I Love Youth Theatre 2014 (part 2)

Hello!  Last year I made it a goal to see as much Youth Theatre as possible across the country.  I wrote a blog about the shows I saw at the end of 2013, and you can read it here

So this year once again I put my diary aside, booked my train tickets, begged for comps, and set off to see young people making great theatre.

By the end of March, I had been fortunate enough to see a fair few shows, so I wrote a mid-year blog on the YT shows, which you can read here

A few days after writing the blog, I went to see Upstage Centre’s production of The Bloody Chamber as part of their Springboard event.  Upstage Centre are going from strength to strength, and I’m proud to announce I will be working as a Trustee in 2015 supporting them in many awesome upcoming productions.

 In April 2014, I bounded down to deepest, darkest Salisbury to see my friend Dave Orme’s production of Bedlam with Stage65 Youth Theatre.  The production had a good balance of physical ensemble scenes whilst giving breathing space for actors to play with the 18^th century characters.  The sense of uneasy background ensemble spying and sneaking helped portray this world of gossip, rumour, mystery and the inevitable question:  Who really belongs in the asylum?

Next up I visited the midlands, and Nottingham Playhouse’s All Quiet On The Western Front directed by Allie Spencer.  Such a dark, complex and weighty text was handled brilliantly by this cast who managed to find all the moments of humour and melancholy, occasionally reminding us these soldiers were no more than children through clever theatrical moments and great playful use of staging.

Back on my hometurf of York Theatre Royal Youth Theatre, The Genius directed by Natalie Quatermass and A Thousand Reasons Not To Fly directed by Jenna Drury were both marvellous inventive and fun performances from the 8-11s.  A feast of fun characters and wacky moments, The  Genius was brilliantly nutty and A Thousand Reasons Not To Fly had a very emotionally charged ending that genuinely touched the audience’s hearts, perfect proof of the ability of youth theatre to move.

In July, I also saw Harrogate Youth Theatre’s similar age range perform A Midsummer Night’s Dream directed by Jonquil Claughan.  This was my own adaptation of the classic play, drawing on lots of poetry and updating and streamlining the language whilst keeping the magic, wonder and humour.  The cast (as well as a local school who also used a version I adapted) kept all those elements of ensemble creating the magical world of the fairies and the woods.  I loved adapting this Shakespeare, and realised how incredibly easy it is to find humour still within the Mechanicals and their little play, and the wonderment of the fairy kingdom.  If anyone is interested in looking at my adaptations, please just get in touch.

Carriageworks Young Theatre Makers presented Extraordinary in July directed by Ruth Cooper, an original piece of work drawing ideas from an enormous cast which spanned the ancient Greeks, World War 2 and into the distant future.  Ingeniously telling the story of various child geniuses (genei?) it allowed for a number of connected scenes and connected characters all telling their own stories in their own worlds, but part of a larger picture, handled well by the group all with their eyes fixed on the central theme:  suspicion of the extraordinary.

I travelled to Derby to see the double-bill of The Willow Pattern and The Chrysalis.  Emma Waslin’s The Willow Pattern found those charming moments of humour, but also the tension within the ancient tale.  Visually the show was full of colour and vibrant images.  In contrast, Sarah Brigham’s The Chrysalides was full of tortured characters exploring the bleakness of this zealous dystopian future.  Both casts embraced their challenge of performing on the main stage of Derby Theatre with gusto, energy and a commitment to telling two great stories.

Back to Nottingham in August, I killed two birds with one stone and managed to catch Equus before hitting Nottingham Queer Punk Fest. Sarah Stephen’s cast were highly professional in their dissection of this deep and rich play, drawing on fleshed-out characters but an also a very haunting and brutal atmosphere, at times intense, and often unsettling.  Nottingham Playhouse have suffered at the hands of Labour City Council cutting funding, and I hope they can still continue the good work for their Youth Theatre in some capacity, who always produce excellent quality work.

In November, I managed to catch York Youth Theatre once again, this time with their 16+ groups performing Brecht-inspired pieces, Mr Puntila & His Man Matti and The Circle of Chalk.

Mr Puntila & His Man Matti (again directed by Natalie Quatermass) opened with a visceral experience which saw the audience avalanched by an onslaught of snotty, righteous, youthful anger, all shouting for occupations, getting rid of the rich and the injustices of capitalism.

But Mr Puntila & His Man Matti also showcased hilarious comedy moments; with a sea-sickeningly swaying distorting back-and-forth charm it left the audience feeling drowned in Puntila’s drunken world of swagger and ruse.  Knowing looks, snooty jibes and brash songs all peppered this capital play.

