Tony Earnshaw's Blog, page 13

Creativity in a time of Covid

It’s a strange phenomenon. Theatres are dark, just a few lights here and there, brave venues operating at 30% capacity. Concert halls have musicians bravely playing to empty seats. Stars of the musical theatre are driving vans. Ballet dancers are encouraged to become cyber experts, an encouragement now denied. And yet, in the midst, creativity blossoms.

This is not paid creativity mind you. Or at least, not paid properly. But creative people will create, and there seems to be plenty to say. My own experience of this ranges from reading and listening to poets such as Steve Pottinger (look him up on YouTube, highly recommended) to taking part in running and writing for three on line poetry events and an ongoing stream of Zoom theatre – our eleventh show approaches and there’s more in the pipeline.

Last week, Mole Valley Poets held their third public event of the year –2020 Vision – poems from an unusual year – in which ten poets responded to the virus, to lockdown, to the climate emergency and more in a variety of styles ranging from haiku to villanelle via freer verse. A moving and beautiful evening giving plenty to think about. Two days later Damn Cheek Productions pushed the boundaries of Zoom theatre a little further, bringing a mix of theatre and TV techniques to a production of my play Little Brother which I had adapted for the purpose. Brilliantly pulled together in only a couple of days, and fully appreciated by an audience of over 100, the evening showed how the form is developing and our audience is continuing to grow. I finished the week with a ‘poetry walk’ – 5 poets rambling and chatting on Holmwood Common. The serious writing is never that much in evidence on these walks but the results emerge afterwards – I’ve already seen a sonnet and several haiku from a couple of the participants, and I’ve yet to find time to read my notes.

So this morning I’m starting the week on a positive note, celebrating creativity, and the amazing people I have the privilege of working with – actors and directors, poets and playwrights, musicians and novelists. And not forgetting those who can take on new skills – like the chair of our advisory board who found an undiscovered talent as a camera operator. Keep going, all of you!

And for those who would like to see Damn Cheek’s next Zoom production, It’s on 11th November and features short responses to Zoom by 8 playwrights, of which I’m one. A challenge set by Darren Cheek which promises a varied and enjoyable evening. Entitled ‘The Space Within’, all you need to do is Click here to book your free seat!

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Interviews

I’ve been interviewed twice this last week. Once for Mole Valley Poets and Arts Alive, and once for Damn Cheek’s performance of Little Brother at Arts Alive. Arts E-Live, this year. There’s a link to the second one – Listen to Tony’s interview

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Arts Alive becomes Arts E-Live

Arts Alive is back – in a different form, as most festivals are this year. At Damn Cheek we’ve now participated in Buxton Fringe and the Saltaire Festival with on line productions and it’s good to be able to add Arts Alive to the list. Three festivals we have existing relationships with, three festivals where the team have been able to adapt to a different cultural world, and three festivals finding benefits as well as challenges in so doing.

The Damn Cheek offering for Arts E-Live is my play Little Brother which I have adapted to allow for the current social distancing and ‘rule of 6’ environment. We’ve a great cast, a talented director and an approach to on line staging which could be characterised as Zoom TV. Little Brother will be on line at 8.15 on the 14th October and will last just under an hour with a short Q&A session afterwards – click here to book your free seat now!

Mole Valley Poets will also be taking part. We’ve held three on line events already, in addition to our member meetings, and each one has prompted calls for a repeat. The Arts E Live evening will be at 7.30 on the 19th October and will be readings from ten poets under the heading 2020 Vision – poems from an unusual year. Expect passion, humour, reflection and drama from a range of styles and a range of personalities. To book a place email tonyearnshaw@me.com

There’s a lot more on offer from Arts E-Live – music, art, drama and more. See their website – www.arts-alive.co.uk for more detail.

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National Poetry Day

image courtesy of Steve Johnson

1 October 2020 is National Poetry Day, an annual mass celebration that encourages all to enjoy, discover and share poetry.

This video celebrating National Poetry Day from Surrey Librariesfeatures Tony reading 2 of his poems, Recovery and Newlands Corner. 

We hope you enjoy!

