“All Rise,” urges Gregory Porter…from his seated position
AMERICAN jazz singer and songwriter Gregory Porter will release his new album, All Rise, on August 28 on Decca Records/Blue Note Records.
Porter’s last studio album, 2017’s Nat King Cole & Me, was a dedication to his life-long idol, built around cover versions.
All Rise marks a return to the two-time Grammy Award winner’s original song-writing template: his heart-on-sleeve lyrics imbued with everyday philosophy and real-life detail, set to a stirring mix of jazz, soul, blues, gospel, and pop.
“You could say that I went big,” says Porter, 48, of a record produced by Troy Miller that combines the talents of his long-time bandmates, a hand-picked horn section, a ten-strong choir and the London Symphony Orchestra Strings.
“But, quite frankly, the way I write in my head, it all happens with just voice and piano first, and it’s built up from there. It feels good to get back to the rhythms and the styles and the feelings and the way that I like to lay down my own music from start to finish.”
The artwork for Gregory Porter’s August 28 album, All Rise
Sacramento-born Porter has just released his latest single, the suitably soaring Phoenix. “The song is about the undying, irrepressible spirit of love,” he says. “Love can fall, can suffer some great blow, but it can rise from the ashes and keep going.”
Phoenix follows the gospel-infused lead single Revival, the ballad If Love Is Overrated and Gregory’s dedication to his fans, friends and family, Thank You.
As he worked out the album’s direction, he looked inward, upward, and around him, arriving at a raison d’être found in the title, All Rise. “We hear that phrase when presidents or judges come into the room, but I’m thinking ‘all of us rise’, not just one person being exalted,” says Porter, who played York Barbican in October 2014 and Leeds First Direct Arena in April 2018.
“We are all exalted and lifted up by love. This is my political thought and my real truth. It comes from my personality, my mother’s personality, the personality of the blues and of black people. It’s this idea of making do with the scraps, of resurrection and ascension, and of whatever the current situation is, it can get better through love.”
Did you know?
GREGORY Porter won the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album for Liquid Spirit in 2014 and Take Me To The Alley in 2017.
Water & Seeds, 2020, acrylic and collage, by Tom Wood
LOTTE Inch Gallery’s first online-only exhibition, Tom Wood’s The Abstract Crow, is becoming even more abstract.
“The exhibition catalogue is still available to view online, but some of the more eagle-eyed browsers among you will notice a few changes,” says Lotte Inch, owner of the gallery at Fourteen Bootham, York.
“In a true insight into the daily goings-on of the artist’s studio, Tom has revisited three of the works that form part of this exhibition.”
Explaining his decision, Tom says: “Sometimes I feel compelled to revise things. It’s dangerous having things at home. Starts off a portrait…ends up a bunch of flowers! Still, it will give future conservators something to puzzle over.”
Drawing A Dahlia, by Tom Wood
Lotte rejoins: “So, here’s the perfect excuse to revisit Tom’s exhibition once more and to see if you can spot the changes. If you have any questions about any of these works or others in the show, please feel to drop us a line at lotte@lotteinch.co.uk.
“We’re always more than happy to deliver works for you to look at them if you’re based within the York area.”
Running from April 17 to May 16, Wood’s solo show pays homage to this Yorkshire artist’s love for the natural world, while displaying his imaginative and allusive abstract approach to painting.
Since graduating from Sheffield School of Art in 1978, Wood has exhibited his work worldwide. For example, his celebrated portraits of Professor Lord Robert Winston and Leeds playwright Alan Bennett, both commissioned by the National Portrait Gallery, London, have been shown at the Australian National Portrait Gallery, Canberra.
An abstract crow from Tom Wood’s The Abstract Crow online show at Lotte Inch Gallery
Wood has held solo shows at the Yale Center for British Art, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA, and Schloss Cappenberg, Kreiss Unna, Germany. Among his commissions are portraits for the National Trust, Warwick University and the Harewood Trust, for whom his large double portrait of the late 7th Earl and Countess of Harewood is on permanent display at Harewood House, near Leeds.
“We look forward to re-opening soon but, in the meantime, we continue to encourage you to browse online,” says Lotte. “Alongside Tom’s newly revised works, we also have a selection of new ceramic works and jewellery and will keep adding new items to our online shop, so do check back with us from time to time.
