PS I Love You (27 April – 9 May) is a programme of events dedicated to the Beatles, curated by artist Jean McEwan at the Bradford Playhouse. Motivated by a 25 year devotion to the band, Jean wants to explore them as a cultural phenomenon. ‘What makes you love something? What makes me love something?’ she asks; to answer this she has selected over fifty artists to be part of the project, presenting a range of work from homage and pastiche of ubiquitous Beatles imagery to more oblique, personal and even critical responses.
PS I Love You will include a screening of A Hard Day’s Night, a fan social, an Indian music concert, a performance night, a two-week exhibition and a handmade zine. Expect to find the unexpected; political performance-to-camera work from experienced Scottish actor Tam Dean Burn will sit alongside the first public performance from the Karaoke Beatles, Beatles enthusiasts who formed the band for fun to play to friends and family. Mysti Valentine will perform drag queen renditions of Beatles songs whilst Kamaljeet Ajimal will play a Beatles mash-up on the Santoor, and fans who attended Beatles concerts in Bradford in 1963/64 are being invited to come together at the social event.
PS I Love You will take place at Bradford Playhouse, somewhere that reflects Jean’s curatorial ethos and engages people that aren’t necessarily artists or arts audiences. Enter the Art-Deco building in Little Germany and you will find a dynamic multi-arts venue that is for and of the people.
‘This isn’t a place where we provide entertainment for you to come and watch, it is about all of us owning it together and it belongs to everybody. We are you, you are us.’ Eleanor Barratt, Director of the Playhouse is passionate about her charge. She grew up in Bradford and understands the nuances of the city.
‘Bradford is a difficult place;’ Eleanor explains ‘there is a lack of confidence in culture, in going out and spending money. You only have to walk around the centre at night to see that it is not a lively place full of groovy young things, grooving around.’ It’s an issue Bradfordians are well aware of; the bleakness of the city in the evening is one of many cultural barriers that need to be overcome.
But the Playhouse is showing that these barriers can be broken down; the atmosphere in the building, and around it, is of camaraderie and complicit intent to turn expectations around.
‘I instinctively knew that if I had put in a big fancy programme with lots of stuff going on, people wouldn’t have come, even if we’d had the money to do that, because people wouldn’t have cared about it and wouldn’t have thought it was for them’
So far Eleanor’s instincts seem to be pretty good. The venue is run on a shoestring, with volunteers boosting the very small staff team – but a spirit of unity binds the place, alongside a sense that anything can happen here, and it usually does. With a variety of spaces available, from the main theatre auditorium, to the basement bar which includes a dance floor, shed and gallery space, to the sewing room bar where bands play in the costume department, and many other quirky spaces, the Playhouse is unique in the experience it can offer its punters. It’s hard to say exactly what the Playhouse is but, as Eleanor says, ‘Whatever it is, it’s not like Wetherspoons!’
However, lets not get starry eyed here, not having money is not the ideal; the place is a wobbly ship, after much financial strife. There have been ten years of insecurity and three big campaigns to raise money to save the Playhouse from doom. But now things are going well, Eleanor wants to put out a new message about the future of the Playhouse and have a positive money raising campaign.
We’ll bring you more information on this in the future but for now you can get your groove on, from Tuesday to Sunday and if you head to any of the PS I Love You events you are sure to have an opportunity to experience the Playhouse in full swing.
For more information on PS I Love You www.bradfordplayhouse.co.uk/beatles.html and www.psiloveyoubeatles.blogspot.com
For more information on the Bradford Playhouse www.bradfordplayhouse.co.uk
It’s cool, I’ve joined it!
Indian Music is really cool and some of it are great dance music too.:,*
Indian music is kinda groovy and cheesy specially if you have seen those bollywood movies ,”~