ISSUE 41
KAY MELLOR
LISA HOLDSWORTH COLIN STRONGE AFRICA STATE OF MIND BRADFORD LITERATURE FESTIVAL
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Kay Mellor
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Lisa Holdworth
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Music Highlights
Bradford Literature Festival is back! Bradford Literature Festival returns from 28th June – 7th July, with a spectacular line-up of events. This year’s programme hosts an enviable variety of headline names, from literary heavyweights like Jeanette Winterson and Lemn Sissay, to musicians and artists George the Poet and Lowkey, and including household names such as author and presenter Michael Rosen, comedian Sofie Hagen, and 80s icon Luke Goss.
Sophie Hagen
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The festival has always considered literature in its broadest possible sense, celebrating the wonderful world of words that connects everything from poetry to music, fiction to science, theatre to sport. Not content with the usual literary festival line-up of panel events and dramatic lectures (although these do feature, and are well worth checking out) the festival also includes practical workshops for all ages on everything from plant parenting to How to Become a YouTuber, a comics
Lemn Sissay
convention and an extensive film programme. Plus there’s an incredible array of concerts and theatre which will this year range from venues like Theatre in the Mill to the newly refurbished St George’s Hall. For fans of psychological drama and true crime, the festival will not disappoint. A.A. Dhand launches the latest book in his Bradford based crime series at Waterstones on 28th June, Alex Michaelides, best-selling author of The Silent Patient, makes a thrilling appearance the following day and for those who have run out of serial-killer documentaries to watch on Netflix, Peter Vronsky comes to Bradford to discuss his book Sons of Cain: A History of Serial Killers from the Stone Age to the Present. Packed with more than 400 events and covering ten days, the festival truly has something for everyone. The work of David Hockney will be explored alongside BLF’s annual celebration of the city’s most famous females, the Brontë sisters. The festivals ever popular strand of events on Faith, Mysticism and Philosophy welcomes world-renowned philosopher A.C Grayling and Islamic scholar Habib Ali al-Jifri. And in World Affairs and Politics, BLF does not shy away from addressing the most contentious and fascinating subjects of our time, with events such as ‘Islamophobia: From State to Street’ and ‘Why is Fascism Back?’. Families are at the heart of Bradford Literature Festival, which is book-ended each year by its wonderful Free Family Fun Days, taking place in City Park each weekend. These themed days are packed full of free activities for all the family and include craft workshops, film screenings, live story-telling, interactive theatre and a long list of other events. This year’s themes are Superheroes (29th June), Into the Jungle (30th June), At the Bottom of the Garden (1st July) and Witchcraft & Wizardry (2nd July).
New for this year, the festival will launch an extended and re-branded Young Adult programme for teens aged 13 – 18. This will feature events designed to harness creative energy such as a Battle of the Bands and a Poetry Slam and is interspersed with workshops and talks on everything from mental health and body positivity to financial management. The programme will also include Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell, the renowned author/ illustrator duo behind the bestselling Edge Chronicles series, and Suhaiymah Manzoor Khan whose book A Fly Girl’s Guide to University explores the experiences of women of colour at institutions like Cambridge University. Tickets to a hand-picked selection of headline events are available via the festival website from 29th March, and the full programme is announced in April. For further information and tickets visit: www.bradfordlitfest.co.uk @bradfordlitfest
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Bradford’s Super Crew | Clean North During the last 15 years you may have caught a glimpse of some amazing dancing and aerial acrobatics whilst passing through the city centre. People gathered in a circle chanting and cheering around a group of dancers as they performed some incredible feats of balance, strength and flexibility. This was most likely Bradford’s very own Clean North Crew, one of the leading breakin (breakdance) crews in the UK. For many years Clean North have been considered an underground crew famous within the arts and hip-hop scene for their long-standing involvement within the community. Over the last three years Tranquil Productions a national business based in Bradford, has been working tirelessly to raise the profile of Clean North and Bradford’s fast growing breakin scene. Many other organisations are also getting behind this cultural phenomenon and are supporting breakin projects to help bring this dance to the forefront and allow the public to get involved. From open community workshops, where people can learn and reap the physical health and mental wellbeing benefits of this dance, to enjoying the dance as entertainment through events. At breakin events you’ll see mind blowing battles between dancers/ crews from all over the country as they go head to head to earn respect and see who will be deemed champion. Bradford has one of the UK’s largest breakin events run by the social enterprise Tech Styles International. The social enterprise was formed in 2018 and has already gained major investment and support from Arts Council England, Kala Sangam, Bradford Council, The Brick Box, East Street Arts and Tranquil Productions. Tech Styles 5 was a hugely successful event which took place at Kala Sangam in October 2018, it brought dancers from all over the UK and a host of international guests, we hope to see Tech Styles 6 later this year. Breakdance has recently been considered for entry into the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, which has caused a media frenzy. With major global sporting events taking a major interest in hip hop culture, it is definitely an exciting time for breakin in Bradford. To find out more information about Breakin in Bradford there is a great blog on tranquilproductions.co.uk with all the latest news. Please support breakin Tranquil Productions, Tech Styles and your city’s breakdance crew Clean North today by following them on social media. @tranquilproductions | @cleannorth | @techstylesinternational 10
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Colin Stronge Colin Stronge recently took on the head brewer role at Salt Brewing, bringing over a decade of experience from his time at Marble Brewery Black Isle, Buxton Brewery and Northern Monk. We caught up with him to find out his ambitions for Salt and delve into his brewing past.
