3RD-10TH JUNE, THE WHITE HOTEL, SALFORD New dates have been released for ‘Dark Days, Luminous Nights’, my project in collaboration with Manchester Collective and the movement artist Blackhaine. The postponed event in January quickly sold out, extra time slots have been added. The immersive event at The White Hotel, Salford, will consist of photographs aswell as a film I wrote and directed, to illustrate the music recorded by Manchester Collective, featuring work by Bartok, Kilar and Edmund Finnis. For […]
DARK DAYS, LUMINOUS NIGHTS THE WHITE HOTEL, SALFORD 3rd-10th June, 2021 NEW DATES… It’s 2021. Manchester. Gleaming apartments rise up over the ancient river Irk, and under the prime real estate of Angel Meadow, 40,000 bodies are buried. Cities change. In their most ambitious collaborative project to date, Manchester Collective re-imagine the live experience for a volatile new age. Inspired by a journey along a ruined waterway and premiering in mid-winter at The White Hotel in Salford, ‘Dark Days, Luminous […]
film – made in Dec 2020, at the end of the 12 months
In December, on the winter solstice, 2019, I began work on a major project named ‘Our Future is Ancient’which was commissioned by the Barnaby Festival. Each full moon, at dawn, until the follwing solstice in 2020. I couldn’t known, as I started, that I’d be working against the backdrop of a pandemic, creating one of the kost extraordinary 12 month periods of my life.
Each full moon I would travel into Macclesfield Forest before dawn and record my experience amongst the trees in the dark, and emerging twilight. We all grew up with the fairy tale of Hansel and Gretel so, despite it being a place of sanctuary, I actually felt safer on the streets of Salford than amongst the dark of the forest.
However, as the months went on, I grew to love being there before daybreak, even feeling disappointment when the light arrived. The call of owls and other creatures was magical.
Lockdown has changed our world and during the weeks of confinement, I began to crave the forest, desperate to savour its mysteries and the comfort of the natural world. The virus has caused me to feel very differently about my own life, and creating work around such an ancient place feels very relevant at the moment.
I’m fascinated by the way trees communicate with each other underground, and I’ve learned so much about the deep time they occupy, hauling me from ignorant urban state. At the same time I’ve been aware of my sub-conscious being at work, processing the events of the past few months as survive the Covid-19 crisis. What emerged was the idea to meld the way trees communicate with my own mind, and produce stories in response to this. The work will eventually be a performance and a series of short films featuring visuals, sound, music and readings.
The premier of the work, in a live performance will take place at St. Michael’s Church in Macclesfield on June 19th at 8pm. Along with my readings of the text I’ve created, I will be joined onstage by Rioghnach Connelly ( Honeyfeet, The Breath ) and the brilliant cellist Liz Hanks. Ticket info is still to be confirmed.
OUR FUTURE IS ANCIENT Following on from the success of ‘On The way There, On The Way Back’ for the inaugural Macc Lit Festival back in November 2019, I’ve been commisioned by the Barnaby Festival to produce a piece of work that explores our urban relationship with nature and folklore. I’ve called the project ‘Our Future Is Ancient’. Work began on the Winter Solstice, and I’ll be visiting Macclesfield Forest around full moon every month between now and the Summer […]
The Not Quite Light Festival 2019 has been nominated for the City Life Award 2019. It’s a tremendous achievement that acknowledges all the hugely talented performers and speakers, and also the many people that helped stage the event.There were over 34 events, including 4 world premieres.We also staged the first ‘Pilgrimage’ that saw 14 hardy souls walk the 30 miles from the source of the River Irwell back to Salford, raising over £1500 for the Booth Centre. The Salford based […]