“Do note that if you live in the York area, we’re pleased to be able to offer a free and safe delivery service. Just select ‘Collect In Store’ and we’ll be in touch to arrange delivery of your items.”
Snooping around: The Doggfather announces rearranged dates for 2021
WEST Coast rapper Snoop Dogg is moving his I Wanna Thank Me tour date at Leeds First Direct Arena to February 17 2021.
The Covid-19 restrictions put paid to the 48-year-old American’s six-date 2020 British and Irish tour in support of his 17th album, I Wanna Thank Me, and documentary of the same name.
Released last August, they marked 25 years of the Doggfather, chart-topping rapper, film and television actor and businessman.
Joining Snoop Dogg on the rescheduled tour will be a posse of his key collaborators: West Coast rap luminaries Warren G, Tha Dogg Pound, Obie Trice and D12, plus Irish rap duo Versatile.
Whispers From The Museum: The online mystery for children that can be solved from May 12
ADVENTUROUS youngsters can help to solve a new online mystery, Whispers From The Museum, set at Scarborough Art Gallery and Rotunda Museum, from May 12.
The gallery and distinctive circular museum are closed under the Covid-19 pandemic restrictions. Nevertheless, strange messages have been appearing inside, but who or what is making them and what are they trying to tell us?
For six weeks from next Tuesday, young people – and their grown-ups – can uncover stories about assorted Scarborough Museums Trust objects by completing online missions and challenges from their own home.
Created by Scarborough artist Kirsty Harris, Whispers From The Museum will feature a fictional young girl called George whose older brother, Sam, works at the gallery and museum.
Kirsty Harris: Artist, designer, maker and now woman of mystery
“George can’t visit Sam: like everyone else, she’s staying home,” says Kirsty. “But Sam still sends her videos and photos of what he’s been up to. Recently some very strange things have been appearing overnight in the museum.
“To find out what’s been going on, participants are invited to take part in exciting weekly missions. They can open the missions on their screen or print them if they prefer.”
Each mission will include simple creative projects, such as art or writing, and when finished can be shared on social media. To access each new mission, those taking part will need to answer a simple question or solve a puzzle.
Kirsty says: “Objects and paintings are sitting quietly within the walls of the museum. With no visitors to look at them and think about why they’re so special, their meaning may begin to fade. But they’re still there, full of stories and meaning and purpose. They can reach out to us, asking us to keep their stories alive.
The Tree Of Lost Things: An earlier project by Kirsty Harris
“In a few short weeks, the world we know has become unrecognisable in so many ways. Hundreds of thousands of children are facing months of staying at home, with little real-life contact with the outside world and the inspiration it brings. It’s a lonely prospect, and one that may leave many wondering about their place in the world.”
Scarborough Museums Trust’s learning manager, Christine Rostron, says: “We’re so pleased to be working with artist Kirsty Harris, who has created a brilliant story using our buildings and collections as inspiration.
“This adventure will help children to reach out to and connect with the world beyond their front doors, into a world full of amazing objects and stories that will be waiting for them to explore physically again in the hopefully not-too-distant future.
“To take part, families will need to be able to access the internet, so it’s probably best if an adult helps! Families will be encouraged to keep the things they make until the end of the project.”
Kirsty Harris’s Shhh, Did You Hear That? at Sutton House, near York. Copyright: National Trust
Whispers From The Museum is aimed primarily at children aged seven to 11, although younger and older children will enjoy the challenges too. Free to take part in, the first mission launches on Tuesday, May 12 at scarboroughmuseumstrust.com.
Mystery adventure creator Kirsty Harris is an artist, designer and maker who specialises in installation and performative works. “I make immersive worlds and experiences in found environments, landscapes and theatres,” she says. “I make work for babies aged six months and all the ages that come after.”
Kirsty has led design-based community projects for The Old Vic, the National Theatre, the National Trust, the V&A, Kensington Palace and Manchester Jewish Museum.
Kirsty Harris’s Almost Always Muddy, presented by Likely Story Theatre. Picture: Rachel Otterway
She has collaborated with or been commissioned by Wildworks, Punchdrunk, The Young Vic, Coney, Likely Story Theatre and Battersea Arts Centre, Southbank Centre, The Discover Centre, London Symphony Orchestra, National Theatre Wales and the National Trust.