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How did you get into brewing? By accident really! I had always enjoyed industrial lagers and Guinness and when I was working in a brew pub after university I took up a role in the brewery for the pay cheque rather than the love of beer! But that soon changed as I fell in love with the processes. This love was deepened when I moved to Manchester’s Marble brewery and began working with people with a real care and passion for their work.
How much has the scene changed since then? Immeasurably. Back then there were less than 600 breweries in the UK and very few were spending more on hops than malt, something that is probably the opposite case today. The developments in the public perception of beer and craft beer especially have dramatically changed and, to match this, the development of new styles and flavours; techniques and technologies to achieve these styles; are a world apart from where my brewing career started.
What does the head beer role at Salt involve? A little bit of everything. From the actual brewing of the beers, the overseeing of all the brewing processes, designing recipes, ordering ingredients, overseeing the upkeep of the brew kit, managing the brewery’s three yeast strains to meeting with the public, talking with bars sales teams and doing the occasional interview
How exciting is it to be part of something so new? Was that part of the attraction for you? Most definitely. I’ve worked in several jobs where the brewery had an established name and reputation to keep up. That comes with it’s own pressures; and in some cases the reputation of the previous brewer almost forms how one approaches beers there. After speaking to the team here they had made it clear that we were starting with a clean slate and that the brewery would be mine to play with as I wished. There are
a lot of fun ideas floating around and new beers we want to create as a team, and to help develop the Beer Factory as a real destination venue for great beer. What are your ambitions for the Salt Brew brand? To really utilise the brewery and venue to create something truly special. The flexibility of the kit means that we can use ingredients and techniques that not everyone can easily utilise and we plan to make the best of that and ensure that we become known as brewers of not just diverse and exciting beers but of beers of consistently excellent quality too.
Which of the beers you have been involved with are you most proud of? Marble’s “Janine’s One” (3.9%) was a bit of a milestone for the time and a beer people still ask myself and the other Marble guys about Buxton’s “Rain Shadow BA with Jalapeño and Cocoa” (12%) was made in the spur of the moment when tasting a beer and imagining flavours that would work together and it turning out every bit as good as you hoped it would. Buxton/Arizona Wilderness “Deep Rainbow Vally” (9%) was a true collaboration, made with both breweries teaching each other something along the way; foraged and new ingredients, new techniques and a lot of work that all turned out to be so worth the time put in.
What’s the most underrated beer you’ve tried? Whim’s “Hartington IPA” (4.5%) I love all whim’s beers but this is one a few beers that I will almost exclusively drink when I find it on cask, no matter what else is on the bar.
