I have met the enemy (and the enemy is us) - Review - Byker Community Centre

I have met the enemy (and the enemy is us)

Byker Community Centre
17th Oct 2019

A Common Wealth/Northern Stage production

Staged in the upper room of Byker Community Centre, this is a theatre experience with a difference. There is no stage, and no seats, we are invited to move around the space, interact with the actors and each other, but not to touch anything -unless specifically asked to do so... I enter the room, soft music is playing and there are structures with lights dotted around. "Hello, I'm Alex, how are you? Have you been to an arms fair before?" Within minutes I have been greeted by four people, and given advice on personal security by two of them, invited to look around, sample the refreshments and enjoy... Audience participation is not my thing - unless you count booing at the baddie in Panto, but I go with the flow as best I can. I hope I won't be called on to do more than make small talk.

This is not going to be your average theatre show.

In the prologue of the Arms Fair, we are introduced to the latest technological killing machines by a series of salesmen with slick sales patter where names such BAE and Rolls Royce are dropped into the conversation. And then the narrative moves to the more personal stories - of Alex, a British soldier, veteran of the Afghan conflict, Mo'min, a Palestinian from the West Bank, an actor, now living in London, and Shatha, an artist in Yemen, who appears via a pre-recorded video. They tell of their own experiences of war, of air strikes, of guns and bombs. Each one told from a different perspective, each one very personal. Each one painful. And each one the direct result of British arms deals.

Their stories are enhanced ad illustrated with the strange ticking light box props. These it transpires are metronomes. There are seventy two of them, representing the seventy two Eurofighter jets sold to Saudi Arabia and used in Yemen. The ticking of the metronomes echoes the Domesday Clock, ticking down to the destruction of mankind.

I Have Met The Enemy is hard -hitting, political theatre. It does not pull punches. But it is also compassionate and human, even as it highlights the inhumanity of the arms trade. These are real people, and their experiences are real. Their losses are real. Their fears are real. Their stories draw you in, you are delighted by the thought of Alex's mother walking her dog in Wales, of Mo'min out with the sheep and the horse, and of Shatha dancing at a wedding. But, they pull no punches - just as you settle into the stories, a gun is levelled, or a grenade is thrown, or an airstrike hits. Blood mixes with jasmine flowers.

It raises so many issues, asks so many questions, and leaves us uncomfortable, thinking about the consequences of war, and our part in it.

You can meet the enemy at Byker Community Centre until Saturday 26th Oct.

Denise Sparrowhawk

The Last Seam - Review - Northern Stage

The Last Seam

Cast at Northern Stage
27th Sept 2018


Written by Garry Lyons
Directed by Daljinder Singh
Produced by Deborah Rees

Cast:  Cathy Breeze, Ray Castleton, 
David Chafer, Jamie Smelt, Emma Tugman

Over the past year I have listened to the conversations around shipbuilding and the loss of our once great industry. The Last Ship and Launch Day were staged. I came to Launch Day and listened to the stories and saw a little piece of history brought to life, and loved it. But - you know there's got to be a but - the Coalfields girl in me was just a little bit - just a smidge - disgruntled that the other great industry of the north seemed to be forgotten. So when I saw that there was a play about mining coming to Northern Stage I stuck my hand straight up for the chance to review it! Finally, the mining was getting its moment in the limelight. I hoped that the miners would be given as honest and sympathetic a treatment as the shipbuilders had received. Coalmining will forever be tainted with the horror of The Strike. It elicits emotional and passionate responses in people. Even now decades later the mention of the strike has a polarising effect. There is no middle ground and the wounds have not healed - they linger, mostly hidden, like a piece of shrapnel under the skin, until someone jars it and the old pain flares up. Would the Last Seam capture all of that? Would it show us an honest portrayal, or tabloid sensationalism?  

Cast's production centres on the closure of the Hatfield Main Colliery in Doncaster. One of the last three deep seam mines in the UK. In 1993, almost 10 years after the strike, British Coal ceased production and the mine was passed through a series of private companies, many of which went into administration, Finally, a loan of £4million from the National Union of Mineworkers enabled the production to move to a new face. The mine should have been safe till Summer 2016 - but after a change in carbon tax and withdrawal of Government funding the mine closed in 2015 with just two weeks notice. Four hundred and thirty men were laid off. How does a community survive when the very life breath is taken from it? 

The Last Seam is the story of the miners, their wives and families, and their community. It is built up from the stories listened to and recorded by the writer Garry Lyons. He says in his introduction to the play that he changed very little of the words - merely wove them together to build the play.  And because of this the play is honest, it holds together with integrity and compassion. It is emotional, there is anger, hate, and sorrow but there is also love, and pride and above all humour. The miners were proud men. The job they did was hard - backbreaking, and no-one wanted that for their children, they wanted better for their kids, but they were immensely proud of what they did. It defined them, and it defined their community. 