Whispers From The Museum is the first of a series of new digital commissions from Scarborough Museums Trust as part of its response to the Coronavirus crisis. The trust has asked Lucy Carruthers, Estabrak, Wanja Kimani, Jane Poulton, Jade Montserrat and Feral Practice, as well as Kirsty Harris, to create digital artworks for release online across assorted social media platforms over the next four months.
AMERICAN chanteuse and songwriter Melody Gardot has marked International Jazz Day with a call-out to musicians to collaborate on her new single, From Paris With Love.
In a case of adding music to Melody, she “wants to contribute something unique to this new movement of “connection despite distance”.
“During this complicated time, we miss essential connections with one other,” she says on Instagram. “We miss hugs, we miss our family, our friends…in short we miss love. So, I want to make a love project to help break the feeling of isolation between us.”
Now living in Paris in lockdown, Gardot is asking musicians confined to their homes across the globe to perform in place of a standard orchestra on her new single on Decca Records to benefit healthcare workers and other musicians via the charity Protégé Ton Soignant.
Amid the constraints of the Coronavirus pandemic, Gardot, 35, has been forced to put the recording of her new studio album on hold, but the situation has inspired her to launch her collaborative initiative.
The principle is simple: bring together an orchestra of string and wind instrument players at present unable to work and pay them as if they were in the studio together.
“There are so many magnificent artists and musicians on the planet who are not able to live their art or exercise their profession right now,” says the New Jersey-born singer and multi-instrumentalist. “I am at home in Paris waiting like everyone else.
“I realised we can try to do something beautiful all together and come out ‘virtually’ from our confines to continue producing. I hope this project will give love and hope.”
Musicians should apply via www.melodygardot.com and will be sent musical charts, backing tracks and instructions on how to record and film themselves performing the piece at home.
From these submissions, individual parts for the final recording will be chosen by Gardot and her long-time collaborators, producer Larry Klein, conductor, arranger and composer Vince Mendoza and engineer Al Schmitt.
Any musician chosen and featured in the final recording will be paid a fee relative to a standard UK union recording wage.
“I hope this project will give love and hope,” says Melody Gardot
The single, once assembled, will be accompanied by a video, featuring all participating musicians, performing from their homes, dotted around the globe. From Paris With Love will be a taster for the direction Gardot is heading on the album, whose further details will be announced soon.
In waiving their profit on the track, Gardot and Decca will pay a minimum of 50p to the charity Protégé Ton Soigant for each download sold in the UK and 20p for each permanent download sold outside Britain or for every 150 streams.
In her Instagram message, Gardot provides a step-by-step guide for musicians to take part in the project.
1. Film a five-second “video-portrait” of yourself. “Film it horizontally, make sure we can see enough of you, chest to head, and with a fixed camera. It’s like taking a picture but five seconds long and in video format.
“Don’t move too much. Just pose and record in some natural light in front of a neutral background, wearing a solid black or white T-shirt.”
2. Handwritten horizontally, using a large black Sharpie or black crayon on a white piece of paper (standard A4 format suggested), say “From (wherever you are) With Love”.
“Scan or photograph the paper (highest quality possible) and send both items (your photo scan and your video) to the email address: frompariswithloveproject@gmail.com,” says Gardot. “In your email, please include your Instagram handle (if you have one), so we can find you later.
“After receiving these things, we’ll put together a surprising collaborative video clip featuring all your submissions alongside a new piece of music called From Paris with Love.
“A large portion my royalties from this song will be donated to a Covid-19 relief charity to help medical workers during this time. This way, we share as much love as we possibly can together.”
Gardot adds: “Please remember, if you send this along, it means you’re OK for me to use your image in this project, so think about breaking the ‘quarantine pyjama’ uniform if you don’t want everybody to see you that way! Your mom and mine will see this.” Full terms and conditions can be found at https://decca.lnk.to/termsandconditions.
“We’re only collecting these over the next few days, so please don’t wait too long,” advises Gardot. “Feel free to pass this message along. This is just the first step of this collaborative journey, so stay tuned…With love, from Paris.”
No Saving Grace: Robert Plant: was to have headlined Platform Festival this summer
POCKLINGTON’S 2020 Platform Festival, headlined by Robert Plant’s new band in July, is off.
Run by Pocklington Arts Centre (PAC) at The Old Station, the annual festival has “very sadly has been cancelled for Covid-19 health and safety reasons”.