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Africa State of Mind Impressions Gallery 29 March to 15 June 2019 Africa State of Mind presents the work of a new generation of photographers from across the African continent. Curated by the eminent writer and broadcaster Ekow Eshun, this major exhibition features 13 artists who collectively interrogate ideas of ‘Africanness’. The exhibition features artists working in numerous fields from fashion to film, architecture to literature and is inspired by wide range of subjects including urban nightlife in Johannesburg; Afrofuturism;construction projects in Ethiopia; vodun (voodoo) religion in Benin; and Ghana’s LGBT+ community. What unites these diverse approaches is an emphasis on subjectivity to explore life and identity on the continent, by its inhabitants and diaspora. Together, the artists reveal Africa to be a psychological space as much as a physical territory; a state of mind as much as a tangible location. 16
Above the Noise: 15 Stories from Bradford 15 March – 19 June 2019, National Science and Media Museum A brand-new exhibition at the National Science and Media Museum explores 15 stories which demonstrate some of the ingenuity, motivation and activism of communities in Bradford to improve representations of their home district, respond to negative perceptions, or simply rise above the ‘noise’ from elsewhere and create their own cultural environments. Above the Noise: 15 Stories from Bradford highlights strands of activity and adaptations of technology that all demonstrate a shared effect – rising above the output of mainstream channels which don’t always depict or support the true experience of living in Bradford. The exhibition involves numerous contributors, bringing together more than 250 objects and images to tell these stories, all of which have strong personal significance and directly reflect wider aspects of life in Bradford. It illustrates the different strategies people have applied to record their own histories, create new spaces that reflect their lives, bypass the status quo, build alternative networks, and make political and social change. 17
THE PEACE MUSEUM
An exhibition exploring LGBTQ+ Activis111 and Peace
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The Peace Museum, 10 Piece Hall Yard, Bradford, 8D1 1PJ 18
www.peacemuseum.org.uk
DEPARTMENT STORES, FASHION BRANDS AND ALL YOUR FAVOURITE HIGH STREET NAMES
Kay Mellor Kay Mellor is one of the most important TV writers of the last 30 years. She is responsible for Fat Friends, the Syndicate, Playing the Field and Girlfriends among many others as well as originally writing for Brookside and Corrie. In 1995 the Granada series Band of Gold based on sex workers lives in Bradford screened to audiences of 15 million. Kay is now staging this much loved and influential series as a stage play at the Leeds Grand theatre in November. James Collingwood went down to Rollem the production company she runs in Leeds to speak to Kay. 20
Hi Kay. The stage play is coming out in November. You must have been asked hundreds of times about doing Band of Gold again.
it. The character is like a rabbit caught in headlights. She inspired me to write for her. I changed lines …I wrote for her and she became the character.
Every week somebody will stop me – “I love that Band of Gold -when is it coming back?” I used to say I’m not sure it is. I felt like I’d kind of done it. Certainly, for television I’d kind of said what I wanted to say. Then I did Fat Friends the Musical and I realised that with that people loved the story and they don’t mind that the characters are different. It’s the story that they love and if you can get the casting right and if you can make it a theatrical event then eventually the audience feel rewarded. And then actually a couple of people had said to me – have you thought about turning Band of Gold into a play. I kind of sat down and looked at the scripts for the first series and I thought maybe I could. So, I kind of put things together in scenes. What scenes would be crucial to telling the story? And then I did a workshop with a handful of people and the feedback was really really good and immediate. Ian Sime of the Grand said “That’s a bit risky” because you know there’s stuff in it – well it’s not Fat Friends! He said would you mind if I invite some people for a bigger and more in-depth workshop.
When I rewatched the series recently Joyce’s character stands out for me.
I saw the series when it came out. Everyone uses the words ‘gritty’ about it, but it was really funny!
In the TV series some of the blokes are awful but apart from George or Dez they all have another side. They’re also all three dimensional.
Well I think the women themselves are quite funny. They say it how it is. The Barbara Dickson character was hilarious! Yeah, I wish I could get her back. She didn’t know it was funny. When it went out, I got a call. “Kay can I meet you next time you are in London? I’ll meet you in Fortnum and Masons” I remember sitting there waiting for her. She comes bustling in puts her bag down “Kay I owe you a big apology because I didn’t know it was a comedy!” “It’s not!” She had played it straight. I knew it was funny obviously. I told her I thought she was fantastic. The character of Anita evolved really. I wrote the character and found out Barbara was playing it. When I saw her audition, I thought I’m not sure if this is going to work as written, so I changed
Yeah Joyce is in the play. Hers is the heartbreak story Everything she does she puts her husband Bob first. And I’ve set the play in the time the TV series was set in because I did think about modernising it. I thought no. If I did this, it wouldn’t be Band of Gold really Was it really set in the 90s or was it more 1980s? It was on the cusp. With me writing it, making it and showing it. Late 80s pushing 90s. That’s when the music will be from. It’s not a musical but there’s music in it of the era. Life before mobile phones – life was so dangerous for them. Nothing’s changed really apart from mobile phones! Having researched it again the only thing that has changed is for example the managed approach to workers here in Holbeck. It comes with so many problems – residents up in arms. It’s swings and roundabouts.