The Last Seam shows the disintegration of their way of life; the ferocious fight to survive in the eighties and nineties. What struck me most as the play progressed was the switching of roles - the women in the end were the ones left fighting. It was telling for me that at the end it was the women who chained themselves to the pit railings and protested the closure. The men seemed beaten - not  defeated as such, but resigned, as finally having seen the process so many times they had not the heart to fight this one last betrayal. "We saw what was coming" is a refrain throughout the play. 

The performance by the five actors was spellbinding, they addressed the audience like one half of a conversation - remembering, explaining, telling us their stories, against the backdrop of the pit locker room and a soundtrack of punk bands. 

Did the Cast crew do justice to my mining heritage? Yes they did. it was an incredible performance.  It does not descend into sensationalism, nor morbid pessimism; there is no pity, no condescension, but there is grit and pride, there is empathy, and honesty and integrity.  (It is a credit to the professionalism of the entire team that even when the performance was unexpectedly interrupted, they resumed after the enforced break without a slip.) The five actors played their parts impeccably, impassioned, sympathetic, and completely believable.  

The Last Seam returns to the North East on Thurs 11th and Fri 12th October at The Peacock, Sunderland. It is well worth seeing, whether your background is mining, or shipbuilding or modern commerce and call centres. There is so much that we have lost - not just jobs and industries, but community and humanity. So much in this play rings true even today - perhaps if more people could experience theatre like this then we might begin claw some of it back. 

Denise Sparrowhawk 

Heaton! - Review - People's Theatre

Heaton!

The People's Theatre
17th July 2018

Heaton! The Peoples Theatre 17^th July 2018 presented in association with Shoe Tree Arts.

Heaton! Is a play inspired by local area of Heaton and the Great Exhibition of the North and is an original production for The People’s Theatre. Upon my arrival my ears were greeted with a full band playing, which was nice, the band was also featured in the play and performed at the end. The play itself was a cornucopia of ideas mixing several genres, including musical aspects, live film action, a blend of real and fictitious characters and stories, set against a backdrop of footage on a giant screen (which wouldn’t look out of place in a cinema).

There was a boatload (quite literally at one point) of cast, not all in speaking rolls, some just for the musical elements, which did make it feel like a musical in places, aside from the fact it actually had some plots to it (sorry I’m not a fan of musicals) The quality of the music was actually quite high too. Some of the characters included from Heaton’s illustrious past included: Lord Armstrong, engineer and original owner of Armstrong Park; Sir Ove Arup the engineer of the Sydney opera house; Sir Charles Parsons the inventor of the steam turbine; Lady Katharine Parsons, the founder of women’s engineering society; Colin Veitch, Heaton’s footballing wonder kid who played in a successful Newcastle United side in the 1800s and early 1900s, who was also co founder The People's Theatre and later a journalist with the Evening Chronicle; prominent feminist and suffragist activist Florence Nightingale Harrison Bell; Rachel Parsons, engineer and advocate for women's employment rights; Edith Stoney, mathematician who helped Charles Parsons in his gas turbine calculations.; Jorn Oberg Utzon a Danish architect notable for designing the Sydney Opera House, and finally George Stanley a historian who narrates much of the action.  

What was very nice was the brilliant original music compositions created specifically for this production by Ken Patterson and Richard Scott. The acting was good and in one of the most enjoyable moments the narrator said Newcastle Upon Tyne instead of Newcastle council, (I guess you had to be there!).  One of the reviews from a guy in the audience made me laugh he said “I thought I was going to fall asleep, but I didn’t it was good”. Praise indeed.

There were so many different stories going on in it, too many to mention, but all weaved into a nice overall narrative capturing the early 1900s in Heaton very well. It was also funny in places, - it seemed to have everything mixing the various genres seamlessly. A whole year's work went into the production and it’s evident, you can see the love that’s gone into it - this is people who are clearly proud of their local heritage. The place was packed out like I’ve rarely seen it, I had a blast and learned a lot and you will too. Get down and share in some local pride! 

Frank Cromartie Murphy

Launch Day - Northern Stage - Review

Launch Day
Northern Stage
29th May 2018

Presented by Kelly-Abbott Dance Theatre
Choreography by Kristin Kelly-Abbott
Produced by Phil Hargreaves
Costume by Kim McDermottroe
Lighting by Mark Parry
Music by Breifne Holohan and Mark Knopfler

Inspired by the art of Alexander Millar, and featuring the haunting music of Breifne Holohan and Mark Knopfler, Launch Day tells the story of shipbuilding in the north.

It is peopled with the flat-capped, booted and overalled men, who shuffle their way to and from work, waved off by headscarfed wives and mothers. It sounds cliched, but it is not. It is a representation of a time, and a way of life that was very real. These are tough men and women. Their lives are hard, their work is hard, but there is pride in it.
The dances and the music echo the beat of the hammers, the flying sparks of the welders and riveters. he energy of the workers, and the bone-weariness at the end of the day.

