Art & Culture

ARTIST AT WORK

No. 42 Jo Denbury, Hawk I, 29cm H, Bronze Resin, £550

My earliest memories are working with clay in Mike Geary’s studio and long days roaming the Dorset countryside with nature as my friend. I intended to go to art school, but work intervened. Instead, I became absorbed by theatre and joined the RSC at the age of 22. The film and TV industry followed with Working Title films in the early 90s. By then I had begun to write more seriously and joined Elle Decoration and then the Telegraph Magazine as associate editor. Much of my work involved championing designers and giving them a platform to express their work but deep down I knew my own work was beckoning.

When I returned to Dorset I rediscovered my own practice. I work from a live subject, to interpret what I see through my hands into the clay. I never try to mirror nature – instead, I attempt to create what it leaves me with. It’s the same with my paintings. I paint from remembered landscapes that I carry with me which become transformed. In all my work it’s the story that interests me the most.

@jodenbury_art

Jo’s work will be on show alongside photographic work by Graham Booth as part of Dorset Art Weeks (venue 23).

___________________________________________ 14th - 29th May Dorset Art Weeks Venue 23 – Graham Booth and Jo Denbury Yew Tree Barn, Yew Tree House, Hermitage Lane, Hermitage, DT2 7BB. Painting, photography and sculpture. Wednesday - Friday 12am-5pm, weekends 10am-5pm Graham: 07798 525013, Jo: 07968 949155 yewtreeart.co.uk dorsetartweeks.co.uk

ON FILM

Andy Hastie, Yeovil Cinematheque

I Never Cry (2020)

One of the many positives from watching foreign language films is that occasionally one can see issues which impact us in this country from the other side, and the next film showing at Cinematheque is a perfect example of this. On 4th May we screen I Never Cry (2020) from up and coming Polish director Piotr Domalewski.

Polish cinema, although often less commercially accessible than films from other European countries, has a fascinating recent history. Post World War 2, the communist government built a national cinema, training hundreds of new directors, and financed their film-making. This Polish Film School Movement gave rise to world-renowned works (all highly recommended) from directors such as Krzysztof Kieslowski, Dekalog (1989), Three Colours Trilogy (1993/4), The Double Life of Veronique (1991), Andrzej Wajda Ashes and Diamonds (1958), Katyn (2007), both seen at Cinematheque, and more recently Pawel Pawlikowski. We have shown his 3 latest films, awardladen all, My Summer of Love (2004), Ida (2013), and Cold War (2018) to much acclaim and praise.

I Never Cry set in modern day Poland, follows the story of 17-year-old Ola, who on learning that her father has died in a work-related accident at a container port in Dublin, travels to Ireland on her own to bring his body back home. Being the only one in her remaining family who speaks English, she sets off on her lone odyssey determined also to find where the money is that her father had promised her for a car.

The left-behind family experience of an East European emigrant is cleverly highlighted, as the children of an economic migrant – the Euro-orphans – have been deprived of close contact with their father working abroad.

Given the subject matter, this isn’t a melancholic film at all. Ola, wonderfully portrayed by newcomer Zofia Stafiej, is a spiky, rebellious teenager on the trip of her lifetime into the unknown. From being completely self-centred, in Ireland she experiences a different world, meeting people who will change her approach to life. As she negotiates the bureaucracy of repatriating her father’s body, an awareness of her previous resentment towards her father is challenged, by realising the sacrifices he has made for his family back home.

I Never Cry has many funny and surprising moments along the way, and Ola’s ultimately satisfying coming-of-age is framed in a realistic look at the often unsafe conditions of Polish workers abroad. This is a refreshingly poignant view of a young woman behaving badly whilst remaining sympathetic, a real gem.

