, research it carefully because they can take a lot of time and money.”