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The Whistle and the Fiddle

The Selkie Girls; Mark Menikos, Martin McCall, Jaycie Skidmore, Alli Johnson, and Dave Ervin. Live at the Austin Celtic Festival, Austin, October 18, 2014 (photo by Kent Kanouse). Reproduced under Creative Commons via Flickr

As we face more restrictions on socialising, on numbers at weddings and , for some, on movement, I was reminded of a few verses I penned earlier in the summer after a Damn Cheek performance of Brendan Murray’s play ‘Big Baby’. As part of that production, we were fortunate to have a multi instrumentalist in the cast in Kate Adams and the way her musicianship lifted the evening made me think about some of the ways in which music is important to us, not least at ‘weddings, wakes and christenings’.

The Whistle and the Fiddle

The whistle and the fiddle,
with us through the ages
at weddings, wakes and christenings
and all of life’s key stages.

The whistle sounding an alert,
a signal, stop, take care.
The fiddle playing mournful tunes
when danger’s everywhere.

The fiddler leads us to the dance,
the whistle joins the jig,
but dancing at a distance
just isn’t worth a fig

and as our leaders fiddle now
with figures, claims and metrics
we whistle for some common sense
among the massed statistics

and long for a day, when all is clear,
the virus is defeated,
when few succumb and those that do
can easily be treated

and on that day as smiles break out
we’ll dance a roundelay
we’ll all hold hands (remember how?)
and the fiddler will play.

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Constancy and betrayal

Image courtesy of Estelle Earnshaw

I was enjoying sitting in the garden, pondering the beauty and the timelessness of nature, compared to the fickleness and unreliability we see in our leaders and found myself writing a villanelle. First draft below – may yet be edited but I wanted to share it now.

Constancy

Reminders of a life, a dream now torn
Scabia, flags and tulips, forget me nots
Behind the privet hedge a rolling lawn

A rose garden beyond the lilied pond
Clematis climbing up the ancient wall
Reminders of a life, a dream now torn.

Lavender fragrance rubbed to soft release
Between the index finger and the thumb
Behind the privet hedge a rolling lawn

Pansies, violets and petunias
Share beauty, each in their allotted time
Reminders of a life, a dream now torn.

The red hot pokers in the flower bed
Stand to attention for a code now dead
Behind the privet hedge a rolling lawn

Such constancy before my eyes arrayed
While principles have elsewhere been betrayed
Reminders of a life, a dream now torn
Behind the privet hedge a rolling lawn.

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The return of Little Brother

Some years back I wrote a one act play exploring sibling relationships, family secrets, and the tensions and bonds between two particular sisters and a brother. It was performed a few times at festivals and went down well. Now, it’s back, in a new Zoom friendly version, as part of Mole Valley Arts Alive – or Arts E-Live as it is this year. It’s on Wednesday 14th October, details below.

Ian is staying with sister Diana while his marriage crumbles around him. Will she help or hinder? Is he ready to be helped? Will big sister Anne complicate things further? And what is it that caused the three of them to retreat into alcohol and obsessive behaviour? Secrets and misunderstandings are revealed with humour and tenderness in this tightly observed study of sibling relationships.

Damn Cheek continue to tease and stretch the boundaries of ‘online theatre’ in this, their eighth Zoom adventure, and are delighted to be partnering with Arts E-Live in presenting this exploration of family relationships. This is the third of my plays Damn Cheek have featured in our Zoom series.

Email info@damncheek.co.uk to book your free zoom seat! 

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Crowded beaches

We were nervous about going to the beach. All that noise about Bournemouth and crowds , the parking, the litter. And yet, here we were, at our regular dog walking spot and lots of space.

There’s something uplifting about the sea as it meets the beach. The grandeur, the colours, the space, all add to the experience and lift our spirits. They lift mine anyway. A little like standing on the summit of a Lake District peak – Blencathra perhaps – but with less of a sense of accomplishment.

I’m very conscious of how lucky I am to be able to access the sea so easily, and the Downs, and, in normal times, the Lakes and Dales. When the world is in a mess and those in charge seem incapable of appropriate action – unsuited, in some cases, for any kind of public office – standing here is a reminder of good fortune but also of the threats which face us. Threats which are in danger of getting lost in the immediacy of the current crisis. A timely reminder, for me at least, that we can’t afford to ignore the longer term, but much bigger, threat posed by the climate emergency.