Interested? Come as a guest or take out a membership for the rest of the season. We’d love to see you.

cinematheque.org.uk swan-theatre.co.uk

___________________________________________ Wednesday 4th May 7.30pm I Never Cry (2020) 15 Yeovil Cinematheque, Swan Theatre, 138 Park St, Yeovil BA20 1QT. Members £1, guests £5

CONFESSIONS OF A THEATRE ADDICT

Rosie Cunningham

Celebrity theatre appearances have been a lot in the news recently, with a large amount of disparaging comments.

I have just seen Henry V at the Donmar Warehouse with Kit Harington and The Human Voice at the Harold Pinter Theatre with Ruth Wilson, and I can honestly say that I enjoyed both plays. The roles were difficult. The modern setting of Henry V, with an overly busy stage direction and superb but distracting scenery, made it much harder to be heard to cut through the hubbub and Harington did extremely well. His speeches were thought-provoking and rousing, and the transition from his younger, debauched persona, into an upstanding and meaningful king, was credible. This role proved that Harington has more depth to him than he has previously been credited for. The Human Voice was a monologue, via a heart-breaking one-sided telephone conversation, with a former lover who had just moved out of their shared hi-rise apartment in New York. Wilson was magnificent as a brittle, seductive, half-mad woman who slowly descends into the pit of despair. The stage set was a large window through which the audience saw Wilson bouncing off the walls and pacing before finally opening the window and leaping off the windowsill. Both plays were edgy and enjoyable in their own way, and so much more than the celebrity lead, so do go and see what interests you and possibly only read the reviews afterwards! I have only ever walked out of one show halfway through and that was Grayson Perry at The London Palladium – I just wasn’t in the mood.

I caught the young writer, Samuel Bailey, being interviewed on the radio about his new play coming to the Bristol Old Vic and, on a whim, bought tickets for my eighteen-year-old daughter and myself. Sorry, You’re Not a Winner is a story about two best friends from Worcester, one of whom goes to prison on leaving school and the other gets a place at Oxford University.

Image: Helen Murray

Ultimately, Fletch, who stayed at home and still gets in trouble with the police, is happy with a girlfriend, a baby on the way and a variety of dead-end jobs. Liam, however, struggles to translate the rules and etiquette of Oxford and then doesn’t fit in at home either when he returns for a visit. The theatre was packed, the language was loud, confrontational, and crude at times, but Bailey got it all so right. The play is now touring and hopefully will get the recognition

Jodie Comer in rehearsals for Prima Facie with Justin Martin, Jane Moriarty Jasmin Hay and Maddie Siddi.

it deserves. Do look out for Samuel Bailey and the two young actors, Kyle Rowe and Eddie-Joe Robinson, who were magnificent.

Prima Facie, translated as ‘on the first impression’, is at the Harold Pinter Theatre until 18th June 2022, and stars Jodie Comer as a brilliant young barrister who is at the top of her game, intent on winning, whatever the odds. I loved Killing Eve, so I am expecting great things when I go in May.

Finally, I went to the fabulous Stonehenge exhibition, on at the British Museum until 17th July 2022, and I would really recommend it if you found yourself with a couple of hours to spare in London. There are many new treasures that have been unearthed recently, not only at Stonehenge but other sites such as Avebury.

haroldpintertheatre.co.uk/shows/prima-facie britishmuseum.org/exhibitions/world-stonehenge

THE ARTS SOCIETY SHERBORNE

Julian Halsby

The Arts Society Sherborne is a well established and much-appreciated organisation that started its life as a NADFAS group in the 1980s. Its aim is to bring the arts to the people of Sherborne and its surrounding villages and it does this by staging monthly lectures at the Digby Hall. It belongs to a nationwide society which provides a list of accredited lecturers and much backup support, which ensures that all the lectures are of the highest quality.