Yeah well, they are because the women themselves are sex workers. This is the real world. These are men that are punters and pimps. Why does Gina go on the game in the first place? – because her husband beats her up. That’s the world. It’s a dark world. But for example, Newell the policeman comes good in the end. In the stage play all the old characters are in it which is quite a lot by todays standards. It’s a bigger cast than Fat Friends the Musical. And that’s because I don’t want to start doubling up. If the audience are too busy watching the performances, they don’t get the story and I want them to get the story. So, everybody plays one character. It’s theatrical. You’ll have a different experience to seeing it on television.
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You started in the theatre, didn’t you? Yeah, I went to Bretton Hall and started a theatre company, wrote plays and toured around with plays Then I did A Passionate Woman at the West Yorkshire Playhouse and it went to the West end. It’s performed somewhere in the world every week. It’s big in Poland! The cast for the TV series included Samantha Morton, Lena Headey (in series 2) and Peter Firth and Meera Syal in bit parts. What a cast! I’m not going to get them back! Not to tour. And I’m not sure they’re the right age. It’s 20 years. Cathy Tyson was young. And Sam was literally a baby 16 or 17. She hadn’t done anything. My daughter Gaynor spotted her. Gaynor was in Peak Practice, she’d read the Band of Gold scripts and she went “Mum, there’s this girl and she only had a line Genuinely Northern, genuinely working class. She’s got all the vulnerability of Tracey. You should see her” So I made enquiries and I realised she was from the Nottingham workshop and we saw her. (laughs) I like to think I found her and James Corden! I was blessed with a fantastic cast. Would I have cast them? I would have cast Samantha. I thought that Geraldine was a bit posh, but she was fantastic, and Barbara I thought was a singer. I loved them all in the end. And the men …Richard Hope, David Schofield, Tony Doyle. Huge cast. Stars all over. I think that’s probably what made it special really. I like to think it’s a bit of the writing too! I get the feeling your group of writers that came up through Granada- yourself, Russell T Davies and Paul Abbott - develop and are generous to writers? Yeah, we do. I was down in London yesterday pitching an idea to BBC3 from 2 young lads. Fabulous. Hopefully we have a commission. And Channel 4 are coming to Leeds. Yeah, I was going to ask you about that. I spoke to Lisa Holdsworth and Alice Nutter about it. You were behind the campaign. It’s going to be good for our region? I hope so. I really hope it will keep talent here. We need to make drama. I can only think Channel 4 moving here will be a good thing. The drama commissioner there is a Leeds woman. So
The original cast of Band of Gold, by Kay Mellor
yeah, the brain drain not going down to London and the opportunities has to be great. Yeah both Lisa and I were massively behind the move to Leeds At Rollem have you got any TV projects coming up? I’m personally in development with two projects one for BBC and one for ITV…and obviously the Band of Gold play. Rollem has about 7 or 8 projects. We have a development slate at various stages. We put in a lot of work. We’re committed here at Rollem to getting new writers off the ground. And I am personally. Otherwise what’s going to happen. I needed someone to find me when I was a young person with Band of Gold in my hand! So, I’m really looking forward to the play. Anything else you can tell us about it? Tickets are on sale now and going like hotcakes. You can book online. The premier is on 28th November at the Grand running to 14th December then it will tour. The characters are the same and it’s set in the same place. With the plot you may not know the killer though. Hopefully have at least three stars in it too. If you watched the TV series and loved it, you’ll love this.