I was incredible honoured to be asked to write The Circle of Chalk for York Youth Theatre.  Inspired by Brecht’s version, but also the original ancient Chinese crime drama, I poured a lot into this production.  I read up on the polices and arguments of various nationalist organisations, researched the situation in the Ukraine and Palestine and wrapped the production up in the poetic story-telling I’ve learned from both my own spoken word gigs and Shakespeare.

(me and Natalie basking in the fame of a MASSIVE poster)

Using collaborative story-telling, Julian Ollive’s The Circle of Chalk cast wove an intense story rich with a range of flawed, funny, charismatic, despicable and loveable characters.  Their inventive ensemble work gave every moment a thousand shrewd angles, and their unflinching questions on the nature of nation rippled through the audience.

I have also had the pleasure of work with The Lawrence Batley Young Company this year, working with a very enthusiastic bunch of young people looking at snippets of Shakespeare.   I will be working with them next year, as well as writing another piece for Harrogate Youth Theatre and, as always, looking for commissions or freelance work.  So if you want to read any of my scripts so far, take a look at my work or get in touch for whatever reason, just drop me an email on henrythepoet@btinternet.com

Thanks to everyone who supplied me with a comp, thanks to everyone for the invites, thanks to Harrogate Theatre and York Theatre Royal for the commissions, and thanks to all the directors and casts for fantastic work.

Have a great 2015!  More great Youth Theatre please!

The Circle of Chalk

In 2004, ten years ago, I was a scrawny, heavily spotty teenager crossing over from secondary school to the world of College.  I had never really listened to music, been to a gig or thought much about politics beyond racism=bad.  By the time I left in 2006, and took my gap year I had fallen in love with punk and ska, dropped my religion due to A level Philosophy, fallen in love with political art due to Ken Loach in Film Studies and had a taste of left-wing politics in Modern History.

I also performed in a number of Youth Theatre plays as a member of York Youth Theatre.  I made friends (hopefully) for life, and performing The Trail on the Main Stage will stay with me as a defining factor in life.  The poster is still on my wall.

So it is such an honour that, 10 years later, I was commissioned by York Theatre Royal to write a play for their Youth Theatre.  A few years back, I wrote Gargoyles of York for their 5-8s which, though being about the secret fun gremlins of the city, was also a defence of the important buildings we have.

I was asked to adapt the old story of the chalk circle for one of their 16+ groups, which as roots in Brecht, Chinese crime drama and the Judgement of Solomon.  I managed to see the play last night, and was so incredibly proud of the cast for their hardwork and beautiful story-telling, and thanks to their directors Julian and Lizzie for bringing the best out of the cast.

But the best element was coming out and debating and discussing the themes of the play, the styles used and the fantastic performances with my mates.  Also shout-out to the other 16+ group, who created a visceral and visual madcap performance of Mr Puntila & His Man Matti.

They’re on again tonight, 6.30 and 8.30, make sure you get down to York Theatre Royal!

I wrote The Circle of Chalk in the summer of 2014 whilst politicians and voters debated the pros and cons of Scottish Independence.  This year we’ve seen more conflict in the Ukraine and Palestine.  In the streets of the UK, the EDL and Britain First have sworn No Surrender singing “I’m England till I die” and Clacton put its support being the United Kingdom Independence Party.

Brecht wrote his adaptation of this ancient story in 1944, after fleeing his homeland of Germany to escape the rise of the Nazi party, a group infamous for their belief in the power of nation, country and family ‘purity’.  His version is also written from the perspective of Soviet Russia asking its citizens to redefine how the land should be used.

The Circle of Chalk is a story of duty, parenthood and the failings of the legal system.  It’s a play about love and surviving through strife. 

What makes a nation: is it the patrolled borders, the historical lines on a map or the cultural melting pot of its people and places?  Who decides what is home-grown or alien, who defines who belongs?

It is the next generation who will also redefine these lines.  The future is unwritten, the past can be rewritten and in the present day, Youth Theatre casts deserve rich texts to explore these deep ideas of politics & the personal.

SAY WHAAA...? SLAM

I really wanted to write a blog about the slam myself and Stu Freestone put on last week immediately after the excitant of the gig itself, but one thing led to another and it’s taken me a while to get round to it.

Essentially, I’ve always found York a very literature and page-poetry heavy city.  That’s in no way a criticism of that style or genre of writing, I have the utmost respect for the nights which cater for poets who like to casually share their thoughts.  The positives are obvious, a safe, pleasant space.