The organisers, PAC director Janet Farmer and venue manager James Duffy, are working on transferring all the 2020 programme to July 21 to 27 2021 and will keep festival-goers updated over the coming weeks.
“We will weather this storm and return in 2021 stronger and more vibrant than ever,” they vow.
Omid Djalili: Booked to open Platform Festival on July 8
The 2020 line-up would have opened with comedian Omid Djalili on July 8, followed by Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant’s Saving Grace with Suzi Dian on July 10, and a Saturday bill on three stages, featuring Shed Seven Acoustic: Rick Witter & Paul Banks, Red Hot Chilli Pipers, Ward Thomas, Lucy Spraggan and York country singer Twinnie on July 11.
The BBC Big Band on July 14 and folk-rock stalwart Richard Thompson on July 15 would have completed the festival line-up.
In a joint statement, heartbroken Janet and James say: “Following the continuing developments in the COVID-19 pandemic, we have taken the difficult decision to cancel this year’s Platform Festival.
“The safety of our audience members, artists, staff, volunteers and wider community has to come first and we did not want to put additional pressure on the health and emergency services at this time.”
Shed Seven’s Paul Banks and Rick Witter: Topping Platform Festival’s Saturday bill with an acoustic set
Janet and James continue: “Platform is a labour of love, for PAC staff, and being unable to share it with you all in the venue’s 20th anniversary year is heart-breaking. It is, of course, the choice we had hoped we wouldn’t have to make.
“We looked at the possibility of staging the event at a later date in 2020 but the most important thing for us, other than your obvious safety, is to give our customers certainty and so we have made the decision to move this year’s festival to July 2021.”
Praising Platform’s regular festival-goers, they say: “Platform is nothing without our audience, you make it the great festival that it is. We want to thank you for your patience, support and understanding with us, while we have been working to reschedule the festival for you. We will weather this storm and return in 2021 stronger and more vibrant than ever.”
Dealing with housekeeping matters, they confirm: “If you have already booked your tickets, rest assured these are secured. You will be offered the choice of a refund or the chance to hold on to your tickets for the 2021 edition.
Richard Thompson: July 15 gig would have climaxed the 2020 Platform Festival
“We plan to carry as much of the programme as possible forward and, so far, almost all artists have agreed to work with us on this, which is amazing. We will, of course, keep you updated and we hope to have this all finalised in the coming weeks.
“Please be patient and wait to hear from us. Our box office – and external ticket agencies – is extremely busy and we will contact you in due course.”
Janet and James conclude: “Platform 2021 will take place on July 22 to 27 and we would love to see you all there for our biggest party yet. Stay home, stay safe and look after each other. For urgent enquiries, please email info@pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk.
Mary Coughlan: Pocklington concert moved to September 23
Meanwhile, Pocklington Arts Centre has released an updated list of rescheduled shows for 2020/21, with the prospect of more being added in the coming weeks and months.
The Wandering Hearts, winners of the 2018 Bob Harris Emerging Artist Award at the UK Americana Awards, move their sold-out In Harmony, An Intimate Tour show from April 14 to August 27 2020.
Mary Coughlan, “Ireland’s Billie Holiday”, switches her April 21 gig to September 23; inquisitive folk truth seeker John Smith, from May 21 to November 3, and American singer-songwriter Jesse Malin, June 27 to February 2 2021.
Andy Parsons: Comedian re-booked for April 24 2021
BBC Radio 2 and Channel 5 presenter Jeremy Vine now asks “What the hell is going on?” on February 26 2021, rather than May 1 2020.
Billy Bremner & Me, comedian Phil Differ’s comedy-drama recounting his dream of eclipsing the fiery Leeds United and Scotland captain’s footballing deeds, moves from June 5 to March 11 2021; Herman’s Hermits re-emerge on April 22 next spring, and Mock The Week comedian Andy Parsons’ sold-out April 28 gig is re-booked for April 24 2021.
Led as ever by vocalist Maddy Prior, folk favourites Steeleye Span’s 50th anniversary celebrations of debut album Hark The Village Wait will have to wait until its 51st anniversary, their show now moved from May 3 2020 to May 7 2021.