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Black Teeth and a Brilliant Smile Who was Andrea Dunbar? If you’re in Bradford you’ve probably heard of her – or at least seen the film Rita, Sue, and Bob Too, based on her play. Or the film Clio Bernard made of ‘The Arbor’ filmed in the Buttershaw estate that was Andrea’s home for most of her life. But who was she? Adelle Stripe, poet and novelist from Tadcaster, made it her mission to find out. Her 2017 novel ‘Black Teeth and a Brilliant Smile’ recreated Andrea’s short and eventful life, from Andrea’s point of view. How her writing was picked up by the Royal Court Theatre when she was in a women’s refuge in Keighley, how her first two plays were hits, leading to the famous film version (which she never liked), her struggles with drink, money, and the male, middle class arts establishment. Her untimely death at 29. From conversations with the people closest to her, Adelle told the story behind the headlines: Andrea the daughter, mum, best friend, sister, woman. Now Freedom Studios has teamed up with Lisa Holdsworth, writer, and Kash Arshad, director, to produce ‘Black Teeth and A Brilliant Smile’ as a play. Lisa is an experienced stage and screen writer who has worked on Call the Midwife, and Ackerley Bridge. A working-class writer from
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Leeds, Lisa’s own story reflects a lot of Andrea’s. The play will run at the Ambassador in BD1 from 30th May to 8th June before heading off on tour to Buttershaw, Leeds, Harrogate, Doncaster, Oldham. Nearly thirty years after Andrea’s death her work is more popular than ever, and there is even more need for a genuine, brilliant, Bradford voice like Andrea’s. As Aisha Khan Freedom Studio’s Co-Artistic Director said: “It’s important to be telling this very Bradford story now, in Bradford. It’s about recognising Dunbar’s unique voice and experiences as well as the very real struggles she faced in an unfamiliar world - a world in which she did her very best to succeed.” Just as important for Freedom is supporting the next generation of writers, directors, and actors from Bradford to tell new stories of the city. The company is currently running its new writers’ programme ‘Street Voices’ with a showcase of some of the work at the Bradford Lit Festival in July. It runs drama workshops in schools, and a Youth Theatre who’ll be writing their own stories in response to Andrea’s. For more information visit freedomstudios.co.uk
Black Teeth and a Brilliant Smile-BradfordReview-Ad.indd 2
21/03/2019 12:16
Lisa Holdsworth Lisa Holdsworth has adapted the fantastic book about Bradford writer Andrea Dunbar “Black Teeth and a Brilliant Smile “ by Adelle Stripe for a stage premiere at Bradford Ambassador pub from 30th May. Lisa has written loads of great TV such as Emmerdale, Call the Midwife and New Tricks and the production with Freedom Studios promises to put Andreas life on stage. James Collingwood spoke to Lisa about this. Hi Lisa I was fascinated by the great idea of putting the play on. Particularly in Bradford. Whose idea was it to adapt the book for the stage. It was Aisha and Alex’s idea (from Freedom productions). I’d read the book and felt it was a really fantastic book about a really brilliant woman. Alex and Aisha are always looking for projects that are specific to Bradford which is brilliant because I’m not sure anyone else is doing that and because obviously Andrea comes from Buttershaw. It seemed like a natural home for the book and the adaptation. Adelle is a brilliant writer and I can’t wait to read what she does next.
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I’ve read that in the stage adaptation you are concentrating on the women in Andrea’s life rather than the men. Not all the men in Andrea’s life were abusive but her life was peppered by men who treated her absolutely appallingly. Not least her first partner and Max Stafford -Clark. Men who treated her badly in a casual way and underestimated her talent and her intelligence and disregarded her voice. It’s true for any writer that you just want to be heard. You want to get a fair crack of the whip and have people listen to you. They suppressed her voice. I ran it by Adelle and made sure she was happy with that- that onstage we’d just have the women have their voices heard. It feels very empowering.
Max Stafford -Clark (Director of the Royal Court) wanted Andrea’s sort of voice for his theatre didn’t he. At the time do you feel he used her?
The other thing from reading Adelle’s book was how much your friend Kay Mellor was a support to Andrea at the end.
To Max’s credit he recognised he’d got a real talent. I don’t think he nurtured her though. I’m deputy chair of the Writers Guild so I’m really aware how writers can be picked up and dropped. Often when someone is from a community that doesn’t have access to the arts you have to wait till someone with power and privilidge says that their voice is worth putting forward. Max is very much part of that ..He developed her and gave her her wings and then he clipped them! He wasn’t an ally towards the end.
I was at a meeting at the BBC yesterday and Sally Wainwright spoke about Kay. It felt poignant. Kay Mellor helped Sally, she helped Andrea, she helped me. That’s the flipside. Writers who will help other writers have their voice and stand up for themselves. This play is an actual honour and a chance for me to pay Kay back a little to show how she cared for Andrea at the end.
Yeah that comes across in the book. Do you think Alan Clarke (Director of Rita, Sue and Bob too) was an ally to Andrea?
It’s about the writers being seen and it’s across the board. They’re going to have a newsroom up here which is fantastic. They are also doing a lunchtime magazine show from the region as well. The head of drama already lives in Leeds! The Channel 4 move is no small part due to the amazing production community and Screen Yorkshire etc. It’s glorious. Massive films and TV Programmes. We are a powerhouse of television production. It made sense for Channel 4 to choose us.
