Come and support your
wonderful Rooks!
Next up at the Dripping Pan:
Sat 2 Nov, 2pm: Chelsea
Sat 9 Nov, 3pm: Hornchurch
Sun 17 Nov, 1pm: Sheffield United
Sat 30 Nov, 3pm: Folkestone Invicta
And remember that anyone under 16
gets free entry to all Lewes FC matches.
JOIN THE CLUB:
www.lewesfc.com/owners
VIVA
B R I G H T O N
EDITORIAL
#81 NOV 2019
...........................
.......................
Viva Magazines is based at:
Lewes House, 32 High St,
Lewes, BN7 2LX.
For all enquiries call:
01273 488882.
Every care has been taken to
ensure the accuracy of our content.
We cannot be held responsible for
any omissions, errors or alterations.
What’s the most memorable piece of theatre that
you’ve ever seen? I can still recall every detail
of Before I Sleep – the unforgettable reimagining
of Chekov’s The Cherry Orchard – expansively
played out by masters of immersive theatre
dreamthinkspeak in the shell of the grand old
Co-op department store on London Road in May
2010. Truly extraordinary! And, more recently,
Kneehigh’s bawdy and brilliant adaptation of Tristan
& Yseult; my personal highlight of the 2017 Festival.
Wonderful, life-affirming stuff.
There’s nothing quite like going to the theatre to
transport you from the daily grind (and we live in
grinding times). So, as the nights draw in and all
about is gloomy, we’ve slipped behind the velvet
curtain and sought out some of the dream weavers
who make it all happen.
Like Brighton People’s Theatre – the truly inclusive
theatre company who are making sure that everyone
gets to see (or be in) the show, regardless of
their means. We meet the prop makers at Plunge
Creations who can make just about anything you can
dream of. (Or at least give it a very good go.) We go
rummaging at Gladrags – a costume store that serves
the whole community, as well as visiting the state-ofthe-art
Production Hub at Glyndebourne. We look
back fifty years to the opening of the experimental
Gardner Arts Centre, celebrate its recent reinvention
as ACCA and look forward to the imminent opening
of a new performance space in Circus Street. And
Adam Bronkhorst goes backstage at some of our
smaller theatres for his 60th(!) instalment of The
Way We Work.
Now, places please everybody. It’s time to get on with
the show.
OPENING...
29 | 11 | 2019
BRIGHTON SEAFRONT
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VIVA
B R I G H T O N
THE TEAM
.....................
EDITOR: Lizzie Lower lizzie@vivamagazines.com
SUB EDITOR: David Jarman
PRODUCTION EDITOR: Joe Fuller joe@vivamagazines.com
ART DIRECTOR: Katie Moorman katie@vivamagazines.com
PHOTOGRAPHER AT LARGE: Adam Bronkhorst mail@adambronkhorst.com
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CONTRIBUTORS: Alex Leith, Alexandra Loske, Amy Holtz, Anita Hall, Anthony Peters, Ben Bailey,
Charlotte Gann, Chris Riddell, Dexter Lee, JJ Waller, Jacqui Bealing, Jay Collins, Joda,
Joe Decie, John Helmer, John O’Donoghue, Lizzie Enfield, Mark Greco, Martin Skelton,
Michael Blencowe, Nione Meakin, Paul Zara, Robin Houghton and Rose Dykins.
PUBLISHER: Becky Ramsden becky@vivamagazines.com
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CONTENTS
...............................
Joseph Ford
Bits & bobs.
10-29. Have your tickets ready, please.
Anthony Peters opens the show with his
theatrical cover. Actor turned Theatre
Royal proprietor Ellen Nye Chart is on
the Buses; Joe Decie has a dastardly plan
and Alex Leith has a pint (and a singalong)
at Bar Broadway. Meanwhile,
Alexandra Loske is enthralled by
an exotic timepiece; JJ Waller is
mesmerised by the murmurations and
Joseph Ford and Nina Dodd conjure
illusions with knitwear. And much more
besides.
My Brighton.
30-31. Historical tailor Zack Pinsent
on dressing up and Brighton’s radical
eccentricity.
Photography.
33-39. Adam Bronkhorst looks back on
five years of photographing Brightonians
at work. What’s your favourite set?
24
Photo by Adam Bronkhorst
73
Columns.
41-45. John Helmer is dropping names
(and rubber rocks), Lizzie Enfield’s
mum skips the show and Amy Holtz
(begrudgingly) reflects on what might have
been.
On this month.
47-59. Ben Bailey rounds up his pick of
the gigs; Simon Yates of Touching the
Void comes to Komedia; Glyndebourne
hosts a fundraising gala for Homelink
(complete with a singing Prison Governor)
and Enter the Dragons is slaying taboos
at Chichester’s Spiegeltent. There’s a
lamentably timely play about football
and racism at the Marlborough; Cinecity
returns for its 16th round of adventures
in World Cinema and Brighton
Philharmonic Orchestra is approaching its
....8 ....
CONTENTS
...............................
centenary. Plus, Dyad Productions bring a
one-woman adaptation of Virginia Woolf’s
Orlando to Ropetackle and Tim Crouch
puts the audience on stage at ACCA.
Art & design.
61-71. Lily Rigby’s Cornish coastal
paintings at ONCA; Jane Fox and her
exploration of the ‘human trace’ is at
Brighton Art Fair (in Lewes!) and we meet
the makers at Plunge Creations, who are
game for just about anything. (A Dinosaur
made from crumpets, you say?) Plus, a bit
more of what’s on, art-wise, this month.
The way we work.
73-77. Adam Bronkhorst goes backstage at
some of our smaller theatres for his 60th
TWWW shoot.
Food.
79-83. A recipe from Riverford Organic
Farmers that puts veg centre stage; Greek
nosh at Nostos; a love letter to Pompoko
and just a few edible updates.
Features.
85-95. We find an outfit for every
eventuality at Gladrags community
costume store; visit the state-of-the-art
scenic workshops at Glyndebourne and join
in a theatre workshop at Brighton People’s
Theatre. We get an update on Brighton’s
newest performance space, coming soon to
Circus Street and the University of Sussex
are celebrating 50 years since the Gardner
Arts Centre opened at Falmer with a look
back at the archive.
Wildlife
97. How Shakespeare’s starlings made it to
California.
Inside left.
96
98. From saltwater pool to casino: the
many incarnations and mixed fortunes of
75 East Street.
Image courtesy of the University of Sussex
Image by Alej ez
69
THIS MONTH’S COVER ARTIST
.......................................................
This month’s cover artist, Anthony Peters,
is interested in exploring how an artist’s
background influences their work. In his
podcast Know Ideas, he and co-presenter Dan
Walters speak to illustrators, graphic designers,
fine artists and film makers about their process,
inspirational teachers and parents, or “how a
negative childhood can generate a desire to
create things.”
Getting the opportunity to study fine art in
Portsmouth was a pivotal moment in Anthony’s
own life. “I was the last generation that got
a grant to go to university in the late 90s. I
wouldn’t have been able to go, were it not for
that. I absolutely loved it. It was a space to
learn, and to dream, and to think.”
Anthony tells me that most of his heroes say
things “in a very minimal way”. “When I was
at art school I was obsessed with conceptual
art, and I think I still am really. That’s where
all of my ideas originally came from. People
like Yoko Ono, Bruce Nauman, Joseph Beuys
and then the YBAs [a group of Young British
Artists in the late 80s]. In graphic design, I love
people like Paul Rand, Anthony Burrill, Geoff
McFetridge.”
Anthony put a lot of thought into how he could
represent this month’s theme in as minimal a
way as possible. “The problem is that the theme
of theatre is absolutely rammed with all kinds
of tropes and clichés. From the comedy/tragedy
masks – which is probably the biggest cliché –
through to spotlights and scripts. It’s quite hard
to avoid when visually trying to represent the
idea of theatre.
“I did an awful lot of research in trying to get
around that. I just tried to distil everything
down to what that one moment is. It’s the
anticipation when you get there and when you
get your ticket torn, or when you’re about to go
in. That’s the part where you’re super excited
and ready to go.”
....10....
ANTHONY PETERS
......................................................
For some drafts of the cover, Anthony printed out
tickets he had designed and photocopied them
multiple times, “to make it look more grimy. A lot
of tickets are digital now, but it’s so lovely when
you’ve got a physical ticket – especially with a
perforated edge that you can rip.”
Anthony is co-curating Look At This Brighton
with arts consultant/curator Charlotte
Parsons, a new festival of printmaking at
Phoenix Gallery from 16th November to 15th
December. “We got together and thrashed out
a dream list of people we’d want involved. And
everybody’s said yes. Stanley Donwood, who
does all the Radiohead sleeves, Anthony Burrill,
Michael C Place (who runs Studio.Build),
Sophie Smallhorn, Hello Marine and more”.
Three pieces by each artist will be on display
in Phoenix’s main space as well as a range of
events, including a Maker’s Store, Printmaker’s
Tabletop Fair and a Printmaking Weekend for
Families.
Joe Fuller
studioimeus.co.uk
knowideaspodcast.co.uk
phoenixbrighton.org
Insta @lookatthisbrighton
....11....
BITS AND BOBS
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Got an idea that could help save the planet?
Plus X Brighton – who launch their new
Innovation Hub in January 2020 – would
like to hear from you.
‘Plus X Brighton champions innovation and
invention…’ says Mat Hunter, co-CEO at
Plus X. ‘Whether you think of yourself as
an entrepreneur and innovator, or just an
optimist and challenger, an artist, maker or
simply a person with a good idea who wants
to make a positive change, we are seeking
Brighton’s most inventive minds!’
To that end, Plus X have been running a
Disruptors competition, seeking local talent
in the field of sustainable product design
and the circular economy. (The closing
date for entries is the 3rd of November, so,
if you’re quick, there’s still time to enter.)
The shortlisted entrants will pitch their
ideas at a ‘Dragon’s Den’-style event at the
Unbarred Brewery & Tap Room on the 12th
of November.
The winner will receive six months free desk
space, access to workshops with specialist
equipment and a placement on the Plus X
mentorship programme at their state of the
art new innovation hub located at Preston
Barracks to help develop their idea and bring
it to market.
Local business leaders are invited to join the
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and pizza included!). If you’d like to be there
visit hub.plusx.space/disruptors and book
your place at eventbrite.
BITS AND BUSES
ON THE BUSES #55: ELLEN NYE CHART ROUTE 7
Ellen met Theatre Royal manager Henry Nye Chart while working
as an actress in 1865. They married in 1867, and she inherited
the theatre after he died in 1876.
An article on The Keep’s website explains that Ellen – in her
thirties and with an eight-year-old child to care for – presented
her first series of shows at the Theatre Royal ‘just weeks after her
husband’s death’. She replaced the resident company with a series
of popular touring productions (sound familiar?) and introduced
matinee performances.
Ellen was not only a popular theatre proprietor, but a canny
businesswoman too. She programmed an annual pantomime, with performances every evening from
Christmas Eve until early February. The success of the panto was a key element in turning the Theatre
Royal’s deficit of £6,000 into a profit of £38,000 during her tenure. She was generous, however:
staff and inmates of the Brighton Workhouse – more than 1,000 in total – were invited to a free panto
performance every year.
Ellen died unexpectedly in 1892. A report in the Brighton Herald concluded that ‘so busy and bustling
a spirit should have been extinguished at so early an age… is a source of deep regret to all those connected
directly or indirectly with the Theatre.’ Joe Fuller
Illustration by Joda (@joda_art)
Plus X
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...............................
....15....
CURATOR’S CITY
...............................
Royal Collection Trust © Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2019
LANGUID THEATRICALITY
MY FAVOURITE OBJECT OF A PRINCE’S TREASURE
A Prince’s Treasure is now open, and some of
the rooms in the Royal Pavilion look very close
today to what George IV had envisaged and
created in the 1820s. For me, the most wonderful
object, and one of several that brought tears
to my eyes, is one you may miss at first. Partly
because it is so much part of the decorative
scheme that surrounds it, it doesn’t jump out
at you immediately. Look closer though and be
amazed how one beautifully designed object
can pull a whole room together and reflect
everything around it, and more.
The object of my affection is a gilt-bronze
clock that sits on the mantelpiece of the north
wall of the Banqueting Room. It was designed
for this location by Robert Jones, who created
the interiors of the Banqueting Room and Saloon,
and made in c1819 by Benjamin Vulliamy,
with gilding by Fricker & Henderson. In a way,
it doesn’t matter much that it is a clock and its
practical use pales into insignificance compared
to what surrounds it.
Two Chinese figures, one male, one female,
flank the silver-faced clock with its serpent-shaped
hands. Clad in shimmering, heavily
decorated garments (created with enamel
....16....
CURATOR’S CITY
...............................
paint), they lean against the clock, or time in general,
in languid theatricality, exuding leisure, beauty and
exoticism. On top of the clock sits a peacock, echoing
the phoenix birds that appear to hold the four
corner chandeliers in the room. Many of the motifs
and colours you find in the Banqueting Room and
elsewhere in the building, such as dragons, sunflowers,
snakes, stars, figure groups, silver, gold, and deep
blues and reds, you find on this object. In many ways
it is both a reflection and a concentrated version of
what is around it: the best of European Chinoiserie,
an invented vision of Asia, a dream of otherness and
distant worlds.
As far as we know Jones never travelled to China, but
he may well have been inspired by French Chinoiseries
of the 18th century, such as François Boucher’s
paintings, or by the spectacular gilt ‘Chinese’ figures
surrounding the mid-18th century Chinese Teahouse
in the park of Sanssouci in Potsdam, Germany. Seated
and reclining figures are also present in decorative
Chinese export ware, with which Robert Jones would
have been familiar.
The clock has a near twin on the opposite side of the
room, a barometer with an integrated thermometer,
similarly surrounded by figures and ornaments, but
painted in different colours, with different motifs.
The arrival of these two magnificent objects gave us a
chance to look at some of the detail of the figures, and
– unsurprisingly – we have found more that links them
to the room, including starburst patterns and possibly
masonic symbols that are also on the canopies above
the fireplace. You will not learn much about Chinese
robes from these figures, but a lot about how George
IV and Robert Jones’ minds worked.
