Wasteland
Northern Stage
25th Sept 2019
Wasteland is Gary Clarke's interpretation in music and dance of the rise of the rave music scene in the 90s. In aftermath of pit closures we are given a glimpse into the lives of a father - the last miner - and his son as they each try to cope with the empty prospects left to them by the destruction of the mining industry.
The Last Miner sinks into alcoholic despair while his son finds an escape in the euphoria of the illegal rave scene - losing himself in music, dance and drugs. The father and son don't always see eye to eye, they fight often, but all they have is each other. there is conflict, but there is also affection - and this is movingly illustrated in the final scene.
This is more than dance piece, it is a piece of social history. The contrast between the miners with
their male voice choirs and brass bands, clutching their UB40s and the manic energy of the youth with their manic, bass beat music is stark and telling. Yet the hypnotic, trance-like dancing is just a different form of escape from reality to that of the miners.
The historical context of the story is explained with projected newsreel scenes showing the closure and destruction of a pit, the men leaving and the iconic pithead building being destroyed, and later footage of the break-up of an illegal rave by the police, and the supercilious voice of a newsreader describing the scenes. I was stuck by the similarity between these scenes of police intervention and the those from the picket lines during the miner's strike.
The dancing is energetic, manic - as it should be - and at times painful - Alistair Goldsmith as the
Last Miner contorts his body into shapes that echo the agonising heartbreak of the losses that pit closures brought - not personal but national. A way of life, was destroyed, but also the livelihoods of the following generations. The beat of the music is relentless, a form of escape, but perhaps one with no real exit.
I found the show incredibly moving. Though I lived through the rave scene era I was not part of it - too conservative (with a small "c" and timid) but I do remember it - and I remember the miner's strike and the sense of desolation that followed. The rave culture was a reaction against that desolation and depression. I don't think we have found a way out of either state yet.
Emotional and emotive stuff. Find out more here www.wastelandtour.co.uk
*Photographs by Joe Armitage
Denise Sparrowhawk
The historical context of the story is explained with projected newsreel scenes showing the closure and destruction of a pit, the men leaving and the iconic pithead building being destroyed, and later footage of the break-up of an illegal rave by the police, and the supercilious voice of a newsreader describing the scenes. I was stuck by the similarity between these scenes of police intervention and the those from the picket lines during the miner's strike.
The dancing is energetic, manic - as it should be - and at times painful - Alistair Goldsmith as the
I found the show incredibly moving. Though I lived through the rave scene era I was not part of it - too conservative (with a small "c" and timid) but I do remember it - and I remember the miner's strike and the sense of desolation that followed. The rave culture was a reaction against that desolation and depression. I don't think we have found a way out of either state yet.
Emotional and emotive stuff. Find out more here www.wastelandtour.co.uk
*Photographs by Joe Armitage
Denise Sparrowhawk
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