That part of the book resonated with me. I’ve been a writer for 20 years now and that swinging dick “I don’t wanna hear your voice” personality – it’s increasingly more of a dinosaur in our industry but it’s still there. Directors and producers that think they know better than the person that literally lived the life they are writing about. It happens a lot with female black or Asian writers who explain their experience of life and some director runs roughshod over it. The impression I get from the book is that with Rita, Sue and Bob too Alan Clarke wanted to make his film. He didn’t want Andrea on the set at all. He also got another writer in and changed the ending. That made my blood run cold. The idea that this was something someone had not just written but lived and he brings someone else in as a writer. And that ending now has not stood the test of time. It’s horrific. She was right and he was wrong. I’ll make sure that gets said on stage. Do you like the film? I like the film apart from the ending. I really love the film because it still has Andrea’s spirit. It would be a really interesting film if a female director had made it. It was at the time a really important film. It divided Bradford at the time. It held up a mirror to what was going on in Bradford.
It’s going to be a big thing creatively for our area now Channel 4 are coming up to Leeds? A big thing for drama?
Was it important to yourself and the theatre company that you wanted to premiere the play in Bradford and at the pub as well? The Ambassador is up one of the hills in Bradford. It’s a great room. Beautifully looked after and it feels very authentic. You’ll come in, have a drink and feel that the play has kicked off around you. That’s something we wanted to do right from the off. Making it feel real and the audience feel engaged and as if Andrea is in the room with us. Have you any other projects upcoming? The next thing I’ve got coming up is an episode of Call the Midwife. I’ve got another play that’s going on tour at the end of the year called Unsung about unsung women in British history. TV is my first love. Andrea would eventually have ended up writing for telly.
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Currergate Mews lies within the grounds of Currergate Nursing Home, which is a Jacobean style Grade II listed building providing an oasis of peace and Snooker room Clubhouse, Fairmount tranquility. ThePark mews properties are ideally situated and within easy reach of
• Meals delivered in your own home or enjoy them in our restaurant at Currergate Nursing Home
the rail and road networks, close to Skipton and Ilkley and more commercial centres and cities of Leeds and Bradford.
• Cleaning services • Day-care within Currergate Nursing Home • Care services up to 24 hrs a day if required • Maintenance, window cleaning, gardening and small repairs with our onsite team
High specification living • Fully fitted kitchen with dining area • En-suite master bedroom • NHBC warranty • 2 guest rooms • Lounge • Cloak and utility rooms • House bathroom
As featured in the Daily Telegraph’s ‘Top 10 New-build Retirement Schemes’
To arrange a viewing call 01274 599564 email enq@currergatemews.co.uk or visit www.currergatemews.co.uk
Theatre Highlights
Educating Rita 6-11 May, Alhambra Theatre
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YAATRA - Jaivant Patel Dance
This hilarious and heart-warming comedy won the Olivier award when it was produced in London’s West End by the RSC and was adapted into the multi award winning film which starred Julie Walters and Michael Caine. Written by Willy Russell and starring Stephen Tompkinson as Frank and introducing Jessica Johnson as Rita. bradford-theatres.co.uk
2 May, Kala Sangam
Unsung
Rita, Sue & Bob Too
17 April, Bradford Playhouse
18-20 April, St Georges Hall
Ada Lovelace, Sophia Jex-Blake, Lilian Bader, Andrea Dunbar. Heard of any of them? Neither had we. And we’re meant to be a group of feminists. ‘Unsung’ explores the untold stories of four pioneering and inspirational female figures from our past, asking why they, and hundreds like them, have been relegated to the footnotes.
Told with wicked humour, startling insight and a great ear for dialogue, Andrea Dunbar’s semi-autobiographical play is a vivid portrait of girls caught between brutal childhood and an unpromising future. Written when she was just 19, Rita, Sue and Bob Too was an instant hit, later adapted into a much-loved 80s film.
British Indian artist, Jaivant Patel Dance presents a captivating evening of solo Kathak and Contemporary dance Rooted in his own experience of being a homosexual man of dual heritage, Jaivant offers a fresh perspective on South Asian LGBTQ+ narratives, faith and spirituality.