As lockdown eases, then tightens, and uncertainties abound, my summer resolution is to keep the longer term firmly in mind. It matters.

The thing is

The thing is
it’s getting hotter – not only that but there’s a lot 
of storms and floods and forest fires.

The thing is
we need to understand, 
stop burying our heads in desert sand 
where once were trees.
The thing is, 
please,
pay some attention.

The ‘thing’
too frightening for a word or phrase – 
call it extinction, call it disaster.
We’ve gone too far for sticking plaster 
and we need some positive thinking, 
so while the polar ice is shrinking 
and islands beneath the sea are sinking 
solutions must be found; 
not only that
applied 
to save the planet before we’re fried,
to save the guillemot, and the frog, 
the creatures of the marsh and bog, 
the file fish, the dolphin, the polar bear, 
the giraffe, the monarch butterfly, 
their habitats, their food supply.

The thing. Is.
Is the crux on which our future rests
Is the time to show us at our best
Is the throw of the dice we cannot lose
Is the road less travelled we need to choose
Is the narrow bridge across the abyss
Is the choice to make now
for this
is the moment that determines our fate
when we have to act
before it’s too late.

The thing is
This 
Matters

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Lines from Lockdown

Where I should have been in April.

We had a beautiful creative evening last week, when Mole Valley Poets held an open Zoom session of work created during lockdown. Nine poets, nine styles, and subject matter ranging from grief to joy, looking back and looking forward. We had a guest compere in Darren Cheek and treated the evening as a Mole Valley Poets/Damn Cheek collaboration – a mirror of my life at the moment!

What was special was not just the talent, insights and emotions on offer, not just the evidence that this has been a time of creativity as well as of frustration and anxiety, but also the warmth of the rapport between MVP members and guests and the fact that several guests had poems of their own to share, further expanding the range of styles and viewpoints. There was also the added bonus of being able to support our local Community Fridge with donations from those present.

Feedback was good and there are demands for a repeat event. Among the comments I received afterwards were that it was ‘interesting, challenging, funny, serious and informative.‘ Phrases or lines that stuck with people included “the towpath spooling out”, “congregations that could not congregate”, “we leave gaps in the queues for ghosts”, and “stop confusing wealth with worth”.

As Damn Cheek, we were back on Zoom the next day with Diary of a Madman in conjunction with Buxton Festival, and are planning a return to Saltaire Festival in September. Mole Valley Poets are returning to focus on climate issues when we meet next week and to discuss that potential repeat event.

Audio of some at least of the poems shared will be on the website shortly, alongside those from our previous event ‘Even in the shadows’ http://www.molevalleypoets.co.uk . In the meantime, we keep on creating.

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Black and white

I’ve been trying to get my head round the idea of black and white, the specifics of black as opposed to Asian experiences of racism, to separate the strands of argument, discussion and of conditioning which feel inescapable at the moment.

This was prompted by the furore caused by the appalling and tragic death of George Floyd and the way the ripples spread but goes much further than that. I thought I had a lot to say but when I reviewed it, it had all been said. On a personal level what it boils down to is this. I have lived all my life in places where black faces were and are a rarity. I spent a few years of my working life in a much more multi racial environment, one that felt very positive, but nonetheless the whole issue of racial prejudice feels like something that happens in a different world. It isn’t, of course. We’re all part of the same system, and we all have a responsibility. Not only that but the prosperity of the whole country was based on the spoils of empire – which involved the subjugation of other races and the slave trade.

Of course, it can be argued that that prosperity was also achieved by exploiting the white working class, even the white lower middles, but there is a difference. A difference engendered, or at least assisted, by distance. One of the scale of inhumanity and suffering. So when someone argues that white lives matter too, the answer is that of course they do but nobody was suggesting, or acting as if it were otherwise.

So where does that leave us? Checking, as the saying goes, our white privilege. Remembering that this is not a distant issue, but one of which we need to be constantly aware. Being tough on our politicians when they don’t act in a fair way. Not letting them get away with Windrush, or Grenfell. Arguing for a fairer system, acting where we can to counterbalance racism. Coming to terms with our history. It doesn’t feel like much, but it’s a start.

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