There is much more to The Arts Society Sherborne than just the monthly lectures. Several times a year study days are arranged when a lecturer presents an art historical subject in-depth with three lectures punctuated by coffee breaks and a catered lunch. These days are both instructive and sociable. Indeed sociability is at the centre of the Society. Before each lecture, members gather for coffee and tea, in the summer a lunch party for members is held at Leweston School, at Christmas, a special dinner is arranged at The Grange at Oborne, there is a members’ party in the Digby Hall after the December lecture and there are regular parties for new members. We also arrange one-day coach visits to places of interest in this country as well as trips abroad. Sadly these trips have been curtailed by Covid but will be reinstated when possible. Destinations abroad have included Madrid, Berlin, Copenhagen and Jerusalem. So joining the Arts Society is about making new friends and contacts as much as about indulging your interest in the arts.

Indulging is the right word, because every month (apart from August and January) members are treated to a lecture on a wide variety of topics in the world of art. Naturally, there are many lectures on painters and art movements, but also on the history of music, design, furniture, jewellery and even magic. Lectures are held on the first Wednesday of the month at 3pm and repeated at 7pm.

This month, lecturer, writer and documentary-maker, Antony Penrose, discusses The Road is Wider than Long – a love poem created as a photo book of a journey through the Balkans in 1938 by the lecturer’s parents – Roland Penrose, a surrealist artist and the American photographer, Lee Miller.

In June, we are visited by Professor of Architectural Theory, Colin Davies, who will give a lecture based on

Parpala/iStock

his 2017 book A New History of Modern Architecture. Major themes in 20th and 21st-century architecture, such as the rise of Modernism, the Postmodernist reaction, the survival of Classicism, and the effects of digital culture on the architecture of the new century, are introduced and explained in jargon-free terms. The aim is to foster a fuller understanding of modern architecture and thereby encourage the enjoyment of its rich variety. Further details of these and future lectures can be found on our website.

theartssocietysherborne.org

Wednesday 4th May 3pm and 7pm The Road is Wider than Long – Speaker: Antony Penrose

Wednesday 1st June 3pm and 7pm Modern Architecture – Speaker: Colin Davies Digby Hall, Hound Street, Sherborne All welcome. Non-members £7

THE ART OF BEING 13th – 31st May, 2022

WAVING MAN BRONZE

MAN WITH TROUSERS BRONZE

www.jerramgallery.com

THE JERRAM GALLERY Half Moon Street, Sherborne, 01935 815261 Dorset DT9 3LN info@jerramgallery.com Tuesday – Saturday

COUNTER CULTURE

Paul Maskell, The Beat and Track

No.9 My Bloody Valentine: Revolution at their Own Pace

Meeting in Dublin during early 1978, Kevin Shields and Colm O’Ciosoig had an instant affinity with music and each other and formed a punk band called The Complex. Dabbling with Ramones and Sex Pistols covers and later postpunk, the band failed to gain a major popularity, unable to secure gigs with more than a hundred people present. A change of direction and personnel was decided upon, as was a change of name. The band were to be called My Bloody Valentine.

The band went through some line-up changes but later in March of 1984 the band recorded their first demo on tape and used this to secure a deal with Tycoon records. This was to be the beginning of much upheaval but this would ultimately result in the formation of the solid MBV line up and the invention of a new genre in guitar-based music.

On advice from their peers in the music business the band relocated to the Netherlands and later West Berlin where they recorded their debut mini album This is Your My Bloody Valentine. The album was released to a lukewarm reception and the band decided to return to the UK to re-evaluate, choosing relocation to London in 1985.

Over the next two years the band recorded two EPs, the second of which managed to make a minor dent in the Indie charts and get them some much needed recognition. Then came two personnel changes that would ultimately solidify the band’s sound and propel them into the sights of the Indie music press and beyond. Enter bass player Debbie Googe from Yeovil and, later, Billinda Butcher from London. Googe brought a raucous playing style to the MBV sound while Butcher added ethereal vocals and additional guitar. Kevin Shields shared vocal duties and honed his guitar style which became a style full of texture, tremolo techniques and ‘glide guitar’ work. The genre of ‘Shoegaze’ was born and a new movement was spawned.