Bfd T Summer Season A5 Ad 03.19.indd 1
15/03/2019 10:13
Film UNESCO City of Film Screen Talks A new series of talks giving exclusive insight into the world of TV and film production are taking place this year as part of Bradford UNESCO City of Film’s 10th anniversary. Bradford born actor, producer and director, Enzo Cilenti who is known for his roles in Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, Game of Thrones and Luther will share his experiences in the industry at the next Screen Talk Q+A session hosted by David Wilson, Director of Bradford UNESCO City of Film on April 4th. The series will run throughout the year with many of the speakers having worked in Bradford on productions or have connections with the city, including scriptwriter, Michael Hirst who was born and educated in Bradford. an education symposium which will consider the impact of mobile technology on teaching and learning and to mark International Women’s Day, a debate in partnership with BBC Radio Leeds to discuss the stubborn gender inequalities that still exist in the film and TV industry. “There’s enough to keep us busy for the year,” smiles David full of enthusiasm,” and the good thing is it’s making us think about the next ten years so watch this space..”
Game of Thrones actor, Enzo Cilenti speaking at the Theatre in the Mill, Bradford on 4th April
Speakers: 9 May: Rebecca Parnell, TV producer who has worked on GP’s Behind Closed Doors series filmed in Bradford. 19 September: Rebecca Harris, music video and short film producer. 3 October: Michael Hirst, scriptwriter whose work includes, The Tudors and Vikings 7 November: Anne Sheehan who is a finance and business affairs consultant for a number of media clients including Magnolia Mae Films. She structures film finance and executive produced films including: The Limehouse Golem, The White Crow and Official Secrets, which stars Keira Knightley and is out later this year. The Screen Talk series are free but please book on to ensure a seat https://www.bradford-cityof-film.com/10-anniversary/screen-talks/ For the full programme of events see www. bradford.film
www.bradford.film
A year of celebrations, events and activities marking our 10th anniversary
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Join us bradford.film #thinkfilmthinkbradford
New takeaway deals!
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ÂŁ4 Sandwich + snack + drink 14 North Parade, Bradford BD1 3HT hello@thebreadandroses.coop Offers ends 31st March 2019, not to be used with other discounts. Offer includes selected snacks and drinks.
Cinema Highlights The Light Cinema launch their Spring/Summer season with a fantastic variety of event cinema including stunning theatre, ballet, opera, rock and pop...all screened in live from the best seat in the house. Opera and Ballet fans are in for a treat with the Royal Opera House live season, including Verdi’s La Forza del Destino (2 April), Gounod’s Faust (30 April), a contemporary ballet triple bill (16 May) plus Romeo and Juliet ballet (11 June). If theatre’s more your thing, you won’t want to miss NT Live productions All About Eve (11 April), starring Gillian Anderson (X Files) and Lily James (Mamma Mia 2) and All My Sons (14 May), starring Bill Pullman (Independence Day, While You Were Sleeping), Sally Field (Steel Magnolia, Brothers and Sisters), Jenna Coleman (Victoria, Doctor Who) and Colin Morgan (Merlin). Take That Live will also celebrate 30 years of hits from the Manchester boyband on 8 June.
Arts
Stage
La Forza Del Destino
Tues 2 April, 6:15pm. Jonas Kaufman and Anna Netrebko in Verdi’s tale of bitter revenge.
Faust Gounod
30 April, 6:45pm How far would you go for eternal youth and power?
NT Live: All About Eve Thursday 11 April, 7pm, The Light Ivo van Hove directs Gillian Anderson (X Files) and Lily James (Mamma Mia 2) in this lavish and critically acclaimed adaptation of the famous 1950 film. Music by P J Harvey.
Ballet Triple Bill
16 May, 7:15pm Contemporary works from Christopher Wheeldon Within the Golden Hour, Crystal Pite Flight Pattern and Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui.
Romeo and Juliet
Tuesday 11 Jue, 7.15pm Kenneth MacMillan’s well-loved ballet is set against an opulent backdrop of Renaissance Verona.
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NT Live: All My Sons 14 May, 7pm, The Light Arthur Miller’s contemporary American tragedy features Bill Pullman (Independence Day, The Sinner), Sally Field (Steel Magnolias, Brothers and Sisters), Jenna Coleman (Doctor Who, Victoria) and Colin Morgan (Merlin).