I had seen and studied the clock and barometer before,
at Windsor Castle, but seeing them back in the place
they were designed for was a truly moving moment. It
felt as if a final jigsaw piece had been slotted into the
theatrical design scheme of the Banqueting Room.
Alexandra Loske, Art Historian and Curator
A Prince’s Treasure – From Buckingham Palace to the
Royal Pavilion. The Royal Collection Returns to Brighton.
Free with Royal Pavilion admission.
Detail of the Banqueting Room clock.
Photograph by Nicola Turner-Inman
Chinoiserie figures at Sanssouci, Potsdam.
Photograph by Stella Beddoe
Banqueting Room painting by Robert Jones, 1817.
Royal Pavilion & Museums, Brighton & Hove
....17....
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BITS AND BOGS
...............................
MAGAZINE OF THE MONTH: BUFFALO ZINE
Independent magazines are
great for so many reasons,
not least of which is that the
people behind the magazines
are inevitably enthusiastic
about what they do. Another
is that we have magazines in
the shop that cover so many
different interests in so many
different ways. There are still
some themes that don’t yet
seem to be well-covered or, to
put it differently to all hopeful
magazine publishers out there, gaps to fill
still exist. Theatre, the theme of this month’s
Viva, is one of them.
Before cinema (and still sometimes today)
theatre was the place where the audience was
amazed by the stage craft, the scenery, the
lighting and the tricks of production as well
as the acting. ‘Don’t be so theatrical’ came to
mean ‘Don’t be so over the top’.
In this sense, a number of our magazines are
definitely theatrical. Because they are independent
– ergo less restrained by budgets or a
narrow imagination – they
can do things other magazines
can’t or won’t, often in
ways that surprise us, like the
theatre still can.
Take Buffalo Zine, for example.
There’s no point looking
for that recognisable cover
each time a new issue comes
out because the size, format
and presentation are always
different. You’ll often hear
us wondering what the next
Buffalo Zine is going to look like.
This new issue is no exception. It’s almost
indescribable. Elise has just said that each
spread feels like an experiment. She’s right. It’s
colourful, unpredictable and sort of crazy. It’s
very visual and has fashion as a component but
definitely isn’t a fashion magazine. It covers so
much ground and you won’t have seen anything
quite like it. Come and have a look, sit down
in our front-row seat and be prepared to be
surprised. Let the curtain rise.
Martin Skelton, Magazine Brighton
TOILET GRAFFITO #58
We couldn’t agree more. Just in case you needed a
reminder, you will always be enough.
We’ve been spotting this heartfelt message on the back
of bathroom doors across the city (and beyond) lately
and get a little lift every time we do.
But where did we find this lavatory love letter?
Last month’s answer: North Laine Brewhouse
....19....
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BITS AND PUBS
...............................
PUB: BAR BROADWAY
I approach Bar Broadway, on
the corner of Steine Street, just
off St James’s Street, at about
10pm on a Tuesday, knowing
that an open-mic piano singalong
will be in full swing. I’m
not sure I’m particularly looking
forward to the experience.
From its name, and a glimpse of
its glitzy exterior, you can guess
what’s coming when you walk
through the door: plush red
walls, black ceiling and floor,
framed posters and photos of
musical stars of the stage: Liza
Minnelli, Judy Garland, John
Travolta. It’s full without being
brimming, mostly with men,
mostly of a certain age. On a
mini-stage at the back, framed
by red velvet curtains, a fellah
in glasses, accompanied by a
pianist, is singing A Spoonful of
Sugar, from Mary Poppins.
I’m ushered in by the compere
of the night, who shows me
a pile of songbooks (I spot
Abba, and The Carpenters)
and tells me I’m welcome to
sing a song if I can find one
that I like. I order a pint of
Kozel lager from one of the
two friendly young barmen,
dressed identically all in black,
in Bar Broadway-logoed polo
shirts: it’s service with a smile,
and a complimentary bowl of
hot salted popcorn. I warm to
the place… it’s impossible not
to. The singer switches to Those
Magnificent Men in their Flying
Machines.
I wonder how long some of
these old fellows have been
coming here. Bar Broadway was
originally The Queen’s Head,
which dates back to at least
1849. Not surprisingly, given its
name and location, it became
one of Brighton’s foremost gay
bars in the 70s – with a portrait
of Freddie Mercury on its
sign – before, after the turn of
the millennium, converting to
The Three and Ten, a bar/club
which opened till 3am. A mini
theatre was introduced upstairs,
for intimate performances of all
sorts of genres.
The theatre’s not open tonight:
all the action is on the stage
downstairs. I’m not tempted
to sing a song myself, but I do
join in a couple of choruses,
particularly when the compere
launches into Anything Goes.
I’ve only planned to have a pint
here, but another beer is in
order. I eventually leave after
applauding a show-stopping
performance, by a chap in his
nineties, of Little Man You’ve
Had a Busy Day, which I later
learnt was released in 1934. Is
that a tear in my eye? Alex Leith
10 Steine Street
....21....
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...............................
‘The curtain is now up on Brighton’s greatest free show,’ writes JJ Waller.
‘The annual evening starling murmuration is back in the skies over Brighton; an
unpredictable, captivating experience that never disappoints. Pure theatre.’
....23....
BITS AND BOOKS
...............................
INVISIBLE JUMPERS
JOSEPH FORD & NINA DODD
Have you ever wanted to disappear into the
background? If you have, you might want to
enlist the help of an unlikely and obsessive pair:
Joseph Ford who loves creating and capturing
optical illusions with his camera, and Nina Dodd
who loves to knit peculiar things. Combine the
two and you get Invisible Jumpers: a collaboration
that began in 2014, when Joseph met Nina on
a photographic assignment that called for some
inventive knitting.
Joseph was taken with a jumper that Nina had
made to match the upholstery on a Brighton bus
and suggested that they photograph it onboard.
As expected, the carefully chosen model blended
gratifyingly into the seat. One jumper led to
another and the Brighton-based duo have collaborated
on a series of increasingly challenging
knitting illusions ever since. ‘I work on the principle
that if it’s conceivable, it must be knittable!’
writes Nina.
The results are captured in a beautifully produced
book, recently published by Hoxton Mini Press.
While the 25 images look effortless, each took
weeks, sometimes months in the making, with Joseph
carefully scouting the locations and models
before giving Nina a plan for the image. Together
they matched yarns to the colour and texture of
the backgrounds and Nina deftly knitted up the
garments – some taking upwards of 90 hours to
complete and incorporating 24 different colours.
Finally, Joseph returned to the locations, meticulously
positioning the models and knitwear and
hoping that nothing too much had changed in the
background.
....24....
BITS AND BOOKS
...............................
The images are extraordinary. Graffiti artists
become part of their paintings; a flame-haired
hipster lays camouflaged against a tiled Tokyo
stairway; a woman becomes part of a ragged cliff
edge; teenagers merge into a messy bedroom
floor, strewn with records and Rizla. There’s no
computer trickery. No CGI (Joseph describes
knitting as ‘the ultimate analogue process’); just
the visual intrigue created by Nina’s meticulous
knitting and Joseph’s careful camera angles.
‘I love this kind of attention to the absurd,’ writes
Norman Cook (aka Fat Boy Slim), who appears
(or rather disappears) in the book, against a
six-metre Acid House smiley face, ‘Right up my
street.’ Ours too. Poring over the images offers a
soothing diversion from our increasingly digital
world: equal parts homespun labour of love and
mind-bending marvel of patience.
Lizzie Lower
£12.95, hoxtonminipress.com
....25....
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BITS AND BOOKS
...............................
HOME
CREATIVE FUTURE WRITERS’ AWARD
The Creative Future Writers’
Anthology is fast becoming a
fixture of literary life in Brighton.
The anthology collects the
winning entries from the Writers’
Award Competition, which invites
submissions from those who lack
opportunities due to mental health
issues, disability, health or social
circumstance. The awards come
under six headings – Platinum
through Bronze to Commended
– and comprise packages with mentorships,
retreats, Faber Academy and Poetry
School courses, and various books. There’s also a
swanky launch in London, and a chance to meet
judges and fellow winners.
Matt Freidson, Deputy Director of Creative
Future, outlines this year’s theme: ‘For 2019 we
asked: what does ‘home’ mean?’ Out of over
a thousand entries the winning pieces in their
various categories are evenly divided between
poetry and prose pieces, with a section of work
from this year’s judges at the back of the book.
The standard is high. Gary Evans’ Hefted is
about a farmworker trying to get a ewe that’s
lost her new-born lamb to accept another ewe’s
lamb: ‘A rejected lamb’s only got a couple of
hours.’ The language hurtles along: ‘Moka
pot gurgles. Coffee’s done. Fetch Bunk and
McNulty from the barn.’ The race against time,
the brutality of the farm, are brilliantly done.
Iqbal Hussain’s piece opens: ‘I was fourteen
years old when my parents sold me into slavery.’
This is the plight of the narrator’s mother, and
what follows is a classic portrait of an immigrant
family, held together by a matriarch who resents
her early marriage, but not her
family: ‘But look what I have now.
I am the wealthiest woman in the
world.’ Susan Hunter Downer’s
piece also explores estrangement
in The Space Between Words: ‘I were
a woman once… I’m a rain cloud
now.’ The device of woman-into-cloud
allows Downer to convey
with poetry and grim humour
life in a ‘hostile environment’. I
was also impressed by Michelle
Perkins’ The Out, whose narrator’s
alienation is conveyed in a striking idiolect of
her own: ‘People all about and I an unseen.’
This unorthodox syntax is skillfully sustained
throughout the piece to moving effect.
The poets are equally powerful. Sallyanne Rock
uses the structure of a recipe to contrast domestic
abuse with the contentment of home cooking
in You Are Not Nigella Lawson: ‘Soften onions in
oil on a low flame.../Reflect on the last time you
felt scared.’ Natalia Theodoridou creates a little
road movie of migration whose title is a little
poem in itself: ‘After the Backdrop of Pale Men,
Under the Fake Rain, After We Left For Good.’
Sally Davis’s poem In my imaginary house, I’d have
imaginary parents is a series of striking images
that ends on the most beautiful image of all.
And Lauren Robinson offers a prayer every poet
will recognise: ‘Moon Be My Mother’.
But what order, you might be asking, do these
pieces come in? Which are the Platinum, Gold
Silver entries? Reader, you’ll have to buy the
book to find out.
John O’Donoghue
Home, Creative Future, £6 creativefuture.org.uk
....27....
BRINGING
THE HOUSE
DOWN
A CONCERT AT
GLYNDEBOURNE
IN AID OF THE MEATH
EPILEPSY CHARITY
Sunday 5 April 2020 at 3pm
Book now at:
meath.org.uk/glyndebourne
A one-off charity concert featuring
a stellar line-up of world-class
British singers performing popular
arias and ensembles from opera
and musicals.
Compère: John Suchet
Louise Alder
Barry Banks
Sophie Bevan MBE
Allan Clayton
Dame Sarah Connolly DBE
Yvonne Howard
Painting by Amy Sherratt, a member of the Meath community
Photo by Restyler/Shutterstock.com
Jacques Imbrailo
Sally Matthews
Danielle de Niese
Mark Padmore CBE
Brindley Sherratt
Sir John Tomlinson CBE
All the performers are donating their
services and the proceeds from the
concert will go to The Meath Epilepsy
Charity (registered in England and
Wales no: 200359).
Give the gift of song
this Christmas with tickets
to this stunning concert
BITS AND BOXES
...............................
CHARITY BOX #43: THE PURPLE PLAYHOUSE
Photo by Paul Demuth
If you’re not familiar
with the Purple Playhouse
in Hove, you’re
not alone. But you are
almost certainly missing
out. Henry Bruce, its
theatre and events manager
talks Viva through
the story of one of the
city’s true hidden gems.
We’re based on the
first floor of the Grace
Eyre Foundation, a four-storey converted
church at the corner of Montefiore Road and
Old Shoreham Road. There’s been a theatre
here since the 50s. Historically it was used
as part of Grace Eyre’s day service. But that
meant it wasn’t being used in the evening or at
weekends, which seemed a shame because it’s
a cracking space. So in 2011 we spent a lot of
money bringing it up to speed. It was at that
point we started using it commercially to raise
funds for the charity, which helps learning disabled
people in Brighton and Hove with housing,
employment and independent living.
Now we put on a regular programme of
shows. There’s a stand-up comedy night every
third Thursday of the month featuring brilliant
local acts such as Jo Neary, Victoria Melody and
Hannah Brackenbury and we often have theatre
on and sometimes live music too. Then there’s
the monthly Purple Clubhouse, a nightclub for
people with learning disabilities. We hire learning
disabled DJs, who are paid to perform, and
people with learning disabilities help to design
and steward the club. We’re fully accessible and
everyone is welcome.
The Playhouse is definitely
a hidden gem but
once people discover it they
come back again and again.
It’s a beautiful venue, with
a wooden floor and vaulted
ceiling and a large stained
glass window above the
stage. Performers love it
because it’s a really flexible
space, with a full-width mirror
and an excellent lighting
and PA system. But it’s also quite intimate. We
can only sit 60 – or 80 standing – so it’s a great
place to see shows up close. There aren’t many
venues of this size left in Brighton now.
One of the aspects people really like is the fact
that when they come to the theatre, whether as
a punter or a performer, they’re contributing to
our charity. Companies hire out the venue from
us and then keep whatever they make in ticket
sales. People often use the venue for parties and
meetings too.
We will run a bar where appropriate and even
the profits from that go back to Grace Eyre. I
think it’s one of the things that sets us apart from
other small theatres that are commercially run.
The easiest way people can support what we do
is just to turn up for one of the shows we put on.
Aside from the next Purple Comedy Night on
November 21, I’m really looking forward to seeing
Redwood Productions’ It’s A Wonderful Life:
a live 1940s-style radio broadcast of the classic
Christmas film that’s taking place on November
29th. Nione Meakin.
Purple Playhouse, 36, Montefiore Road, Hove
purpleplayhousetheatre.com
....29....
INTERVIEW
..........................................
Photo by Adam Bronkhorst
....30....
INTERVIEW
..........................................
MYbrighton: Zack Pinsent
Period Tailor
Are you local? Yes, Brighton born and bred. I
was born in the Trevor Mann unit and grew up
on Hartington Villas by Hove Park.