But, it is not all hard work - there is also play. There is football, and there is the pub. They recreate the beautiful game, and the rivalry between neighbouring shipbuilding towns - the red and whites and the black and whites, fans chanting and cheering and jeering (you're not singing anymore!), players scoring and tackling and arguing with the Ref.
And after the match, of course, they go for a pint! I think only in the north east of England, could a Saturday night skinful, falling over and throwing up, be made into a dance and turned into a thing of beauty.

Launch Day combines dance, art, technology and music - the traditional and the modern, to tell a poignant tale. Images of Millar's art are projected onto the backdrop and we hear words spoken by the shipbuilders while throughout the piece there is the constant echo of the hammers, the gentle lapping of water, and the image of a ship's prow sliding slowly into the sea.

This evening was actually the final day of the Launch Day tour, returning to where it started for its last hurrah. I feel privileged to have seen it. 

Denise Sparrowhawk

The Last Ship -Review- Northern Stage

The Last Ship
Northern Stage
Wednesday 21st March 2018 7pm

Music and Lyrics by Sting
Directed by Lorne Campbell
Designed by Fifty Nine Productions



Apart from a select few, musicals have never been my first choice for theatre so it was with both hesitation along with an open mind for my opinion to be changed that I went along to see The Last Ship, and changed it definitely did.

When settling into my seat before the show started, the sound of seagulls could be heard (a familiar noise with my coming from a seaside town) and an impressive industrial stage setting of a shipbuilders yard set the scene. Members of the cast arrived on stage and danced to the background music that started. As they looked into the audience the local actors spotted and started pointing and waving to (I assumed) family members and friends and this made for a warm and friendly atmosphere.

The Last Ship was inspired initially by Stings 1991 album The Soul Cages and is a personal political and passionate musical telling of family community and ultimately a great act of defiance as the last ship sails.

It tells of life on a Tyneside shipyard where the workers include foreman Jackie White (played by Joe McGann) and his strong and loving wife Peggy (played brilliantly by Charlie Hardwick) The workers are then told that the shipyard is no longer financially viable. That all they've ever known will have to change. Joe McGann plays this role perfectly as a hard but fair man whilst struggling with his own (and for the main) undisclosed problems.We see the workers fight, strike and plan an act of defiance as these proud people (who just want to work) deal with day to day living and tragedy- always with a great sense of hope and resilience.

There is also humour throughout, including asides to the audience and a song led by Mrs Dees (played by Annie Grace) about how she'd been looking for a cuddly man but instead could only find yard workers.
The scene where Baroness Tynedale (played by Penelope Woodman) is attending the yard workers meeting explaining there was nothing that could be done and consequences of strike action was very reminiscent of an 80s female prime minister and the portrayal led to laughter from the audience

Alongside this is the story of a young man (Gideon Fletcher) who doesn't want to continue in his father's footsteps as a yard worker. He chooses to leave the area to become a sailor instead. He left his childhood sweetheart Meg (played by Frances McNamee) with the promise to return but never did, until 17 years have passed. He returns just before the shipyard strike and this is when he learns of ALL that he left behind. As Gideon tries to make amends for leaving Meg and she tells him what happened since his departure, this leads to some beautiful scenes of determination strength and love.

The sets included inside a pub, houses,  streets, as well as the shipyards and were done impressively through projection images, backdrop, lighting as well as the huge metal walkway with metal stairs going up either side. The costumes were well chosen reflecting the style of the 80’s.

I enjoyed that musically there was a live band playing to the side of the stage for this production. The whole cast were very good vocally. Notably for me was when Richard Fleeshman (who plays the older Gideon Fletcher) sang When We Dance (one of Stings previously released singles) Other songs in the show that were previously released included All This Time and Island Of Souls.

The acting by the whole cast was of a very high standard and was superb throughout. The stage was used to great effect and always lots happening, a visual delight and the choreography flawless. The Geordie accents from non Geordies were great and didn't have me thinking what on earth accent is that supposed to be as is sometimes the case. The show was never condescending either which can sometimes happen when dealing with things relating to the North East.
The director states that it is not a musical about the past, it is what we might be and maybe are and this comes across well in the storytelling


As the show finished to a standing ovation Sting joined the cast onstage to take a bow during the second encore and the emotion of it all was felt throughout the theatre. Afterwards a girl turned to me and said how she was needing to reapply all her eye make up and I overheard a conversation from two others saying that they must take their fathers to see this- their fathers who are two retired shipbuilders

The Last Ship continues its 4 week run at Northern Stage until 7th April before embarking on a tour of the UK and Ireland



Belinda Bekki-Winter