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Music Highlights
Withered Hand + Joe Tilson 16 May, Salt Beer Factory Withered Hand is the songwriting output of Dan Willson. A cult figure in the Scottish music scene since 2009, Dan has released two widely acclaimed albums, New Gods (2014) and Good News (2009) and several lo-fi EPs. Currently working towards his third full length album, Withered Hand continues to tour in the UK and further afield, playing in venues ranging from concert halls to living rooms.
Dave Haslam Book Event
2 April, The Record Cafe Hacienda DJ Dave Haslam will be at the Record Café, reading from his autobiography, ‘Sonic Youth Slept On My Floor’, talking about his life and career and signing copies of the paperback edition, which hits the streets 21stMarch 2019. ‘Sonic Youth Slept On My Floor’ was proclaimed Book of the Year by DJ Gilles Peterson; described as “Witty, sometimes dark, revealing, insightful” by journalist Everett True; and as “utterly endearing” in the Sunday Times.
Emma Johnson and the Gildas Quartet 12 April, Bradford Cathedral Described by The Times as ‘Britain’s favourite clarinettist’, Emma Johnson is one of the UK’s biggest selling classical artists, having sold over half a million albums worldwide. The Gildas Quartet has performed to critical acclaim across the UK and Europe and they are fast establishing themselves as one of the most exciting young ensembles to emerge in recent years. 36
It’s a personal story, but it’s also part of a collective history. He encounters inspiring characters including Tony Wilson, Nile Rodgers, Neneh Cherry, Tracey Thorn, Mark E Smith, Ian Brown, and John Lydon. John Peel takes him to see Public Enemy; Sonic Youth sleep on his floor; Morrissey comes to tea. He has a gun pulled on him at the Hacienda, a drug dealer threatens to slit his throat; and, in an unexpected twist, he sells his records and moves to Paris where a crew of lesbians save his life.
The Trials of Cato 18 April, Glyde House The Trials Of Cato, a band that arrived fully formed and functioning from Beirut in the winter of 2016, have since torn a shape very much their own into the canvas of the UK folk scene. Originally from North Wales and Yorkshire, whilst living in Lebanon they spent a year boiling down the roots of their sound into a hybrid of traditional influences that intrigued Lebanese audiences in the country’s biggest venues.
TLR 7th Birthday: The Little Unsaid 5 May, Caroline St Social Club
Tom Syson Quintet 17 May, Glyde House With Leading Trumpet chairs in numerous jazz orchestras (NYJO, Birmingham, European Radio, London), playing with the Ronnie Scott & Syd Lawrence JO’s it’s hardly surprising Tom Syson is highly regarded as both trumpeter and composer. Following an unbelievable debut, “Green”this Arts Council-supported tour showcases Tom’s as yet untitled second album. jatpjazz.blogspot.com
The Little Unsaid made their TLR debut back in December 2016 as part of a double bill of Yorkshire-born musicians. Fronted by songwriter, John Elliott, they are a band with an original sound and international outlook. The Little Unsaid have spent the last year touring Europe, leaving audiences emotionally rapt with a live show that’s been described as ‘a thumping depth of passion’. Their sound is all their own but echoes the intensity and melancholic overtones of greats such as Nick Cave and Leonard Cohen. 2017’s critically-acclaimed Imagined Hymns & Chaingang Mantras album was recorded with Radiohead engineer and film score producer Graeme Stewart. The Little Unsaid embrace elements of rock, folk, electronica, jazz and alt-pop. One of the UK’s must-see rising live acts and recent winners of the Steve Reid award for Innovation.
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Oastler Centre
Gigs in unusual venues Last year, two friends got talking about the large number of great venues in their home city which had the potential to become excellent event venues. Les Hall and Nick Hall (no relation!) have now decided to convert their pub conversation into a reality. The simple idea is that the pair will be putting on gigs in more unusual venues in and around Bradford city centre. The plan is to use establishments that are culturally significant, independent, interesting, iconic ; places that may have slipped from people’s consciousness or that can be introduced to folk for the first time. The venues identified are interesting in their own right and whilst many have not hosted anything like a traditional gig before they really are great places, Bradford institutions and, as is sadly the case for more than one location, may not be around for that much longer.
Delius Arts and Cultural Centre
The first show took place in March at the Delius Arts and Cultural Centre which Bradfordians will know better as the German Church. Next up, John Street Market (Oastler Centre) will host Union Jill and Nick Hall with home made goulash and a good choice of quality drinks from Roswitha’s Deli.
Discover the best of Bradford online and in print www.eatdrinkguides.co.uk Sponsored by:
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