What do you do? I’m a period tailor. Making
men and women’s bespoke clothing from the
1660s to the 1910s.
What drew you to that? I’d always been interested
in making things, and vintage clothing. I
started making a few bits for myself, and then one
or two pieces for friends.
So the impulse for you to make your own
clothes came first, and the business sprang
organically from that? Exactly. Friends of
friends were saying “can you make me such and
such?” and I was going “yes I think I can!” It
started off more as a hobby making the stuff, as I
was researching and practising and learning my
craft. To a point where it’s now a business, which
is daunting. I have now got a global scope, where
I’m going over to America to see clients and I’ve
got clients specifically flying from other countries
to see me. It’s nothing like I ever thought it
would be.
Did that popularity come from the BBC
News video this summer? No, it was all sort
of doing fine before then. The BBC piece has
actually made me known more in this country,
bizarrely. I was already known quite well in
America. Now I’ve got more UK clients, which
is wonderful. On just the BBC platforms, such as
Facebook and Instagram, it’s had over 60 million
views, which is a little bit mad. At one point
apparently, I was trending on Japanese Twitter.
It keeps astonishing me why people are so
interested in all of this. I don’t see myself as necessarily
doing anything special, I’m just being me
and doing what I enjoy. I’m wearing something
that I’m completely, 100% comfortable in. And
truly myself in. And if you’re confident in yourself
then you’re laughing really.
Are you a theatregoer? I saw The Lover/The Collection
by Harold Pinter with David Suchet and
Russell Tovey. It was amazing, really wonderful
pieces. I then hung around backstage and got to
meet one of my absolute heroes, David Suchet,
and Russell Tovey. I’ve always loved Poirot, and
Tovey was also in one of the early episodes. It was
funny thinking ‘ah, he’s there!’
What do you like about Brighton? I love that
Brighton is unapologetically itself, and not afraid
to change. Some people say “Brighton’s not the
same anymore”. Yeah, but that’s always been
Brighton. Brighton’s never been the same, it’s
always changed and evolved. I think that’s really
important. When you think of its past, it started
off as a fishing village and then became a royal
playground. It’s always been open to change. It’s
always been dressed up. I believe that Brighton is
the Pavilion. It’s that whole madcap eccentricity.
Brighton is a bit of a bubble. A wonderful
bubble that I absolutely adore. 99.9% of people
in Brighton are genuinely lovely. It’s fantastic.
This atmosphere is completely different to other
places I’ve been in the country. I can’t imagine
going or being anywhere else: London’s great but
it’s not Brighton. It’s not home.
Interview by Joe Fuller
pinsenttailoring.co.uk
....31....
Sea differently
BRIGHTON
PHOTOGRAPHY
Prints | Books | Cards
brightonphotography.com | 52-53 Kings Road Arches | 01273 227 523
PHOTOGRAPHY
....................................
Adam Bronkhorst
The way he worked
Adam Bronkhorst has been Viva Brighton’s
‘photographer at large’ since our fourth
issue, March 2013. Back then
he’d shoot our ‘My Brighton’
portrait most months but,
in November 2014, we
asked him to photograph
the first ‘The Way We
Work’ series for the
magazine. This month
marks his 60th assignment
on this, one of our
most popular features.
I’d always wanted to
find a personal photography
project – something to
run alongside my commercial
and corporate portrait work.
‘The Way We Work’ presented
an ongoing reason for people
to have their photograph taken. I
never thought it would last this long,
but I could carry on indefinitely.
We started with shopkeepers five years
ago, and I haven’t missed a month. It’s a
great document of Brighton and the jobs and
careers that people have now. Say it did carry
on for another 20 years, we might look back
and realise that some of these jobs aren’t around
anymore. It really is a documentary of the way
people work.
I’ve kept a spreadsheet of all of them: we’ve
done everyting from adventurers to window
cleaners so it’s not quite an A-Z of jobs, but
almost. Most of them are a series of five, but
sometimes we shoot six, so to date we’ve photographed
326 local people for the project.
I’ve got to see a whole side of Brighton that
I wouldn’t have otherwise. We’ve been up in
the power station, in the cutting room of the
Duke of York’s, up in the dome of Brighton
Dome, and backstage at the Theatre Royal.
And we’ve been in some fantastic
homes and religious buildings.
The logistics are taken care of
by wonderful people at Viva
– first Rebecca Cunningham
and now Kelly Mechen –
who are instrumental in
making it happen. Nothing
is off limits so we could be
going anywhere.
I use a 50mm lens
because it’s flattering
and easy to use. I’ve
had a loose set of rules
since we started: I generally
like to shoot the whole of
the person, quite centrally
framed, using the background
to tell a story about who they are
and what they do. That’s harder
with some jobs than with others.
Photographers often talk about ‘available light’,
but I also like the idea of ‘available darkness’,
so, sometimes, I turn off all the lights, and I try
to get everything in camera, using very little
editing. I’m really proud of the images. I like the
uniformity of each set.
I don’t really have a favourite. It’s a really
exciting and interesting thing to do: going to
a different industry or profession each month
and meeting the people that work in them. I’d
like to thank everyone who has agreed to be
photographed so far. If it wasn’t for them, there
wouldn’t be a project. As told to Lizzie Lower
Visit Adam’s website to see the project in its entirety.
adambronkhorst.com/the-way-we-work
....33....
PHOTOGRAPHY
....................................
Brighton Racecourse July 2016
....34....
PHOTOGRAPHY
....................................
Bakers October 2016
....35....
PHOTOGRAPHY
....................................
Top row to bottom: Hair colourists February 2019; Scientists at the Millennium Seedbank July 2019; Head teachers September 2016; Shops in the arches June 2018
....36....
PHOTOGRAPHY
....................................
Top row to bottom: Food producers October 2017; Florists July 2018; Religious leaders April 2017; Techies January 2017
....37....
....38....
PHOTOGRAPHY
....................................
Body builders February 2017
....39....
John Davis
MA BACP(reg)
Integrative Counselling & Psychotherapy
Based at Coach House Clinic in the centre of Lewes,
I offer therapy to those experiencing particular difficulties
or individuals feeling somewhat lost in life.
Please feel free to get in touch.
Call: 0780 135 4803
Email: jd-therapy@outlook.com
www.johndavistherapy.co.uk
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COLUMN
...........................................
John Helmer
Rocks off
Illustration by Chris Riddell
“You fwoo my wock!”
It’s 1994. I’m in the stalls at the Theatre Royal,
Brighton for a performance of the panto
Aladdin, and my two year-old son is furious with
me. Earlier we were given a cuboid of foam
rubber, to be hurled at the villain, Abanazar, on
instruction. Come the critical moment, Freddy’s
attention being distracted by a girl in the row
behind us who was graphically and noisily being
sick, I took it on myself to throw the rock,
leading to this furious exclamation.
“Freddy, I’m sorry I fwoo—I mean, threw your
rock, but you weren’t really paying attention
and if we hadn’t attempted to stone the villain
to death just at that moment in accordance with
the pantomime laws… look, life is all about
timing, Freddy. You snooze, you lose. Especially
in the Theatre.”
Far from pacifying the lad, this inspires a
paroxysm of rage that can only be kept under
control with immense quantities of chocolate
and ice cream. Hours later, when the grown-ups
are drinking wine back at the mother-in-law’s,
I catch Freddy darting furious glances in my
direction, still.
“If I’d known it would matter so much
to him…” I say to my wife Kate, slightly
exasperated.
“Weren’t you ever two?”
I think back to my first Panto, at the London
Palladium in 1967. I was a fair bit older than
Freddy and, Beatles/Stones fan that I was, had
developed a certain pickiness about music. The
star, Engelbert Humperdinck, played his current
hit Dance to My Ten Guitars, which interrupted
the dramatic flow somewhat, and even to my
eleven year-old ears seemed not the strongest
song in an oeuvre I was already beginning to
consider a bit mouldy and crap all together. No
rocks were given out at the performance, but if
they were I would have flung one. Theatre itself
was beginning to seem a bit mouldy and crap
to me then. Heresy I know; but I was a child
brought up on film, TV and rock music.
Now, in 2019, I feel differently as I slip through
a side entrance at Oxford Circus tube into
Argyll Street and pass the Palladium, recalling
not only Engelbert’s panto but also a night
in the 1980s when I performed on that stage
myself. It was a charity benefit, with a big bill of
comedians. I remember standing in the wings
close to Rowan Atkinson and Peter Cook as they
welcomed Frankie Howerd off the stage after
his slot. Three generations of comedy royalty.
It was Howerd’s comeback after years in the
wilderness: a moment whose significance was
impossible even for me to miss.
Heavy names to drop. But the memory feels as
weightless as that foam rock in my hand; so light
it is impossible to get any force behind. I watch
as it plunges uselessly into the stalls, three rows
forward. How dared I fwoh his wock?
....41....
THE BRIGHTON
Waldorf School
CHRISTMAS
BAZAAR
SATURDAY 7 TH DECEMBER
11.00am - 4.00pm
Come along for a day of festive family fun
and Christmas shopping
The Gnome’s Grotto
Live Music
Craft Activities
The School Café will be serving
delicious treats
Festive market stalls selling
hand-crafted, eco-friendly gifts
Entry
ONLY £1
PER ADULT
Children - FREE
FIND US ON FACEBOOK
facebook.com/brightonwaldorfschool
www.brightonwaldorfschool.org
Limited Company No. 2395398 • Registered Charity No. 802036
COLUMN
.........................
Lizzie Enfield
Notes from North Village
Illustration by Joda (@joda_art)
“Did you enjoy the play?” I ask my mother
who had been to the theatre with a friend.
“It was dreadful,” she replies. “We left
during the interval.”
My mother is able to do this. When my
father was alive, they were forever leaving
plays before they were finished – something
I find hard to do.
If I’ve paid hard earned cash for theatre
tickets, I like to get my money’s worth.
Even if the first half is bad, I reason, the
second could be amazing. Plus, it seems
rude. I imagine the lead actor looking out
into the audience in the second half, seeing
empty seats and being thrown entirely.
My dad felt none of this.
“If you leave before the interval,” I recall
him gloating, “you save all that money
having to buy a drink you don’t really want
– and about two hours of your life!”
“You can save even more of your time in the
cinema,” he continued. “You can walk out
after ten minutes and go home.”
My mother has a different policy for films:
“Wait until the film is shown on television,
then you can switch it off more or less
immediately and save the bother of even
going in the first place.”
I can only remember walking out of the
cinema once and that was because the
film was shot with a handheld camera. My
husband and I had been out for dinner
before the film and, about ten minutes in,
began to feel queasy.
“Do you think it was the fish?” we began
whispering to each other.
Turned out the whole of the front three
rows were feeling queasy and they’d not all
been to the same fish restaurant as us.
“Cinema motion sickness” a friend said
authoritatively some time later. “Your
eyes think you are moving but your ears
don’t. Your brain senses the incongruity,
concludes that you are hallucinating and
may have been poisoned and urges your
body to get rid of the poison.”
“It’s the content that makes me feel sick,”
my Mum says of her cultural consumption.
“Plays are full of obscenities or just banal,
and modern actors can’t act and I can’t hear
them. Most of the actors I like and can hear
are dead now.”
She has quite firm views about things, so,
as a rule, going to the theatre is never a
great idea, but one of her ninety-something
friends had tickets for something in
Chichester so I called to ask if she’d
enjoyed it.
“How was the play last night?”
“I don’t know,” she replies. “We didn’t see
it.”
I wonder if, in her recently widowed state,
she’s adopted a new policy of walking out
before the play even starts.
“When we showed them the tickets. They
told us we should have been there the week
before. So, we drove home again and saved
three hours of our lives!”
....43....
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COLUMN
...........................
Amy Holtz
The truth is, I’m a Minnesotan
There’s nothing like the heat
of the lights, the cloying smell
of hairspray and greasepaint.
Excited, nervous laughter
and the flamboyant running
of scales by someone who is,
today, only in the chorus,
but knows their time is nigh.
And in the blackness behind
velvet, the hammering of your
heart is a roaring train that
drowns out the voices beyond
the curtains. The word, your signal – a step,
then two, a shower of light – and then... your
parents... waving frantically at you from the
fourth row.
I was, dear reader, a theatre kid. In a long ago,
faraway time, I had... moments... scuppered
largely by one thing. And if you happen upon
me now on a Saturday night, at Bar Broadway,
there shimmers the only slightly bitter
spectre of a once-grasped dream, like Norma
Desmond, gin-soaked and wafting about the
tiny stage with the residue of what once was
coursing through her bulging, aged veins.
It all started when I, attention-hungry and
nudging actual ability, tried out for a talent
show. Actually... no, now that I think about it
that one didn’t turn out so well. Dressed as one
of Annie’s orphan pals (basically, in a sack),
I mounted the stage to give my two-voiced
rendition of Maybe, alto saxophone dangling
from my weedy 11-year-old neck and panicked,
spotting my dad smiling broadly behind the
show’s director, giving a discreet thumbs up.
I faltered. I tried to shake the rising panic,
but moments later broke into a fit of hysteria,
shouting at my beaming father,
“Stop it! You’re making me
MESS UP! GAWD.” Or
something to that effect, before
clomping down the steps and
galumphing into the bathroom,
rage-weeping.
Anyhow, they say this sort of
experience makes or breaks
you and it wasn’t the worst
thing that ever happened to me
onstage (probably top three).
Things got better. Sophomore year, I was
‘chosen’ to do the spotlight for Into the Woods
(vital, but sweaty work; no one brought me
flowers), but then, a year older, my box step
and jazz hands widening, style and certitude
settling, I finally made it: as a wood nymph
– with a SOLO – in Camelot. I was a village
wench the rest of the show but complain? Moi?
Dad was allowed to come along and sit near the
back. That’s where he sat too when I was Liesl
in The Sound of Music and a window fell over
the top of me (a few scratches/mild concussion)
but I was told I carried it well.
When I actually won something once and had
to sing for my prize, I relented and let Dad sit
nearer the front. He looked nervous, fidgeting
with his hands, and I couldn’t help but think,
‘Good gracious, here we go again…’ But of
course, the show must go on. Midway through
On My Own from Les Misérables, the mezzo
opus us theatre nerds were wont to belt down
the hallways between classes, I forgot all the
words and had to improvise. (Really, though,
who needs the right words when you have
feeling?). I’m not saying it was his fault, but...