James Felice, left, Will Lawrence, Jesske Hume and Ian Felice of The Felice Brothers, now to play Pocklington on June 22 next summer
BBC Radio 2 Folk Award winners Catrin Finch, from Wales, and Seckou Keita, from Senegal, will be joined by Canadian multi-instrumental trio Vishten on June 10 next summer, rather than June 13 2020 as first planned.
The Felice Brothers, from the Catskill Mountains, New York State, will be playing almost a year to the day later than their original booking. Ian and James Felice, joined by drummer Will Lawrence and bass Jesske Hume, are in the PAC diary for June 22 2021, replacing June 23 this summer.
The spotlight would have been on their 2019 album Undress, as well as their back catalogue from 2006 onwards, but now there should be new material too.
Courtney Marie Andrews: Watch this space for an upcoming new date announcement
A new date for American country singer Courtney Marie Andrews’ now postponed June 17 concert with her full band should be confirmed in the next week. Her new album Old Flowers will be released on Loose/Fat Possum Records on June 5.
All existing tickets holders for the rescheduled shows are being contacted by the PAC box office for ticket transfers or refunds.
The artwork for Badly Drawn Boy’s new album, Banana Skin Shoes
BADLY Drawn Boy, alias woolly-hatted Damon Gough, will release his first studio album in a decade, Banana Skin Shoes, on May 22 on the AWAL label.
Trailered as a “truly personal and heartfelt collection that skips between musical idioms and emotional extremes”, the 14 tracks were completed last year by Gough at Eve Studios, Stockport, with producer Gethin Pearson, who also mixed the recordings.
Earlier, Gough had worked on tracks for the album with legendary producer Youth at his London studio; Keir Stewart (ex-Durutti Column) at Inch Studios and Seadna McPhail at Airtight Studios.
Badly Drawn Boy last released a studio set, It’s What I’m Thinking Pt 1, Photographing Snowflakes, in October 2010, since when he has composed the soundtrack for Being Flynn, Paul Weitz’s 2012 American film starring Robert DeNiro and Julianne Moore.
This month’s album spans the opening blast of forthcoming single Banana Skin Shoes, with its riotous Beck-meets-Beastie Boys “cartoony” hip hop throw-down, to the immaculately tailored closer I’ll Do My Best, a nod to Gough’s failings, a prayer to his partner and a lyrical tip of the hat to his hero Bruce Springsteen. Take a look at the animated video for the single by award-winning film directors Broken Antler at https://badlydrawnboy.lnk.to/bss-vid
Badly Drawn Boy, alias Damon Gough
In between the two bookends are the retro-futurist pop of Fly On The Wall, evoking the Eighties’ pop-soul of Hall & Oates; the lush piano-and-strings ballad Never Change and the Motown-echoing soul stomper Tony Wilson Said, a celebration of the late, great fixer of the Manchester music scene.
I Need Someone To Trust begins with a nod to Chicago’s soft-rock 1976 chart topper If You Leave Me Now, branching intoa spiritual song of salvation-seeking, while the beautiful, loving I Just Wanna Wish You Happiness sees 50-year-old Gough “dig deep to alchemise the trauma of a break-up into a song of salutation to his ex”.
The track listing on Badly Drawn Boy’s eighth studio album will be: Banana Skin Shoes; first single Is This A Dream?; I Just Wanna Wish You Happiness; I’m Not Sure What It is; Tony Wilson Said; You And Me Against The World; I Need Someone To Trust; Note To Self; Colours; Funny Time Of Year; Fly On The Wall; Never Change; Appletree Boulevard and I’ll Do My Best.
After his sold-out London show at The Roundhouse in January, the 2000 Mercury Music Prize winner will announce more live dates over the coming months. He played Yorfest at York Racecourse in September 2017.
The Blue Light Theatre Company pantomime costume maker Christine Friend turning her hand to sewing wash bags for NHS frontline workers
CHRISTINE Friend normally would be making costumes for The Blue Light Theatre Company’s pantomime in York. Now she is turning her skills instead to sewing for frontline workers in the ongoing Coronavirus crisis.
She is among a group of volunteers from York, Harrogate and Knaresborough that has come together via Facebook to make uniform wash bags out of anything from pillowcases to old duvet covers.
“They’re making the bags for all our Blue Light Theatre NHS friends and their colleagues,” says Christine’s husband, Mark, actor and publicist for Blue Light Theatre, a company made up of paramedics, ambulance dispatchers, York Hospital staff and members of York’s theatre scene.
