Photo by Anne Akers
Guest blog by Susan Burns of Chol Theatre
‘I love this place so much I moved away’
Last Sunday 13th November, we drove through a foggy November afternoon to Sunny Bank Mills in Farsley, to witness the live recording of six new radio plays, each responding to the theme of ‘Leeds.’
There’s something evocative about disused mills and it’s a great venue. The clever transformation of the large open space into an intimate studio – with microphones, soundtrack props, running order boards and a live band – puts us straightaway into nostalgic mood.
Radio can take you swiftly into the past. In ‘His Letters’ by Alice Nutter, the story unfolds backwards, taking us from a present-day of ‘Bargain Hunt’ and tetchy relationships to the 1940s, to wartime, to a time when the pool at Armley Baths was covered to make a dancehall. Aisha Khan’s ‘Durkopp Diana’ is set in the mods-and-rockers 1960s. With knockabout humour and likeable characters, Khan depicts a Leeds where everyone knows everyone, where the girl you fancy works in the bakers on The Headrow. A Durkopp Diana is a scooter and Slung Low demonstrates classy soundtrack making, with an actual scooter revving at the appropriate plot points.
The present day pieces deal with clashes and misunderstandings. ‘Vegan Wedding’ by Ben Tagoe is a comedy that uncovers the real reason for a meat-and-two-veg dad’s refusal to attend his daughter’s vegan wedding. ‘You can’t marry without meat’ gets a big laugh in a play about loneliness. I’d like to listen again to Rommi Smith’s quiet piece ‘Ticket’, an encounter between two strangers at a bus stop, each having their own sorrows to share.
Emma Adams nails the brief in ‘Angels and Aliens’ combining the real and the imagined in a modern fairytale about a young Polish lad who believes in aliens and his neighbour in the tower block, for whom ‘alien’ has a different meaning. Her fantastic creation, the interfering Angel of Armley, treats us to a bird’s-eye view of the goings-on in West Leeds: a true love letter to the area. The flapping of a tea towel creates the sound of angel wings.
The finale is glorious. In a terrific leap of imagination, Boff Whalley puts Alan Bennett and Barbara Taylor Bradford together on a park bench in Armley. Alan has a ukulele and Barbara feigns not to have heard of his success. They reminisce about the old days but conclude in song that though they loved the place so much, they moved away. The audience gets to join in the chorus here, a fitting end to a vintage afternoon.
We were warned that the venue would be cold but it doesn’t matter as the catering more than makes up for any hardship. Slung Low and I Love West Leeds Festival pull off this event exceptionally well. Congratulations to director Alan Lane, who kept it moving along with brio; conductor Heather Fenoughty, producer Jane Earnshaw and the skillful team of actors, musicians and sound recordists. I hope we’ll see more of these radio days, as the format, door-slamming re-takes and all, is the true star of the show.
Photo by Lucy Bannister
On the way out, I notice framed black-and-white photographs of the mill workers in their Sunday Best, imagine they would have approved. Outside it’s already evening, but the fog has lifted and we see Farsley in a different light. You can’t ask for more than that.
The plays will soon be available for download from the festival’s website and in a lovely touch, CD recordings will be sent to older people living in West Leeds. They will enjoy.