....45....
MARINA
Tue 5 Nov
THE AUSTRALIAN
PINK FLOYD
Fri 22 Nov
05.11 | The Greys
Tiny Ruins
08.11 | The Rose Hill
Peter Broderick
16.11 | The Rose Hill
Mega Bog
19.11 | Komedia
Lankum
22.11| Unitarian Church
Erland Cooper
26.11 | Komedia
BC Camplight
10.12 | Komedia
Dawn Landes
10.02.20 | The Old Market
Anna Meredith
26.02.2020 | Komedia
Benjamin
Francis Leftwich
ST GEORGE’S CHURCH EVENTS
23.11 | St George’s Church
Kilimanjaro Live presents
Rhiannon
Giddens
w Francesco Turrisi
29.11 | St George’s Church
Live Nation presents
REN
13.02.20 |St George’s Church
DHP present
Sam Lee
Tickets for shows are available from your local record shop,
seetickets.com or the venue where possible.
meltingvinyl.co.uk
WWE LIVE
Thur 7 Nov
DIDO
Wed 4 Dec
box office 0844 847 1515 *
www.brightoncentre.co.uk
*calls cost 7p per minute plus your phone
company’s access charge
SUNDAY 10 NOVEMBER 2019 / 2.45PM
Christian Garrick
& Friends with
the Brighton
Philharmonic
Strings
Programme includes Poldark
theme tune, John Dankworth’s
jazz Violin Concerto, Piazzolla’s
Four Seasons and Libertango
and more
TICKETS £14.50-£42.50
(50% DISCOUNT FOR STUDENTS/U18S)
BRIGHTON DOME TICKET OFFICE
01273 709709
brightondome.org
brightonphil.org.uk
@BPO_orchestra
/BrightonPhil
MUSIC
..........................
Ben Bailey rounds up the local music scene
Photo by Rory Barnes
YONAKA
Fri 8th, Concorde 2, 7pm, £13.50
The last
time Yonaka
appeared in
these pages
we said they
wouldn’t
be gigging
at venues
like the Green Door Store for much longer.
Since then they’ve played at arenas and festivals
around the country and are now coming back to
Brighton to headline the Concorde 2. Indeed, the
band’s anthemic electro rock seems purpose-built
to fill big spaces, with all the bombast that
implies. Smoothing out such quirks as Theresa
Jarvis’ hip hop inflections and the spiky guitar
lines, the album presents Yonaka’s music as a
radio-friendly behemoth of hooks and power
choruses. We wouldn’t be surprised if their next
homecoming show was at the Brighton Centre.
BEST OF BRIGHTON 2
Sun 10th, Concorde 2, 6pm, £8
Their first ‘mini-fest’ in July was such a success
they’re doing it again, combining a bunch of top
local music with street food vendors and beer
tastings. Los Albertos are the main draw musically,
providing an upbeat and raucous mix of ska,
punk and klezmer for the Sunday night diehards.
Throughout the evening the entertainment is
pretty diverse with garage rockers The Bods
sharing the bill with psych-folk duo Greenness,
riot grrrls Pussy Liquor and guitar popsters
Fragile Creatures. To top it off there’s live art by
Cassette Lord and IOT, and even some comedy
from local stand-up Charmaine Davies.
Photo by Joel Smedley
BLOOD RED SHOES
Thu 14th, Chalk, 7pm, £13
After years of incessant touring Blood Red Shoes
came close to burn out in 2014. The duo parted
ways for a time with singer Laura-Mary Carter
escaping to the US while drummer Steven Ansell
remained in Brighton on an extended bender.
Somehow they managed to pull it back together,
revive their friendship and forge a new sense of
purpose. The result was this year’s album Get
Tragic which features confessional songs about
the band’s rift and unveiled a new electronic
direction that was prompted by Carter switching
to synths after breaking her arm in a motorbike
accident. After all of that, they’re back on tour
again.
YAKUL
Mon 25th, Komedia, 7.30pm, £7
Having put out a
couple of confident
singles last year,
Yakul released
their debut EP this
August to much
acclaim from those
with an ear on the
neo-soul scene.
James Berkeley, who
leads the band on vocals and keys, is backed by
three super-smooth musicians who help create a
fresh blend of R&B, soul and jazz – with inevitable
snippets of hip hop. Inspired by the likes of J
Dilla, D’Angelo and Hiatus Kaiyote, the Brighton-based
group are all about woozy summer
vibes smothered in vocal harmonies. Though it’s
bound to be a cold November night, Yakul might
just convince you otherwise.
....47....
TALK
.........................
Simon Yates
A life in high places
In 1985 a mountaineer called Simon Yates was
forced to cut the rope on his climbing partner
who was dangling helplessly over a cliff above
a crevasse. Miraculously, both men survived.
Their remarkable story was told in the awardwinning
2003 documentary Touching the Void.
After a lifetime of expeditions to far-flung
peaks (most of which went perfectly to plan)
Simon comes to Komedia this month to talk
about the extraordinary places he’s been to.
What’s the focus of your talk? It’s a blend of
all sorts of things. The climbs I’ve done, the
places I’ve visited and the people I climb with.
It’s a presentation really, because I show a lot
of photos and video footage of my climbs. You
almost can’t fail to take good pictures on a
mountain! There are some incredible images,
and a lot of them are unique in that these
mountains have never been climbed before.
What were your best climbs? The things I’ve
done in Pakistan I’ve been particularly proud
of: the first ascent of a couple of mountains
called Laila Peak and Nemeka. I was also
involved on a huge climb on the Tower of
Paine in Chilean Patagonia. That was a very
memorable moment. There’s lots of things.
I’m increasingly drawn to mountain wilderness
now, places that are beyond the margins of
human habitation.
The stage adaptation of Touching the Void
is in the West End now, have you seen it?
Yeah, I went to the opening night. It’s very
interesting and quite thought provoking. It’s
really about why people climb. Why do people
do this? What can you possibly gain from it
that outweighs the risks involved? That’s a big
question that people ask all the time. For me
personally, as well as the technical and physical
aspects, a lot of it is about place. Mountains for
me are the most compelling landscapes, they
are very special places.
Most people would probably agree, except
for the small matter of falling... I think that’s
partly why people come and see me! The sort
of stuff I’m involved in is very physically and
mentally demanding. Your natural instinct in
these places is to be scared. That’s a survival
tool in all of us. In order to be in those places,
and to do what you have to do, you have to
manage that fear. In a sense that might be
similar to the military or something like that.
If you’re fully frightened you can’t function
efficiently.
What about stage fright? I did find it quite
nerve-wracking when I first started doing
this. But what’s the worst that can go wrong?
People tell me they find the talks inspiring,
which is quite nice if it gets them away from
their phones and encourages them to go and
do something. Hopefully they find it enjoyable,
there’s quite a lot of dry humour in there as
well. I don’t take what I do too seriously. At the
end of the day they are only mountains, aren’t
they? Interview by Ben Bailey
Simon Yates: My Mountain Life
Komedia, 11 Nov, 7pm
....48....
GALA
.........................
The singing prison governor
Homelink Gala at Glyndebourne
What do comedians Eddie
Izzard, Steve Coogan
and Zoe Lyons, presenter
Katie Derham, writer Simon
Fanshawe, and actors Toby
Stephens, Nimmy March
and Sophie Okonedo have in
common with the governor
of HMP Lewes? The answer
is they’re all appearing at Glyndebourne this
month to help raise money for local charity
Homelink.
The charity, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary
this year, works to provide permanent
housing for those who are homeless or at risk of
losing their homes. Liaising with Lewes District
& Eastbourne Borough Councils – as well as with
other organisations, such as job centres, women’s
refuges, children’s services, the Sussex Rough
Sleeper Prevention Project, and Southdown
Housing in Lewes Prison – Homelink provides
interest-free loans to hundreds of people
each year who are homeless or facing eviction,
enabling them to move into private rented
accommodation in the Sussex area.
The Homelink #homes4homeless Anniversary
Gala takes place at Glyndebourne on Sunday
17th November and will feature a host of homegrown
talents, including the aforementioned
celebrities (all of whom have links to the area)
and Lewes Prison Governor Hannah Lane (pictured).
She and a group of her colleagues have
formed a choir, and, under the tutelage of local
musical director and conductor John Hancorn
(also pictured), are preparing to perform at the
event.
“When we were approached to get involved, I
thought it was a great idea,” she says. “We’ve got
strong connections with
Homelink, as it’s a local
charity and helps many of
our residents who don’t
have anywhere to go when
they are released. Around
30 per cent of our men are
officially ‘of no fixed abode’
when they leave here, and
many end up staying with friends or family and
‘sofa surfing’, so the service Homelink provides
is vital. We wanted to support that – and I also
thought it would be a good opportunity to
mythbust what prison staff are like, as we’re all
different and from different backgrounds. Then
I got roped in to take part myself!”
The Lewes Prison Staff Choir is made up of
staff from a range of positions, Hannah adds,
including officers, teachers, admin staff and
chaplains. “We haven’t decided what to wear yet,
but the consensus is it would be nice to wear our
belts and chains, so that there’s the identification
with the prison.”
There’s something else unusual about the group.
The members’ differing shift patterns mean that
the choir won’t have the opportunity to sing together
as a whole until the Gala itself, making the
Glyndebourne performance truly a one-off.
“Before this, I hadn’t sung since primary school!
It’s a great opportunity – to be able to sing at
Glyndebourne and to raise money for a really
good cause. We’ve got our slot, plus the Grand
Finale, when everyone will be on stage together.
It’s going to be amazing. I just hope we don’t
let anyone down, as the standard will be very
high...” Anita Hall
Glyndebourne, 17 November, 3pm. For tickets,
see glyndebourne.com. leweshomelink.org.uk
....49....
NOVEMBER
HIGHLIGHTS
01273 678 822
attenboroughcentre.com
Award-winning independent
3 screen cinema
Next to Lewes station
Pinwell Road, Lewes BN7 2JS
01273 525354
lewesdepot.org
THEATRE
.........................
Bop against racism
Getting the Third Degree
“Every time he was late, he was fined. But he
loved dancing all night, so was often still asleep
when he was meant to be on the training field.
Happily, he found a way round the problem…”
Playwright Duncan Blaxland is telling me
about the footballer Laurie Cunningham, one
of the first black players to get a professional
contract in England, with Leyton Orient in
1974, when he was still just 16 years old.
“He was such a good dancer he would win all
the competitions he entered, and he used the
prize money to pay the fines. In those days
training was all about jogging around the pitch:
he always saw the dancing as his real training,
anyway.”
Cunningham danced on the pitch, as well. He
was often described, Blaxland continues, as
the ‘English Pelé’. “He was an extraordinary
player: elegant, elusive and electric. I first saw
him playing against my boyhood hero, Bobby
Moore. He made him look like a carthorse.”
The young winger was transferred to West
Bromwich Albion, becoming one of ‘The
Three Degrees’. Professional black footballers
in the 70s were a rare sight; there were three in
that West Brom team.
“Unfortunately, they were playing in a
context of extraordinary racial abuse. Britain
was in political turmoil and the National
Front were taking advantage to foment racist
hatred. There were monkey chants, bananas
thrown onto the pitch. Laurie responded in an
incredibly dignified way: he let his football do
the talking.”
In 1979 Cunningham became only the second
black player to represent his country, but
he was rarely called upon by the English
management, who preferred more hardworking,
physical players. He fitted the bill
better in Spain, where he moved that same
year, to play for Real Madrid. “They loved him
in Spain, where he became known as ‘La Perla
Negra’ [the black pearl].”
Cunningham, by now a millionaire, embraced
the new lifestyle. “There was a Renaissance
quality about him. He loved good food,
literature and philosophy. He painted, and
wrote poems. He oozed graciousness and
gentility. He really broke the mould.”
Unfortunately, injury blighted the latter part
of his career and in 1989, aged just 33, he was
killed in a car crash in Madrid. His legacy,
says Blaxland, is enormous. “So many of the
black players who have followed him into
professional football cite him as a role model.”
Blaxland’s latest play, Getting the Third Degree,
features three actors playing a multitude of
roles to a backdrop of groovy seventies soul
and disco music. It was commissioned by Kick
It Out, the organisation – headed by one of
Cunningham’s former team-mates Brendon
Batson – set up to counter racism in English
football. “Unfortunately, racism is on the rise
again, in football and beyond,” says Blaxland.
“Which means, I’m sorry to say, that the story
of Laurie Cunningham’s struggle against racial
abuse on the terraces has never been more
relevant than it is today.”
Alex Leith
Marlborough Theatre, Nov 16th
....51....
THEATRE
.........................
Enter The Dragons
The Mighty Boosh meets the WI
Image by Georgia Apsion
Ahead of their debut at Chichester Spiegeltent,
Viva talks to performers Abigail Dooley
and Emma Edwards of A&E Comedy about
confronting taboos via mythology, false
moustaches and nudity.
Enter The Dragons is a show about
women and ageing; how do you tackle
those themes? We chose to liken the process
of ageing to an epic mythological quest!
Banished from the land of the young, our
protagonist sets out to defeat the God of Time,
Kronos. We wanted to make a show that was
empowering, joyful and celebratory, as the
portrayal of ageing and the menopause is often
so negative.
You’ve put paid to the problem of older
women not being cast by casting yourselves
in a show you’ve written yourselves. That
said, do you think things have got any
better for women? It’s improving slowly as
this generation of women over 50 grew up
with punk and is simply not going to fade away
quietly. But it’s still a battle to change people’s
conceptions of older women. We made Enter
The Dragons because we weren’t seeing this
kind of work on stage and that’s the message
we are taking to our audiences: empower
yourselves, be the change you want to see.
I love the description of the show as
‘The Mighty Boosh meets the Women’s
Institute’. What
else has influenced
this piece? Apart
from The Mighty
Boosh we are massive
fans of Vic and
Bob and we also
channelled a lot
of fabulous older
women in the
piece, from Patti Smith to Iris Apfel. We
love surreal humour, strange costumes, false
moustaches, wigs and ridiculous props! We’ve
got everything from a giant dragon claw to an
inflatable swan king – you know, the normal
sort of menopause / ageing show…
You’re not averse to getting naked in your
shows; does nudity feature in Enter The
Dragons too? We challenge a lot of taboos
about how women are expected to behave and
look, including nudity. Owning your body,
showing it in the way you want, even making
people laugh with it is incredibly empowering.