“The idea is that after a shift, frontline workers can remove their uniform at work, put it straight into the bag, then close it tight and pop it into their washing machine when they get home to prevent cross-contamination.”
In the bag: Joanne Halliwell and her daughter Abbey, who set up the Bag The Bug group for York, Harrogate and Knaresborough
The Facebook group Bag The Bug – Covid 19 – York, Harrogate & Knaresborough was set up a couple of weeks ago by Joanne Halliwell and her daughter Abbey. “They were wanting something to do during lockdown and found a group called Bag The Bug, based in the north west, who were making the bags for NHS staff in Bolton.
“They decided to make some bags too and after talking to the group’s coordinator, they set up a group locally.”
They had an immediate response, from people asking for the bags, others offering to donate material, sew, help to coordinate Bag The Bug and to drive for the group.
In a fortnight, more than 300 North Yorkshire members have sent 1,850 bags to care homes, NHS staff, GP surgeries, ambulance stations and hospitals.
Adrian Deligny: One of the frontline workers who has received a Bag The Bug wash bag
Co-organiser Joanne says: “I think it just shows how, in times of need, everyone can pull together and do their bit. The community spirit has most certainly come out, which is wonderful. Whether people have sewn ten pillowcases or 100, or have donated one duvet cover or ten, every little helps.”
As the demand for the bags continues to grow, Adrian Deligny is among the care workers who have received bags. “The uniform bag is an excellent idea in order to help stop the spread of the virus at home,” he says.
“Before this, I was putting everything in a bin bag, which wasn’t the best. It is important that during these difficult times everybody is united. This project has shown an unparalleled demonstration of solidarity and generosity. My wife and I are extremely grateful.”
If any organisation requires bags, or if anyone wishes to donate material (it must be able to be washed at over 60c), or can help in any other way, please contact Joanne Halliwell. Do this either via the group’s Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/groups/240401817107890/ or by email to bagthebugyhk@gmail.com.
THE Milton Rooms, Malton, are launching an urgent crowdfunding appeal to help the community centre through the Coronavirus-enforced shutdown. Otherwise, closure “for good” could be around the corner.
In a stark statement, chairman Paul Andrews forewarns: “We need to raise £10,000 by the end of September to safeguard the future of the venue. Should the Coronavirus crisis extend for a further three months, that figure will rise to £20,000.
“Without these funds, our wonderful arts and community facility may have to close for good.”
The Milton Rooms offer a wide variety of entertainment, play host to theatre companies and Malton groups and provide a central hub for the Malton Food Festival and monthly markets.
Over the past few months, the Milton Rooms team had been “working hard to put together a programme of events and activities for the whole community”. However, the Covid-19 emergency necessitated the building’s closure to the public for as long as required under the Government strictures to beat the virus.
Flashback: The Milton Rooms in concert mode before the Coronavirus shutdown
The Milton Rooms are registered as a charitable limited company, run mostly by volunteers. Now, with no revenue coming in, the need for financial support to pay outstanding bills, such as utilities and insurance, is urgent.
“It has been amazing to see how the community has pulled together to support one another during the crisis,” says Paul. “Many people have great memories of events at the Milton Rooms, whether it be watching family and friends at the pantomime or Ryedale Youth Theatre, attending dances or musical performances, or taking part in community activities such as yoga, Musical Memories or Vintage Dance.
“Please support us at this very difficult time, so that we can maintain the venue and then thrive as a centre when life returns to normal. If 300 people give £30 each, we will have £9,000 and have almost reached our appeal target.’’
Riana Duce as Avalon and Angus Imrie as Geraint in a scene from The Good Book, streaming online from tomorrow
PIONEERING Leeds theatre company Slung Low will premiere their new short film The Good Book from 12 noon tomorrow, streaming online for free.
Set in a future Leeds, James Phillips’s story depicts a society divided between loyalists of the powerful Queen Bear and radical followers of Galahad.
Avalon, played by Riana Duce, is a young woman desperate not to take sides, but as civil war begins, she must undertake a dangerous mission to rescue a precious relic from destruction.
Riana, from Bradford, is joined in the cast of invited actors by Angus Imrie, from Fleabag, Emma and The Archers, Katie Eldred and more than 100 members of the Holbeck community.