Signed to Lazy Records, the band went on to release a single Strawberry Wine and a mini-album Ecstasy. Both were underfunded and under-promoted and received only minor acclaim. Enter the god-like Alan McGee, founder of Creation Records. He witnessed the band perform in Canterbury and instantly invited them to record an EP, likening their style to that of Husker Du. In August 1988 the band released the EP You Made Me Realise. The EP debuted at number two in the Indie charts and was laden with the now trademark guitar sound and ethereal vocals. On the back of the EP’s success the band went on to record their first fulllength album Isn’t Anything released in November 1988 which went to number one in the UK Indie charts. This

resulted in an explosion of ‘Shoegaze’ bands all working to the template created by Shields and his crew.

Any band’s second album is often deemed to be the

‘difficult second’. This was by no means any different for

My Bloody Valentine. The album was initially planned to be recorded over five consecutive days. The album took so long to record that McGee insisted that the band release two EPs in the meantime to maintain interest and momentum. Ultimately the band took 21 months to record the album and spent over £250,000 doing so. They relocated to no fewer than nineteen different studios using numerous engineers and producers. The resulting album, Loveless was met with huge acclaim and praise although it didn’t replicate the chart position of their debut, peaking at number 24 in the Indie charts. To this end the band were dropped from Creation as McGee could no longer cope with

Shield’s approach to recording and its crippling budget.

In 1992 the band were signed to Island Records and built their own home studio in south London. The studio experienced a large number of technical issues and, coupled with Shield suffering with writer’s block, the band only managed to record two songs over the next five years, both cover songs for tribute/charity albums. During 1995 Googe and O’Ciosoig left the band leaving only Shields and Butcher to attempt to record the third My Bloody Valentine album. After little progress Butcher left the band in 1997 leaving

Shields to contemplate his future. It’s rumoured that the band had compiled over sixty hours of music that were ultimately shelved.

No releases and no gigs for the following ten years but Shields managed to keep a foot in the music business by becoming a touring member of Primal

Scream and collaborating with several bands including EM_ST.qxp_Layout 1 19/04/2022 12:58 Page 1 Dinosaur Jr. A reunion was much rumoured during 2007 and in November 2007 and June 2008 the band played two reunion gigs, their first all together for sixteen years. They subsequently embarked on a world tour and performed to sell-out crowds at numerous festivals. Crowds that had one thing on their minds… third album?

Not until 27th January 2013 did Kevin Shields announce the release of the third My Bloody Valentine album mbv. During a small gig, Shields announced that a new album ‘might be out in two or three days.’ 11.58pm on 2nd February 2013 – I was sitting in my bedroom in front of my computer trying to process an order for the much anticipated new album by My Bloody Valentine. The website ground to a halt as likeminded fans struggled to ensure that they got copies of the first full-length album released by the band since 1991’s Loveless. I was lucky. My download dropped immediately, the 180g vinyl and cd package arrived on 22nd February and I was not disappointed. Neither were the rest of the shoegaze fraternity who were now hungry for more. Dreamy vocals, sweeping, tremolo guitars with infectious beats. The shoegaze revolution continues! The band went on to tour worldwide and tentatively talked of a further release that year and a follow-up album during 2018!

May 2022 – the band are signed to Domino, their back catalogue has been re-issued and the band are said to be working on both a song-orientated album and a more experimental album in tandem. Will these see the light of day? There’s an army of shoegaze fans that still wait with baited breath for that announcement and the ensuing excitement that new material from My Bloody Valentine will create. I am still one of them, such is the power of their music and their integrity.

thebeatandtrack.co.uk

THE FREE WESSEX ARTS AND CULTURE GUIDE EVOLVER MAGAZINE

Pick up your copy at arts venues, galleries, museums, art shops, cafés, libraries and tourist information centres (etc) throughout Dorset, Somerset, East Devon, West Wiltshire, Bristol and Bath Or subscribe online at: evolver.org.uk Instagram: evolvermagazine