Have you always been feminists? Has your
definition of the word changed as you’ve
got older? Absolutely we have always been
feminists. Why wouldn’t you want everyone to
be equal? But there is definitely a strength that
comes with age and a feeling of ‘f**k it’ which
is incredibly powerful. We are less willing to
compromise and put up with bullshit. But we
also know what we find joyful and we can say
yes to new experiences without fear of what
others think or expect of us.
What do you love most about working with
each other and what drives you mad? Writing
alone is hard, but writing together is a joy and
we laugh a lot. What drives us mad? We talk too
much, spend too much time ‘researching’ funny
things on YouTube, and turn up at meetings
wearing the same
outfit.
Which famous
double act are you
most like? Statler
and Waldorf from
the Muppets. NM
Chichester
Spiegeltent,
Nov 12
....52....
FILM FESTIVAL
.........................
The Juniper Tree
Portrait of a Lady on Fire
Cinecity
Around the world in 90 minutes
Berlin Symphony
Cinecity, which bills itself as ‘the South-east’s biggest
film festival’, has been going for 16 years now,
and with screenings on offer in seven different
venues, including the Depot in Lewes and ACCA
in Falmer, it’s never been bigger.
But it’s the geographical range of the films on
offer that’s really striking. Because, once again, the
festival’s strapline is ‘Adventures in World Cinema’
and it offers the chance to watch a carefully curated
collection of fine movies from all over the world,
from Palestine to Georgia, via Afghanistan and
Australia. As well as the best of British, of course.
One highlight – timed to coincide with the 30th
anniversary of the collapse of the Berlin Wall – is a
remastered version of Walter Ruttmann’s influential
1927 documentary Berlin – Symphony of a Great
City, a contemporary box-office success despite
its avant-garde nature, which compresses a day in
the life of the German capital into a beautifully
composed hour. The film will be accompanied by
a new score, performed by musicians Simon Fisher
Turner, Klara Lewis and Rainier Lericlorais.
East Side Story gives an interesting glimpse at pre-
1989 Eastern Bloc culture, examining the world
of big-budget Soviet musicals, with extracts from
classics such as Tractor Drivers (USSR), Holidays
on the Black Sea (Romania) and Stalin’s favourite
movie, which he is said to have watched over 100
times – Volga, Volga.
Rather more enigmatic and serious is The Juniper
Tree, based on the Brothers Grimm fairy tale, a little
known but highly rated 1990 movie by the late
American director Nietzchka Keene. This slowpaced
black-and-white tale was shot in Iceland and
features the screen debut of a 23-year-old Björk
(pictured above).
Portrait of a Lady on Fire, meanwhile, is a rich
2019 period piece by Céline Sciamma, set in the
18th Century, with an all-female cast, that won
the Queer Palm and the Best Screenplay at this
year’s Cannes Festival. It stars Noémie Merlant
as a young artist commissioned to secretly paint
a portrait of an increasingly reluctant bride-to-be
(Adèle Haenel).
The festival is topped and tailed with local premieres
of much-anticipated American films, which
have made an impact at Cannes and other festivals,
which you would otherwise have to wait till 2020
to watch. The festival opener is Robert Eggers’ The
Lighthouse, a black-and-white psychological drama
starring Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson as
two men who get to know each other rather too
well while manning a lighthouse on a remote rock
off New England. And the closing feature is Taika
Waititi’s dark offbeat comedy Jojo Rabbit, about a
lonely Hitler Youth cadet, whose best friend is an
imaginary version of his Führer; the lad is faced
with a number of choices when he discovers his
mother is hiding a Jewish girl in the attic. Think
The Producers meets Moonrise Kingdom. For the full
schedule see cine-city.co.uk
Dexter Lee
....53....
PRISM
CALENDAR GIRLS THE MUSICAL
THE LOVELY BONES
CHRISTMAS CONCERTS
THE GRUFFALO
THE WIZARD OF OZ
THE SLEEPING BEAUTY
SIX
THE STRANGE TALE OF CHARLIE
CHAPLIN AND STAN LAUREL
MY COUSIN RACHEL
A MONSTER CALLS
OI FROG & FRIENDS!
COMEDY, DANCE, MUSIC
AND MUCH MORE
Tickets on sale now!
cft.org.uk 01243 781312
Photo by David Gerrard
Brighton Philharmonic
An interesting opener…
For an orchestra to be approaching its centenary in
these days of cuts to the arts is quite some achievement.
And yet the Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra
is doing just that. Founded 95 years ago, Brighton’s
professional orchestra has been based for all but two
of those in the Dome.
As the 2019-2020 season begins, Chairman Nicolas
Chisholm is coming to the end of his five-year
tenure, but it’s clear that optimism is high at the
BPO. He admits their concerts regularly attract
over 1000 people, but the aim is to “improve on
that and be even more exciting and innovative.
Brighton is vibrant and diverse. We want to present
programmes that appeal to a wide audience.”
This month’s concert, featuring jazz violinist
Christian Garrick and Friends with the Brighton
Philharmonic Strings, promises to be an interesting
opener to the season. It’s a programme of
tango, jazz and gypsy-folk music and includes Astor
Piazzolla’s ‘sizzling’ Four Seasons of Buenos Aires
(billed as ‘Four Seasons of Brighton Aires’). It’s
exciting stuff. But does that mean the orchestra is
moving away from its classical roots? Chisholm
says not at all. For example in December the
programme includes two Haydn symphonies,
Mozart’s Eine Kleine Nachtmusik and Vaughan
Williams’ The Lark Ascending – “very much our
core repertoire,” he explains, “and our New Year’s
Eve Gala concert is practically a Brighton institution,
pretty much selling out each year.”
But alongside this there are distinct signs that the
BPO is determined to stay ahead of the game.
“We want to do unusual things.” Chisholm is
enthusiastic about a new initiative to showcase the
different sections of the orchestra. February’s concert
is given over to Brighton Philharmonic Brass
with music from the sixteenth century to the
present, including Chris Hazell’s Four Cats Suite.
Chisholm acknowledges that today’s audiences
often appreciate, even expect a visual element
to complement what they’re hearing, so that it
becomes not unlike theatre. “We want people to
go away thinking ‘wow, that was a real musical
experience.’ Later in the season we have virtuoso
piano duo Worbey and Farrell returning with one
of their own programmes, Rhapsody, which they’ve
performed all over the world. They’re showmen
as well as fantastic musicians. Many audience
members will have seen nothing like it.” This is
true – look them up on YouTube!
Things are looking good for a bumper centenary
celebration in five years’ time. It’s clear
that Chisholm is immensely proud of the BPO’s
achievements and the quality of its programmes.
“People often don’t realise this is the city’s professional
orchestra – all the members play in other
orchestras and come together as the BPO. It’s a
real jewel in the crown for Brighton.”
Robin Houghton
Christian Garrick & Friends with the Brighton
Philharmonic Strings, Brighton Dome,
Sunday 10th Nov, 2.45pm
....55....
Offenbach’s favourite, sung in English
La Belle Hélène
Live opera fully staged: French fizz and foolery
set to deliciously immortal music: outrageous fun
NSO Chorus, St Paul’s Sinfonia, c.Toby Purser,
d. Jeff Clark, with Hannah Pedley & Anthony Flaum
Town Congress Chequer Old Bloomsbury
Hall Theatre Mead Market Theatre
Lewes Eastbourne East Grinstead Hove
London
Nov 13 Nov 17 4pm Nov 28 Dec 1 4pm Dec 5
www.newsussexopera.org
A collaboration with Opera della Luna. NSO charity no. 1185087
THEATRE
.........................
Orlando
A Woolfian romp
Actor Rebecca Vaughan of Dyad Productions
talks to Viva about the company’s touring
one-person adaptation of Virginia Woolf’s
‘unstageable’ novel Orlando.
Orlando is a bit crazy as a story. An
immortal poet who’s male and then female?
You definitely have to get an audience to go
with you. A few years ago we created another
adaptation of Virginia Woolf, Dalloway, and in
some ways this show is the other side of that
coin because Dalloway all takes place in one day
and this takes place… over 400 years [laughs].
But actually, although it’s a beast, once we got
a handle on Woolf’s language and what we
wanted to do with the piece it all started to fall
into place.
While a lot of people focus on the
character’s gender transition – which Woolf
does without any explanation – there’s a lot
more to it than whether Orlando is male or
female. It’s a device that allows Woolf to talk
gloriously about the lot of women, especially
in the 19th century, but the novel is also about
Orlando becoming older and wiser. While the
gender is shifting back and forth, they are just
learning more and more about what it means to
be human.
One of the reasons we wanted to do it, apart
from the fact we’re huge fans of Virginia
Woolf, is that the novel feels so modern.
It’s not just about gender fluidity and duality,
but also about trying to find a place in the
world whilst remaining true to yourself. These
days, with social media and the public-private
elements we have to manage with our personas,
it felt like a show that would speak to an
audience. It’s also a glorious romp, which isn’t a
phrase people tend to associate with Woolf. It’s
very funny.
As a company, we are very interested in
history told from a female perspective,
mainly because it’s an under-represented
viewpoint. We like the idea of clasping hands
across the divide of time and finding new
relevance in these classic novels. When we did
Jane Eyre we didn’t want to just give people the
adaptation they thought they would get, we
wanted to offer something new – and it’s the
same with Orlando. We didn’t want it to feel
stuck in aspic. Woolf was forward-thinking in
the way she wrote it, so without inventing too
much, we wanted to bring it up to date to make
it about the audience’s experience today.
The show is more like the novel than even
a film adaptation because you’re not sitting
passively watching it, you’re actively engaged
as you would be reading a novel. We’re using
the book’s incredible, poetic
language to really ignite the
audience’s imagination so
that when it’s over you
feel you’ve experienced
it rather than watched
it. Nione Meakin
Orlando, The
Ropetackle,
Shoreham,
Nov 17
....57....
THEATRE
.........................
Photos by Eoin Carey
Total Immediate Collective
Imminent Terrestrial Salvation
Different every time
Playwright/actor Tim Crouch is showing me
a beautifully illustrated book, in Marwood
Café. Some of Rachana Jadhav’s illustrations
fill whole pages, while others are smaller comic
book panels. In Tim’s new play, Total Immediate
Collective Imminent Terrestrial Salvation, each
audience member is sat on stage and given a
copy of the book to read – which also features
stage directions and dialogue – whilst also
watching actors perform. “We spend time as an
audience, collectively, studying illustrations.”
The plot concerns “a group of people who’ve
been led to a place in South America on the
understanding that the world will end.” Tim
performs as Miles, the leader of this group and
the author of the book. Audience members are
invited to read out loud if they choose to, but
it’s not obligatory.
“I wanted to make a play that invited the
audience to share the reading. That was a formal
beginning; the narrative beginning was me
wanting to write a play about belief. Seeing
parallels in the belief that exists in the theatre
– where a group of people comes together
....58....
THEATRE
.........................
and commits to the beliefs of a play – with
groups of people coming together and
contracting into sets of political or religious
beliefs.”
A lot of thought has clearly gone into how
audiences will experience and enjoy the
play. Tim explains that they are using sound
design “to lift the stories off the page”,
including the sound of ice cracking in a
pivotal scene, to ramp up tension. “They
could spend the whole show reading the
book, or they could go from book to action.
Sometimes the action will correspond with
what’s described in the book, sometimes
it won’t. So I’m asking the audience to fill
in the gap, and square the contradiction
between what they see in the book and what
they see in the action. In a way, it’s another
way of telling a story, one that gives an
audience greater authority.
“Some people really dig that… but
somebody in Edinburgh said ‘this is not a
library, it’s a theatre’.” TICITS has played
at Edinburgh International Festival, Royal
Court Theatre and Dublin Theatre Festival
before its ACCA run. I ask Tim if the
performances have varied much so far. “Well
every time there’s a new audience, it’s like a
whole new cast. The play can run longer or
shorter depending on how people respond
to the text.
“I’m trying to question the notion of the
virtuoso, and how we venerate performers.
There is an element of cult in it, which I get
very uneasy about. From people autograph
hunting to worshipping celebrities… I’m
trying to dismantle what’s in that. To give
as much to the audience as possible. Every
audience brings a different energy to it. So
it’s different every time, even though every
word is scripted.” Joe Fuller
attenboroughcentre.com, 6-9 Nov
....59....
01444 405250 | @NymansNT | @NymansNT
www.nationaltrust.org.uk/nymans
Credit: Quentin Blake: A P Watt at United Agents on behalf of Quentin Blake.
ART
.............................
Focus on:
Tidal
by Lily Rigby
Oil on canvas,
100cm x 100cm
In April I did a ten-day
residency in Manaccan,
a very beautiful village on
the south Cornwall coast.
It was a very inspiring time
and one I won’t forget. I will
be exhibiting some of these
works at my solo show What
the Water Gave Me, this month
at ONCA Gallery.
I loved my time on the
residency, and the chance to
completely immerse myself
in my work. But when I first
got there, I found that I had a
mental block, and the painting
wasn’t coming naturally.
After a couple of days, I went
to the Tate St. Ives and I saw
a painting by Peter Lanyon
that I fell in love with. That
unlocked something in me:
I went back and produced a
whole body of work.
I didn’t spend my whole
time in the studio, of course.
I went for long walks along
the coast, usually in the rain,
and took photographs and
created quick paintings in my
sketchbook. These images act
as a starting point for some of
my paintings, triggering off a
response, and influencing the
colours and perspective.
While I have been
influenced by abstract
artists, like Sam Lock and
Mark Rothko, I’d say my
work is somewhere between
figurative and abstract. It
isn’t always clear what my
paintings are about, and I
like that. I want people to
have their own response and
experience to each painting. I
guess they are also about me:
all my emotions, memories
and experiences come out
onto the canvas when I paint.
I painted Tidal in one go,
in a couple of hours. I had a
lot of pent-up energy, which
I needed to get out of me.