Directed by Sheffield filmmaker Brett Chapman, filming took place in late-January at Slung Low’s base, The Holbeck Social Club and at Holbeck Cemetery, Leeds Central Library and Leeds Town Hall.
Slung Low cast members Riana Duce and Angus Imrie in a scene from The Good Book in Holbeck Cemetery
The Good Book forms the first production for the newly formed Leeds People’s Theatre, created by producers Slung Low with support of Leeds 2023, the city’s upcoming international cultural festival, Leeds City Council and the Arts Council.
The film continues writer James Phillips’s future dystopia, a series that began with The White Whale at Leeds Dock in 2013, followed by Camelot, a Slung Low and Sheffield Theatres outdoor co-production in 2015.
Next came Flood, the epic centrepiece of Hull, UK City of Culture 2017’s performance programme that also featured on the BBC.
Project number four represents a departure for Slung Low: the film The Good Book, at once self-contained but also drawing on the world of Camelot.
“I think the plan was to launch it in Leeds and do a little festival run, but after the Coronavirus lockdown it seemed better and more useful to put it out there now online,” says James.
Katie Eldred , centre, as Vivian in The Good Book
“We were lucky that we got the filming done in the last two and a half weeks of January, and the penultimate day was ‘Brexit Day’. Not that long ago, but that now seems a world of somewhat different concerns.”
The Good Book finds Phillips working once more with Slung Low artistic director and executive producer Alan Lane. “The work Alan and I do together is different to the other work Slung Low does,” says James.
“For pieces like Flood, a full-blown epic for Hull’s City of Culture year, it’s a ‘future present’ that we create that allows us to play with big political ideas and look at things in a slightly different way.
“Camelot was done with a massive cast of 127 on Sheffield’s streets in 2015, and again it was a prescient piece where I became obsessed with the thought of a dangerous nostalgia, that need to look back to look forward, which has caused so many problems.
“That play was about a young girl who saw visions of the future of Arthurian Britain, and then ten years later, people come along who have taken those visions seriously but are utterly more dangerous. This re-birth of ‘purity’ becomes so destructive that a civil war starts.”
Angus Imrie as Geraint in Leeds Central Library in The Good Book
James continues: “This was just before Trump’s presidency, Brexit and the Corbyn revolution, so something was in the air. Like ISIS being a nostalgic organisation looking back to something that never existed…and I wondered about Christian fundamentalism too.”
The Good Book is set ten years into that new world, now in Holbeck, as a counter-revolution starts in Leeds, whereas Camelot was set and made in Sheffield.
The switch of location was a “very logical step”, says James: “When I wanted to make this film, it was good to tie it in with the idea that Leeds was the last place that Sheffield would want a counter-revolution to start, and whereas Camelot was about heroes, this story is about a small revolution.”
In The Good Book, an old man caught between two opposing factions gives a young girl a piece of paper with a reference number for a book at Leeds Library. “She has to decide whether to risk herself to save the book, and she wonders what meaning the book might have,” says James.
Is “The Good Book” the Bible? “No. It’s something more than anything to do with what’s going on in the world now,” says James.
Riana Duce as Avalon in The Good Book
A short film may suggest a more intimate work than Camelot, but “it is and it isn’t more intimate”, the writer says. “I made the decision to push the envelope, so it’s not a typical short film. It has a big cast of 100, so technically it’s too long for a ‘short film’.
“At the end, there’s a big riot involving 90 people, and we had lots of recruits wanting to do that scene!”
How does James expect viewers to react to The Good Book? “Hopefully they will be surprised. It’s different. I’ve done screen things before, like the Flood project having a short film and a piece for the BBC, but The Good Book was always, deliberately, conceived to be a short film,” he says.
“I think we’re on to a good thing with this film, so it would be great to do more of them.”
Slung Low’s The Good Book will be available to stream online for free from 12 noon tomorrow (May 1) at www.slunglow.org/TGB
Slung Low’s film poster for The Good Book
Did you know?
LEEDS People’s Theatre has been created by Slung Low as a dedicated division for large-scale professional arts projects with communities in Leeds at the heart of them.
This involves the community working in tandem with professional artists and creative teams, offering an opportunity to learn, gain more experience or simply be part of a community.
The Good Book will be the first of several projects Slung Low are planning for Leeds People’s Theatre. Watch this space.