It’s very much a spontaneous
painting. However, other
paintings can take a lot
longer to form. I can spend
months on a painting and they
become built up with lots of
layers. These paintings have a
very different feeling.
One of my most useful tools
is a ladder! Since I came
back, I’ve had a whole studio
to myself, which I have loved.
I have produced a lot of largescale
work and I hope people
will become completely
absorbed in the paintings. I
want my paintings to have an
impact on people in the same
way the landscape can.
As told to Alex Leith
ONCA Gallery, Nov 9th-17th
....61....
ART
.............................
Jane Fox
An artist who walks
“I think of my practice as different pathways
that I’m navigating,” says Jane Fox, a visual
artist whose work also includes video, sound
and performance. “I don’t plan the outcome
so what emerges is often a surprise for me but
it either makes sense or it doesn’t. I have this
little compass that keeps me on track.”
The theme of walking comes up a lot over the
course of our conversation because while Fox
is not a land artist, she is “an artist who walks”.
She was tutored at what was then Brighton
Polytechnic by the land artist John Holloway
– “So I was nurtured in that sensibility even
though at the time I butted up against it and
started making figurative work. It got into me.”
When she graduated, one of her first paid jobs
was working with rangers on the South Downs,
clearing footpaths, cutting back trees and
renovating ponds.
Today, walking informs her work both directly
– the bent-over hawthorn trees she noticed
during a recent meander on the Downs appear
in recent pieces – and indirectly. “I’m interested
in the human trace. You touch something and
it marks and it’s changed. That’s why I like
walking on the Downs because you pick up
chalk on your feet but at the same time you’re
wearing away a path and that translates really
directly to an etching plate, that process of
leaving marks and erasing things.”
Fox describes her artistic practice as “a real
hybrid”. Her CV takes in everything from a
faux fish-slapping festival during her years with
Brighton’s Carnival Collective to “midnight
processions, celebratory cake making,
collaborative installations and drawing from
....62....
ART
.............................
memory.” It’s an approach informed by her teenage years
soaked in the DIY spirit of punk. “That period really
radicalised me,” she says. “I felt I was on a conveyor belt
to housewife boredom but I became politicised, I realised
there was another way of living and I became massively
industrious. It was really inspiring and set a steer for
me around cracking on with the thing you want to do –
whatever that might be.”
For the best part of the last decade that has been
printmaking – including Fox’s part-time job as a
senior lecturer at Brighton University. She works
predominantly from her base at Brighton’s Phoenix
Studios, where she has been since the 90s when she
was a member of artist collective Maze, who joined
Red Herring artists at the Waterloo Place site. It’s her
etchings, drawings and screenprints that will feature
on her stand at this month’s Brighton Art Fair, many
taking in motifs from the natural world and shadowy
figures. “I’m interested in that sense of coming and
going and nothing being permanent, so there’s been
a lot of stuff recently about loss. I also like memories,
ephemeral materials, poetry and fragments of text.
My work is incredibly varied but certain ideas always
remain.” Nione Meakin
Brighton Art Fair at Lewes, Lewes Town Hall, November
30-December 1. Brightonartfair.com
Cissbury (detail)
....63....
Surf and Turf
Artists Christmas Open House
Renowned for a huge variety of Artists and
Makers under one roof and a chance for
coffee and cake. Amongst our sellers you will
find Ceramics, Knitwear, Mosaic, Photography,
Lino cut prints, quirky accessories and
decorations, Perfume, Floristry and Plant
terrariums, leather handbags and much more.
Open Sat/Sun 23rd/24th/30th November
and 1st/7th/8th December, from 11-5pm
FREE PARKING at 38 Braemore Road,
Hove, BN3 4HB
Contemporary
British Painting and
Sculpture
We look forward to welcoming
you to our gallery in Hove.
Please visit our website for
further details.
CAMERONCONTEMPORARY.COM
CCA_VivaLewes_Advert_66x94_June2018_v1.indd 1 17/06/2018 09:08
ART
....................................
ART & ABOUT
In town this month...
Care(less) – the first VR work by Lindsay Seers – is currently
on display at Fabrica. The six-minute, 360-degree film plays
through a virtual reality headset, allowing visitors to experience
what it might feel like to be in the body of an older person facing
a gradual reduction in capacity. The artwork and accompanying
programme of talks, film screenings and activities investigate
prevalent attitudes to ageing, the nature of caring relationships
and the care system. Continues until 24th November.
Care(less) by Lindsay Seers, Fabrica, Brighton.
Photographer Tom Thistlethwaite
There’s big news this month. Brighton CCA – a new
interdisciplinary arts organisation – has recently opened at
the University of Brighton. Comprising two gallery spaces
and a theatre (formerly the Sallis Benney) at Grand Parade,
as well as research galleries and project spaces at Edward
Street, Brighton CCA is free and open to all and will offer
five exhibitions per year alongside a programme of film,
talks, events and research. Inaugural exhibitions by Franz
Erhard Walther and Dog Kennel Hill Project (pictured) kick off a programme of world-class
shows from emerging and established international artists.
MADE Brighton returns to St Bartholomew’s Church on the 22nd and
23rd (10.30am-5.30pm, £5), with dozens of the best makers in the country
showing their stuff. Whilst you’re visiting, drop in at Atelier 51, the home
of Tutton & Young, just opposite the church. [madebrighton.co.uk]
Cecile Gilbert
Anthony Burrill
Don’t miss Look at This – a Festival of Printmaking at Phoenix Art
Space (16th Nov-15th Dec, Wed-Sun 11am-5pm). This month-long
celebration of contemporary printmaking (co-curated by this month’s
cover artist) features work by leading artists, illustrators and designers
who together have shaped contemporary visual culture, exhibited
across the UK and beyond and worked with some of the world’s biggest
brands. All prints are for sale to raise funds for Phoenix. Events include
a Printmaker’s Tabletop Fair (23rd-24th Nov) and a Printmaking
Weekend for Families (7th-8th Dec). [phoenixbrighton.org]
....65....
CHRISTMAS
Artists
Open
Houses
Brighton & Hove, along the Coast
and over the downs to Ditchling
23rd November >
8th December 2019
aoh.org.uk
16 November - 15 December
Open Wed – Sun, 11:00 – 17:00
PHOENIX FESTIVAL
OF PRINTMAKING
A month long celebration of contemporary
printmaking, featuring a curated exhibition of
work by leading artists, illustrators, designers
and printmakers from the UK and beyond.
Plus FREE events including
Printmakers Tabletop Fair - 23 & 24 November
Family Printmaking Weekend - 7 & 8 December
lookatthisbrighton
www.phoenixbrighton.org
10 -14 Waterloo Place, BN2 9NB
ART
....................................
Alej ez
On the Seafront, the West Pier Centre has an exhibition of works by Alej ez (the creator of our
April cover). As well as his meticulously observed local vistas, the show also features new works
depicting London landmarks. Continues until January 2020.
Sitting in the Sun
This year’s Christmas
instalment of Artists’
Open Houses gets
underway on the
23rd November and
continues until the 8th December. Take the
opportunity to visit artists and makers in their
homes and studios and get creative with your
Christmas shopping. Pick up a brochure or visit
aoh.org.uk for details of this year’s trail.
Also, in Lewes, from
the 6th-24th, Chalk
Gallery is home
to an exhibition by
Hove-based artist
Emily Stevens.
Featuring a collection
of paintings, sketches
and drawings inspired by her time as Artist
in Residence at Lewes’ Pells Pool, the pieces
capture Emily’s love of light and colour, outdoor
swimming and the tranquillity of being by the
water in both sunshine and rain. You’re invited to
a ‘meet the artist’ event on Sat 9th (2-4pm).
Jana Nicole
Out of town...
While
refurbishments
continue at the
Dome’s Corn
Exchange, Tutton
& Young’s longrunning
Brighton
Art Fair decamps
to Lewes this year. On 30th of November
(10.30am-6pm) and 1st of December (10.30-
5pm), upwards of 60 local and national artists
will exhibit their work at Lewes Town Hall
(see pg 64). Join the private view on Friday
29th Nov (6pm, £20) or buy general admission
tickets for £5 until Nov 14th (£7.50 thereafter).
Purchase a Sussex Saver for £8.50 and gain
entry to both days plus MADE Brighton.
[brightonartfair.co.uk] FYI, trains to Lewes
won’t be running, so a free vintage bus has been
laid on for Art Fair ticketholders, departing
from behind the station every other hour from
10am. (Non-ticketholders can purchase tickets
onboard and the regular 28 and 29 Brighton
Bus service will get you there too.)
The Magical Wunderkammer pop up shop is at Lewes’ Paddock
Studios with handmade festive curiosities by Samantha
Stas, Emily Warren and Chiara Bianchi (30th Nov-1st Dec
11am-5pm). Art 7 celebrate 20 years of promoting and selling
Russian and Soviet paintings with an exhibition at Lewes House
(5th–23rd). And Depot cinema host Women x Football = Art; a
solo exhibition by Jill Iliffe of paintings and drawings celebrating
women with a passion for football (16th Nov-1st Dec).
....67....
Towner Art Gallery
David Nash 200 Seasons
29 September 2019 – 2 February 2020
Devonshire Park, Eastbourne, BN21 4JJ
www.townereastbourne.org.uk @townergallery
#200Seasons #EastbourneAlive
David Nash, Nature to Nature, 1985. © Jonty Wilde, courtesy David Nash. Tate Collection
“Every time you spend money,
you’re casting a vote for the kind
of world you want.”
Anna Lappé
www.lewesfc.com/owners
ART
....................................
Out of Town (cont...)
At Ditchling Museum of Art + Craft you’ll find Disruption, Devotion
and Distributism, an exhibition drawn from a major acquisition of
pamphlets and posters from St Dominic’s Press. The private press
published a wide range of material including books and pamphlets for
The Guild of St Joseph and St Dominic and other artists and thinkers
sharing their philosophy of craftsmanship and life. Over 100 objects
have been brought together, including never-before-seen pieces,
that illustrate the underlying ideas and beliefs which led artists like
Edward Johnston, Hilary Pepler and Eric Gill to Ditchling.
Guild of St Joseph and St Dominic safe door,
painted by David Jones. Image by Tessa Hallmann
Deborah Manson
Charleston hold
their festive Designer
& Maker Fair on 23rd
& 24th November
(11am-5pm), with
30 carefully curated
stands selling a wide
variety of goods
from local and regional makers. Enjoy a
warming winter lunch, boozy hot chocolate,
hot toddies and mince pies at the café. (£4 in
advance, £5 on the day.)
BRINK: Caroline
Lucas curates the
Towner Collection
opens on the
23rd at Towner.
Selecting from
the 5000 works
in Towner’s
permanent collection, Caroline’s choices reflect and
resonate with her passions and interests. Showing
alongside 200 Seasons by David Nash, the two
exhibitions have a shared environmental interest.
Image: Tirzah Garwood, Hornet with Wild Roses, 1950. Towner Collection.
© Estate of Tirzah Ravilious. All rights reserved, DACS 2019.
Inspired by the amazing botanic collection at
Wakehurst, this year’s Glow Wild explores the
resilience of trees. Wind your way through
the winter treescape and willow tunnels, spot
installations and seed shaped lanterns and be
mesmerised by Jony Easterby’s arboreal-inspired
projections. Brighton’s creative sound artists Ithaca
provide an audio backdrop. Nov 21-Dec 22.
[kew.org/Wakehurst]
Nymans exhibits the work of Sir Quentin
Blake, featuring illustrations from his
self-penned stories, including The Story of
the Dancing Frog and The Green Ship. Join in
with a programme of creative events, visit a
recreation of Sir Quentin’s studio, practise
your drawing technique and follow a trail of
frog sculptures into the gardens. Continues
until April 2020.
Photo by Jim Holden
....69....
Images courtesy of Plunge Creations
DESIGN
.........................
Plunge Creations
You name it, they’ll make it
“We’ve created a sculpture of a dinosaur
using crumpets, a model of Buckingham
Palace using Pimms & lemonade jelly and
a costume for a performer
so they looked like a
giant turd,” says Sarah
Mead, Director of
Plunge Creations.
“It’s quite difficult
to surprise us these
days.”
Plunge started out
as a Birminghambased
theatre
production company
in 1997, before
relocating to the
Big Smoke to
crack the West
End theatre
scene. After
a few years – and a number of critically
acclaimed productions – the company
decided to move away from shows and
broaden its horizons to create, well,
anything.
So now, Plunge apply their experience
in theatre production to help PR,
entertainment and advertising clients realise
their creative visions. Problem solving is
core to what they do. “Our clients come
to us because they can’t get what they’re
looking for elsewhere,” says Sarah. “It
may be because of the scale of what they
are trying to create or just the technical
wizardry required to get what they need to
happen to happen.”
Plunge’s extraordinary design capability
comes from collaboration between its highly
skilled, imaginative workforce. The team of
seven permanent makers come from diverse
creative backgrounds: there are painters,
....70....
DESIGN
.........................
sculptors, carpenters and welders. When
approaching a new brief, each maker gives
their ideas about which processes and materials
will work best. “Depending on the specialism
required for the job, in the busy months we
can swell by around 20 to 30 freelancers,” says
Sarah. “Sussex is a real hub for makers. I’m
regularly blown away by the talented people
who pass through our workshop and studio.”
These days, Plunge Creations works its magic
from the old brewery buildings of Portslade’s
Old Village. As well as a sun trap of a courtyard
(where the makers are partial to a sunny
Friday beer at 5pm), here they have the space
for metalwork, carpentry, sewing, fibreglass
sculpting and more. “The workshops are
sectioned off and there’s a work flow between
them, starting with the fabrication and more
messy work in the first two and finishing off
with the fine finishing.”
In the past, Plunge has conjured costumes and
props for theatre shows. These have included
masks and costumes for the stage production
of Madagascar as well as costumes and props
for Cartoon Network Live. Is it tricky to make a
2D character materialise? “There are definite
challenges in it – there are things a 2D
character can be shown to do that are difficult
to recreate in a 3D form,” explains Sarah. “The
key thing is capturing that special something
that makes the character feel correct. It could
be a sparkle in the eye or the way it moves and
behaves.”
Back in Brighton, Plunge is the creative force
behind the Snowdog and Snail sculptures for
Martlets Hospice. They have to keep pretty
schtum about projects in the pipeline, but
Sarah says: “We’ve got a number of fantastic
costumes in a TV series airing early next
year…”
Rose Dykins
plungecreations.co.uk
Jubba Ltd/Matt Alexander/intu
....71....
28 September 2019 to 12 January 2020 • Brighton Museum & Art Gallery
Royal Pavilion Garden
Brighton BN1 1EE
Free with admission
Open Tue-Sun 10am-5pm
Closed Mon, 25 & 26 Dec
brightonmuseums.org.uk
03000 290902
THE WAY WE WORK
This month Adam Bronkhorst went behind the scenes at some of the
city’s smaller theatres. He asked the people he met there:
'What's the most outstanding piece of theatre you’ve ever seen?'
adambronkhorst.com | 07879 401333
Daniel Finlay. Lantern Theatre
‘A performance of Eduardo de Filippo’s Filumena in the 80s.
I think it was in Baltimore?’
THE WAY WE WORK
Stephen Evans, Brighton Little Theatre
‘The English National Opera production of Philip Glass’ Akhnaten
at the Coliseum.’
THE WAY WE WORK
Lauren Varnfield, Rialto Theatre
'Scorched, performed by Robin Berry (Inside Number 9) at Greenside
at the Edinburgh Fringe.’
THE WAY WE WORK
David Sheppeard, The Marlborough Pub & Theatre
'Taylor Mac’s A 24-Decade History of Popular Music performed
at the Barbican as part of LIFT Festival.'
THE WAY WE WORK
Ben Roberts, Brighton CCA (formerly Sallis Benney)
'All That Fall. A rare production of the Samuel Beckett radio play
performed at the Jermyn Street Theatre.'
FOOD
.............................
Nostos
Greek hospitality in Hove
My friend Joanne and I
are seeking respite from
the onset of Autumn,
so one particularly
wet and wild Monday
evening we head for
Nostos on Holland
Road. The bright
white walls and pared
back contemporary
furnishings are more
in keeping with a slick
city bistro than a Greek
taverna, but the menu is
full of traditional dishes
that conjure memories of summer holidays.
Moussaka, kleftiko and sea bream cooked in
a salt crust all feature. There’s a catch of the
day and plenty of vegetarian, vegan and gluten
free options, too.
We’re in the mood for sharing some meze, so
we build our own from the starters, sides and
mains. First to the table are lentil keftedes
with tzatziki avocado (£6.50). The three
generous falafel-type balls are crispy on the
outside and soft on the inside. They are full
of herby flavours which marry well with
the smooth avocado and yogurt dip and are
delicious. Next to arrive is the spanakopita
(£6.50) – the classic spinach and feta filo pie
is one of my favourite Greek dishes. This
one is served as a large slice and the filling is
certainly tasty, but I prefer my pastry with a
little more crisp and crunch. Joanne orders
kalamarakia (£7.50) and reports that the deepfried
squid is perfectly cooked. It’s served with
smooth aioli and a spicy chilli chutney to add
a spike of heat. Add to this the plates of rich
and garlicky tzatziki
(£4.50), marinated
olives (£3.50) and pitta
bread (£1.90) and the
table is getting busy,
but we’ve ordered one
more dish to share, and
so make some room
for the yemista (£11).
The roasted peppers
and tomatoes – stuffed
with rice, pine nuts,
raisins and herbs –
are perfectly tender
and a true taste of
the Mediterranean. They’re surrounded by
melt-in-the-mouth chunks of roasted potatoes
which have soaked up the flavoursome juices.
I wash it all down with a glass of Ionos – the
very drinkable house white wine (£4.95) –
which is crisp, dry and distinctively Greek.
The service is attentive but relaxed and the
atmosphere congenial and family friendly.
The place is pretty busy for a wet Monday
evening and there are several tables of what
appear to be regulars, a young couple with
a baby and a group of friends celebrating a
birthday party (we all join in to sing ‘Happy
Birthday’ in a moment of taverna-style
bonhomie). Joanne and I haven’t seen each
other for a while, so we take our time over
our meal, enjoying some unhurried Greek
hospitality in this busy corner of Hove.
Too full for dessert, we pay up and head out
into the distinctly British weather.
Lizzie Lower
63a Holland Road
01273 713059
....79....
RECIPE
.............................
....80....
RECIPE
.............................
Tasty kale, and minty carrot
Stephen Spears from Riverford Organic Farmers,
on how to make simple vegetables into seasonal stars
At Riverford we’re mad about fresh, organic,
ethically sourced, seasonal vegetables and
other delicious produce. The company has
grown over the last 30 years from one man
with a wheelbarrow into a national concern;
I serve the area from Hastings to Shoreham,
from Brighton to Haywards Heath, and
everything in between.
What you can rely on, when you get a
Riverford veg box, is that our produce is
100% organic, that it has been ethically
sourced (nobody has been exploited in its
production), and that the varieties have
been grown with flavour in mind, rather
than how long the produce can stay on the
shelf. Most of the vegetables have been
picked and boxed on our own family-run
farms in Devon, and delivered pretty much
straight to your door, with no middlemen,
and thus no time sitting in a warehouse,
losing goodness. It will also compete,
pricewise, with buying organic veg at your
local supermarket.
I’m a great believer in cooking vegetables
in an imaginative way that makes them
the stars of the plate, rather than just an
accompaniment to the protein element.
Kale and carrots are two staples of
our autumn and winter boxes, and the
wonderful taste they offer can really be
brought out with the imaginative use of a
few other simple ingredients. In the picture
they accompany a mushroom tart, but they
could go with anything, really: I often don’t
bother with a fish or meat element, and just
make four different vegetable dishes.
Method (feeds four).
Wash (don’t peel) and top and tail eight
carrots, then chop them into irregular-sized
chunks. Drop chunks into a pan with half
a cup of boiling water, with a teaspoon of
Bouillon (or other vegetable stock) mixed
in. Add a drop of oil, too. Boil off the
liquid, making sure the carrots don’t get
too soft. Slightly caramelising and charring
them will add taste. Meanwhile, chop up a
handful of mint (coriander or parsley will
do), and a clove of garlic, and mix up with
a big squeeze of lemon juice and a slug of
extra-virgin olive oil. Stir the carrots into
this mix.
In the meantime, cut the stems from twelve
black kale leaves, and set them aside (these
can be boiled or stir-fried in another dish).
Finely chop two white onions, and gently
fry till caramelised, adding a teaspoon of
sugar if desired. Stir the torn-up kale leaves
into the onions until wilted down – this
should take three or four minutes. Just
before bringing off the heat, add the magic
ingredient – a slug of balsamic vinegar.
That’s just two ideas! Our weekly
boxes come with a newsletter from our
inspirational founder Guy Singh-Watson,
which always includes new recipes for the
produce you’ll find in the box. There are
also loads of ideas on our website. Getting
imaginative with fresh organic vegetables
can really make you change the way you eat
and help ensure a healthy diet. Enjoy!
As told to Alex Leith
riverford.co.uk
....81....
BUNS & BOWLS
SMOKY
Coal Shed have launched an all new £10 weekday lunch menu
The
FOOD
.............................
Pompoko
An eternal flame
This is both the hardest and easiest food review that I’ll ever have to
write. Having dined at Pompoko hundreds of times – it’s perfect for
a quick post-work meal before catching a show – I know the menu
intimately, but baulk at the idea that I can possibly do the place justice in
240 words.
Alice goes for the eternally popular Tori Chilli Don (£5.50 inc. rice). The
chicken in ‘spicy tangy’ sauce has just the right level of chilli kick, with
tasty breadcrumbs too. I love their sweet katsu curries, and currently
favour the breadcrumbed pumpkin option (£5.70 inc. rice).
The affordability means that we cost-conscious diners can go sides-berserk in a way that we cannot
elsewhere. We indulge ourselves with edamame (£2.50), delicious chicken and vegetable gyoza (£3) and
some tender, sticky, honey bbq spare ribs (£2.80).
There’s something comforting about the permanence of Pompoko. It feels like it’s open 24/7 – its hours
are actually 11.30am to 11pm, seven days a week – and the exceptionally quick service means it’s one
of the fastest options in town, even with a queue outside. I don’t recall any significant changes to the
menu in the nine years I’ve been eating there, although there are rotating specials. The service is always
friendly, the portions always generous, and we are always given a sweet before we exit: a sugar jolt
before the curtains open. Pompoko, don’t ever change. Joe Fuller
110 Church Street, pompoko.co.uk
Photo by Joe Fuller
See the full menu: www.coalshed-restaurant.co.uk | 8 Boyce's Street, Brighton BN1 1AN | 01273 322 998
FOOD
.............................
A-news bouche
Congratulations to the team at Rathfinny
Estate’s Tasting Room, who recently made it into
the Michelin Guide. Open Monday to Sunday,
11am to 5pm, go to rathfinnyestate.com to view
menus and book. Taking over the space vacated
by Silo, 640 East are launching their shipping
container concept in Brighton this month, if all
goes to plan. After successful openings in Canary
Wharf and elsewhere in
East London, the Brighton
branch will focus on coffee,
brunch and small plates by
day, and beers and wine in
the evening.
All the ingredients
for a 100% organic
Christmas
Brighton & Hove Food Partnership recently
ran a Veg City Challenge, where chefs and
caterers were asked to create an innovative
‘grab & go’ recipe that’s packed with veg, to
appeal to Brighton teens. The competition
will be settled at the Community Kitchen
on 6 Nov, where an expert panel – including
Michael Bremner from
64 Degrees/Murmur –
will pick a winner, judged
on taste, ease of eating
and portability.
Veg, meat & all the trimmings
delivered free to your door
01953 859980
riverford.co.uk
Worthing FC are hosting Worthing’s first ever
community craft beer festival: Brewition. A
£5 ticket includes a festival glass you can keep,
and a programme. Local craft breweries will
be on show alongside national
and international ales, and there
will be a local pub team six-aside
football tournament to
keep you entertained whilst
imbibing.
....83....
FEATURE
.............................
Gladrags
Costumes galore
Gladrags started 25 years ago, in Bristol.
I was working in Community Theatre as a
costume designer, always with the tiniest
budgets. I never hired a costume because the
costs were prohibitive, but I collected my own
resources – mainly from charity shops and
car boot sales – and started lending them out.
I wanted to offer an affordable costume hire
service for groups who would benefit, so – in a
very pre-digital way – I started contacting local
schools and community theatres and it grew
from there. We moved to Brighton in 2005. At
that time, it all fitted in a small lorry. Now it
would be a different story.
I estimate that we’ve got around 7000
pieces. A whole range, though mainly
historical outfits through the ages, from
Stone Age through to modern day. We’ve got
children’s sizes, uniforms, animals, fantasy...
not the sort of costumes you would buy online,
but everything you need to build your own.
Our costumes from the 1930s onwards are
largely made up of vintage pieces and we
focus on authenticity. We supply to fringe
and amateur theatres, community projects
and school productions, as well as hiring out
costumes to film companies and outfits for
parties.
Most of our costumes are gifted and we are
making a special effort to preserve their
stories. People donate sentimental things that
are quite hard to let go of. One man donated
his Grandmother’s Women’s Air Force uniform
and, when he came in, he started telling me
all about her. When this happens, we log
the details, curating the stories to use as a
reminiscence or teaching resource. The clothes
then have a continued life, rather than being
stored in the attic.
We use costumes to put together
curriculum resource boxes for local schools.
Today, someone took a Henry VIII Tudorstyle
jacket and some objects that will help the
teacher to explore History in a sensory way. We
....84....
FEATURE
.............................
have evacuee suitcases if the topic is WWII
and lots more. We also facilitate reminiscence
workshops with a group of elderly local
residents. Some are socially isolated or living
with dementia, and the vintage costumes
and artefacts trigger memories and start
conversations. We’ve learned that you can have
fun dressing up at any age. Costumes can be so
transformative; we see that all the time.
We’re a charity and we make it work
thanks to our amazing team of around
20 volunteers. Many of them have fashion
or textile backgrounds and bring specialist
skills, others just love being in a creative
environment. We also offer work experience
and supported placements for people with
additional needs. The money we get from
professional hires helps to keep costs really low
for schools and community groups and we hold
occasional vintage sales to thin out our stores
and to raise funds. We’ve got one coming up
in November. You can find the details on our
Facebook page. As told to Lizzie Lower
facebook.com/gladragscostumes
....85....
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Brighton People’s Theatre
Theatre workshop
I haven’t performed
in front of people
since I was at school
and the very thought
of it fills me with
dread. But I keep
hearing that it’s
good to do things
that scare you, so
I’ve signed up for
a workshop with
Brighton People’s Theatre.
Now I’m stood in a circle with 20 perfect
strangers, at the Brighthelm Centre. I’d say
the youngest of us is around 20 and the oldest
somewhere close to 70. We all shift a little
nervously.
Facilitators Luan and Tanushka set out the
rules of engagement: Be kind, be brave and
be yourself. This is a safe space to play. Yikes.
Holding eye contact with strangers and
pretending to be chewing gum are outside
of my normal comfort zone but we’re all in it
together and the fun soon outweighs the fear.
We play Grandma’s Footsteps, pass imaginary
objects and cackle like witches. We weave
around the room, responding to unspoken
cues, sometimes moving in unison, sometimes
not, falling into line, gathering together and
splitting apart, moving in silent co-operation.
I’m aware this all sounds pretty peculiar, but I
recommend that you experience it for yourself.
“We’re moving like starlings” someone
observes, reminded of the seafront
murmurations. I know what they mean. I think
of my awkward morning ritual on the busy
station concourse, eyes down, jostling and
sidestepping the crowds. Watching this group,
I’m struck by how beautiful the random flow
of movement looks and how quickly it seems
to tell a story. This
group of strangers is
starting to look like an
ensemble.
The workshops are part
of a new programme
for Brighton People’s
Theatre: the brainchild
of Naomi Alexander
who started BPT in
2015 with the intention
of creating an inclusive and representative
theatre company for the city. The programme
– which includes play reading and writing
sessions and a show-going theatre club – is
open to anyone aged 18+ living in the BN
postcode area who’s not a professional artist.
And with a ‘pay as you can afford’ price scale
and assistance with travel expenses on offer, it’s
accessible to anyone with an interest in theatre.
For the final exercise of the evening, we break
into smaller groups and share stories from
our lives. Then, together, we tell one of the
stories to the wider group, taking it in turns
to speak in the first person with the intention
of carrying it off as our own. We’re not telling
my story, so I find I’m far less nervous than
I expected to be. In fact, I’m really enjoying
telling someone else’s tale, feeling that I need
to do it justice, to recall the detail and add
nuance to make it more believable. There’s an
exhilarating freedom in being someone else
for a while but it also feels a little deceitful –
trying really hard to pass for someone I’ve only
just met. Then I realise that’s the whole point.
Doing my best to be convincing is part of the
gig. I’m acting. And it’s really good fun.
Lizzie Lower
Visit brightonpeoplestheatre.org for the full
programme of events.
....87....
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MY SPACE
.............................
Paul Brown
Head of Props and Scenic Workshop, Glyndebourne
I’ve been Head of Props for
15 years. It’s a position you
keep hold of – there have only
been six of us since the Glyndebourne
Festival started in
1934. But until this year, there
was a big problem we had to
deal with: there wasn’t enough
space to do all the things we
needed to do.
That’s not an issue anymore,
because the company has just
had a state-of-the-art production
hub built on site, and the
whole of the bottom floor is
dedicated to our department.
We now have more than three
times the space we used to
have and the whole process has
become much more efficient.
We make stuff. Or rather we
make, source, adapt and buy in
all the stage props and scenery
needed for the shows. And
with all the Tour shows as well
as the six Festival operas every
season, that’s up to nine a year.
And it’s not just the current
season we’re thinking of. As
well as working on repairs and
maintenance for current shows,
we’re planning two years in
advance for future events. Each
one has a different director
and different designers, and we
have to adapt to their different
ways of working. It’s a good
challenge to have.
There’s no end to the
variety of props we deal
with, from huge things like
giant chandeliers, period cars
or three-metre-high peacocks,
to tiny details like sugar-tongs
and plastic ice cubes. The main
eye-catcher in the assembly
room as we speak is a 1940s
Photo by Alex Leith
....89....
MY SPACE
.............................
Photo by Graham Carlow
Photo by Graham Carlow
....90....
MY SPACE
.............................
Photo by Sam Stephenson
MG 1500 sports car which has been converted
into an electric vehicle. That’s for Rigoletto.
The assembly room is the central hub
around which all the other studios radiate.
There is a mould-making room, a fabric space, a
woodwork studio for small-sized items, a wood
workshop for bigger-sized items, a paint shop, a
room for fibre-glass work and a metal workshop.
Before, we had to perform most of these
activities in the same space, which wasn’t ideal:
sawdust flying into newly-painted props, and
that sort of thing.
It was important to choose a good, flexible
architect to build the new hub. What we do
here is very odd, when you think about it, so the
process was extremely consultative: we all had
a say in how it would look and work. Nicholas
Hare Architects did a great job. The old building
was demolished in December 2017, and we were
back here in February of this year.
Upstairs there are different departments,
like the costume department and the wig
department. It’s good to have them so close,
as there’s a lot of crossover. For example, we
recently had to make 400 rubber fish for the
sleeves of a costume for Mozart’s Magic Flute.
Including the dress rehearsals, I get to see
each opera that’s performed four or five times.
My favourite Glyndebourne Festival show, over
the years? It’s got to be The Turn of the Screw.
As told to Alex Leith
glyndebourne.com
....91....
BUILT BRIGHTON
.............................
The Dance Space
A new performance venue for the city
I’m a big fan of the Circus
Street development. It’s very
high density but it’s also
transforming the east side of
Victoria Gardens. There’s a
new street you can visit right
now to see the quality of
the design and, when I went
down it recently, I was really
impressed. Yes, the street is
narrow, but our city is full
of narrow streets and lots of
the accommodation here is
student housing. Students
have different needs compared
to flat-buyers. They don’t
need balconies and lots of
light; they need to be close
to town and the university.
It’s already a quirky and
interesting scheme and there’s
a lot more to come. Combined
with the new cycle lanes and
re-organised roads around the
area, things just seem to be
getting better and better.
Most of all, it’s pretty exciting
to have a new performance
venue in the city. I’m not
sure when the last one was
completed (maybe Komedia?)
but it’s been far too long for
a creative city like ours. The
Dance Space – a central part
of the development – is going
to be a fantastic new asset
and a new home for South
East Dance. Alongside that
it’s going to be the greenest
performance space in town,
sustainability being at the
core of the design. Low
energy fittings, taps that
use a minimal amount of
water, solar panels on the
roof and a highly insulated
building combine with a
seriously green attitude to the
interior. You will see recycled
and upcycled products and
equipment and no single-use
plastic anywhere. Given these
credentials, surely Caroline
Lucas has to be lined up for the
opening (currently scheduled
for summer 2020), or maybe
our new Duchess of Sussex?
Cath James, Artistic
Director at South East
Dance, is eagerly awaiting its
completion. “Our vision for
a green and sustainable home
for dance and dance artists
that is accessible to everyone
has been more than a decade
in the making, so we are over
the moon to see it taking
shape. At South East Dance
we know that dance makes
life better – bringing people
together and helping us to
be healthier and feel better
about ourselves. Every penny
invested brings us closer to
bringing dance to the heart of
Brighton & Hove. We’ve got
the bricks and mortar, now we
need the equipment – we’re so
close but we still need help to
get us over the line!”
South East Dance has just
over £100k to go to reach its
funding target of £6.6 million,
and a seat sponsorship
campaign has just been
launched. So, if you want to
be a part of this brilliant new
venture, now’s your chance…
Paul Zara
southeastdance.org.uk/thedance-space
Image courtesy of Shed KM Architects
....93....
FEATURE
.............................
From Gardner Arts to ACCA
Looking back with an eye on the future
Fifty years ago this month, Britain’s first
campus-based university arts centre opened
its doors at the University of Sussex.
From the outset the Gardner Arts Centre –
now the Attenborough Centre for the Creative
Arts – was intended to provide a more avant
garde experience for audiences.
Contemporary dance, edgy and political
dramas, experimental music, international
and arthouse film and other events that defy
boundaries continue to inhabit the brick
towers of the Basil Spence-designed building
at Falmer.
Laura McDermott, the centre’s creative
director, was well aware of this history when
she took on the job in 2016. The centre,
which closed in 2008 when it lost regular
funding from the local authority and from
Arts Council England, had undergone a £8m
refurbishment paid for by the university,
grants and donations and was reopened
and renamed in honour of film director Sir
Richard Attenborough, the university’s former
chancellor.
“So many of the founding principles of the
University of Sussex were about trying to
....94....
FEATURE
.............................
do things differently,” she says. “From the
bold architecture, to the interdisciplinarity
of the curriculum; it was about providing an
alternative to the traditional forms of higher
education.
“The arts centre was fundamental to this
experience. It recognised the arts as a
key component in a rounded educational
experience – nourishing your soul and
developing your personal creativity. It was
described as ‘the yeast in life’s solid dough’.”
While it has certainly enhanced campus life,
the centre has also been a boon to the wider
community, not just as a venue for annual
events such as Brighton Festival, Cinecity
and Brighton Digital Festival, but as a space
for local artists, performers and musicians to
rehearse and develop new work.
One of the towers that once housed an
electronic music studio has been given a
21st century makeover to become a new
digital recording studio. Named after the
late Professor of Music, Jonathan Harvey,
the facility is for students during term time,
but will be used for other projects during
evenings and weekends.
To celebrate the centre’s half century, Laura
and her colleagues are devising a 50-day
advent calendar featuring treasures from the
archive – counting down from 12 November
to 31 December. “We’ll have photos of
people who have appeared here, such as Doris
Lessing and Nigel Charnock, recordings of
past gigs (like Animal Collective in Brighton
Festival), and pictures of the space in its
various states of construction and renovation
through the years.”
They are also recreating the first concert
given by the University of Sussex Symphony
Orchestra in 1969. The event on 7 December
features novelist and former student
Ian McEwan reading from his original
programme notes, and international pianist
and composer Shin Suzuma (also an exstudent)
playing Beethoven’s Piano Concerto
No 3 on the Steinway grand piano donated to
the university by Tony Banks (the keyboard
player from Genesis – another alumnus).
“Bringing current students together with
illustrious alumni in this way feels like the
perfect way to celebrate – looking back but
with an eye on the future,” says Laura.
Jacqui Bealing
attenboroughcentre.com
....95....
WILDLIFE
.............................
Shakespeare’s Starlings
Three Act Tragedy
Illustration by Mark Greco
Hey y’all, I’m mailing in this month’s Viva article
from my vacation at Bodega Bay on the foggy
Pacific coast of California. It may be all organic
coffee, art galleries, surfer dudes and flip-flops
but this quaint coastal community is notorious
for being the location for a most sinister film:
The Birds (1963). Alfred Hitchcock has long gone,
but flocks of the film’s stars still sit ominously
perched on telegraph wires as if unaware that
the portly director yelled “cut” 56 years ago.
But unlike the local hummingbirds, phoebes
and chickadees these particular birds look
reassuringly familiar to me. They are Sturnus
vulgaris, the European Starling, the same species
we see wheeling around Brighton’s West Pier
in their dramatic amoeboid murmurations.
And, like me, they don’t really belong here. The
Starlings are here thanks to Henry IV. Well,
‘Henry IV Part 1’ to be precise.
Act I: London, 1597. William Shakespeare
scribbles the word ‘Starling’ in his epic tale of
power and treachery. With that feathered flourish
of his quill Shakespeare would unknowingly be
the author of an ecological catastrophe that would
play out until the present day.
Act II: New York, 1877. Enter stage right
Eugene Schieffelin, a socialite who would
later be remembered as “an eccentric at best,
a lunatic at worst”. He chaired the American
Acclimatization Society, a group which, despite
their nationalistic sounding name, were very keen
to welcome foreigners. In fact their aim was to
import animals of economic or cultural interest
from the Old World to the New. Schieffelin,
a big fan of Shakespeare, had a dream: to
populate America with every bird mentioned in
Shakespeare’s writings. And so the bard’s birds
were boxed up in England and brought to New
York where Skylarks, Pied Wagtails, Bullfinches,
Nightingales, Chaffinches and many more were
‘liberated’ into Central Park. The majority of
them died. But on March 6, 1890, 60 Starlings (a
bird mentioned only once by Shakespeare) were
released in Central Park and they fared better.
Much better. Today there are around 200 million
of them across the United States.
Act III: United States, present day. The story
of Schieffelin’s Shakespearian motivation may
just be an urban legend but the legacy of his
misguided American Acclimatization Society is
very real. Today European Starlings are widely
vilified by Americans as aggressive pests that have
destroyed precious ecosystems and turfed out
native species. Which is pretty rich coming from
a bunch of invasive Europeans who have been
doing just that for the past few centuries. And
don’t start me on their current leader – a lunatic
at best – who is busy dismantling environmental
regulations that protect wildlife, the landscape
and our planet. But sure, let’s blame the birds.
As Mr Shakespeare (almost) once wrote, “The
fault, dear Brutus, is not in our Starlings, / But in
ourselves”. Michael Blencowe, Senior Learning and
Engagement Officer, Sussex Wildlife Trust
....97....
INSIDE LEFT: BRILL’S BATHS, 1929
.......................................................................................
It’s January 1929, and information pertaining to
the imminent demise of this beautiful building –
designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott, no less – is
writ large on a billboard on the wall.
‘Brill’s Baths’, reads the poster in the middle of
the image, ‘this exceptional site to be let on lease’.
Brill’s, at 75 East Street, had been open since
1869, named after Charles Brill, who masterminded
and funded the project. Its main feature
was a circular ‘Gentlemen’s Bath’, at 20 metres
in diameter the largest indoor pool in Europe,
filled with seawater pumped in from Hove. There
was also a reading room, a billiard room, a barber
shop, and a viewing gallery seating 400 people.
By 1929, however, leisure tastes had moved on
and the baths were losing money. The site was
bought by Associated British Cinemas, the building
was demolished, and an art deco cinema – the
Savoy Cinema-Theatre – was built in its place.
The project cost £200,000 and the building
wasn’t immediately popular, nicknamed ‘the white
whale’. It was a top-spec operation with a Westrex
sound system designed to showcase the new
‘talkies’: the first films shown were Loose Ends and
Not So Quiet on the Western Front. The complex
also housed two restaurants, two cafés, a dance
hall and an underground car park.
The Savoy enjoyed mixed fortunes in its 69-year
career as a cinema, as its plush Oriental-inspired
interior gradually grew tatty and tired. It was hit
by an incendiary bomb in the war (the show went
on); it was smashed up by Mods and Rockers in
1964; and it changed hands several times, being
renamed, in turn, the ABC Cinema, the Cannon
Cinema, the Virgin Cinema, and then the ABC
again, before closing in 1999. The building is
now run by Stadium Capital Holdings as a ‘mixed
leisure development’ with a casino, a bar, a nightclub
and a restaurant, mainly geared towards the
tourist market.
This photo, sourced by Kevin Wilsher from the
James Gray Collection, shows a selection of interesting
billboard posters, including a number for
other Brighton theatres including The Regent,
The Palladium and The Hippodrome. Top of the
bill at the latter establishment is a show entitled
26 Wonder Midgets; the Palladium counters with a
screening of The Sinister Man, a German-directed
silent movie adaptation of the Edgar Wallace
story. Alex Leith
With thanks to the Regency Society for letting us
use this image from the James Gray Collection.
....98....
The 20th and final Brighton and Hove Calendar
The Original. Loved by locals, sent to friends around the world.
£8.99 or 2 for £15
With 67 images
from the previous
19 calendars
and this year.
Seasonal Sales Home
Outside Waikikamookau
11 Kensington Gardens
North Laine
BN1 4AL
Brighton Photography Gallery
West of the i360
52-53 Kings Roads Arches
BN1 2LN
Please note: we do NOT
have a stall in
Churchill Square this year.
www.brightoncalendar.com
City Books
23 Western Road
Hove
BN3 1AF
alistairflemingdesign.co.uk
01273 471269
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