But as someone more interested in the performance side to poetry, I wanted to run a slam for some time.  Teaming up with fellow poet Stu Freestone, we decided to go for Say Owt Slam.  The core idea is, it will be regular enough to be on people’s radars, but not too regular that it becomes stale and samey.  It will try and feature guest poets, and I hope these will represent the LBGTQ+ community, as well as female and poets-of-colour, and also bring poets to York who would not necessarily gig.  But importantly, the idea was it would be an exciting, dynamic and fun-fuelled space for noise and commotion.

We weren’t disappointed.  The crowd brought their energy and spirit making it a lively night, but more importantly each poet was absolutely top form.  Brilliant comedy poems, brilliant political poems and brilliant performances.  I was seriously blown away by such energy.

Here’s a review

Here’s the next one

"I’m here today writing poems for people"

“Hi, my name’s Henry, I’m here today writing poems for people.  Would you like to challenge me to write a poem on any topic you’d like?”

This is usually the spiel I deliver, all smiles and safe distance, trying desperately to prove that my pitch is not due to an obsessive fixation with that person, or fuelled by a intense desire to write poems by any means necessary.  I am, in fact, supported by Suffolk Libraries and Creative Arts East, and by extension Arts Council England, to write poems for anyone who wants one.

I visited Haverhill & Brandon Library, followed by the Heart of Norfolk in, well, Norfolk.  While there I performed to classes of Year 5 and 6s and met all manner of very nice, some very intense, people and savagely hunted for veggie food in their high streets.

I returned two weeks later armed with 39 poems written for 39 people, and hopefully everyone who gets their poem will appreciate it fits their request.  I also came back with Travels By Telephone, aka Jamie Wilson, and we performed several sets of solo material, and then our fusion show Practise Patience.  You can check out the show here.

So I now have to actually write a couple more pieces, and catch up on other work.  But I wanted to just add some thoughts here.  A lot of the time, people are amazed by my ‘ability’ to write poems for people based on their requests.  There’s no great trick, and the ‘talent’ lies within the practise and preparation.  I try to break down an pretence of being A Poet, break down any dividing line between me as an artist, and them as a audience.  The poem is based on their suggestions, their ideas and their input.

I hope this proves how writing poetry is so easy, a simple question, a few scribbled thoughts and then we’re away writing poems and stories.  Libraries and pubs are spaces where this can happen, a public space without the hang-ups that theatres instil in people.

So if you’re reading this and you gave me a suggestion, thank you so much!  I hope the poem you got was appropriate and inspired you to write something too!  But if you felt the poem could have been better or not quite about what you had in mind, then by all mean…go forth and write!

SAY OWT SLAM #1

Below is a copy of a preview I wrote for YorkMix for their website:

SAY OWT SLAM #1

28^th October, City Screen Basement, 7.30, £5

www.facebook.com/sayowtslam

@SayOwtSlam

S.O.S. is the brainchild of Henry Raby (@HenryRabyPoetry) and Stu Freestone (@StuFreestone).  We both consider ourselves ‘performance poets’ which essentially boils down to the fact we gig a lot.  Together, we’re proud to present SAY OWT POETRY SLAM.

The rules of a poetry slam vary from place-to-place, but our version will give 15 poets 3 minutes each to perform a piece.  There will be 5 audience members tasked as judges who will give each poet a score out of 10.  This means that poets are in competition, albeit a friendly one.  The top 5 poets will then perform once more and the highest score from those will be named Say Owt Slam Champ!

The stakes are raised, the energy is upped, the performance is sharper and the poems are stronger.  It also hands agency to the audience, even if they’re not judging.  A well-timed whoop or extra loud clap can affect the judges’ decision.  It also means afterwards strangers will debate who was the best poet (“no, you’re wrong, that metaphor was ace”).

York is very rich in poets and writers, with regular nights like Speaking In Tongues, Spokes, The Spoken Word and Speaker’s Corner, plus York Literature Festival and the yearly night I run at York Theatre Royal, Words & Whippets.  Hopefully, Say Owt Slam will be a melting pot for these poets, with the raw heat of a competitive night.

The response has been incredible.  Within 12 hours all our slots were filled.  It will be a bit nerve-wracking, but mostly very fun. Most slammers are from York, but some are travelling from Harrogate, Newcastle, Leeds and Hull!

Mark Grist, Girls Who Read:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWwXJT4LA5A

We also hope to bring a headliner each slam well-versed in performance poetry.  For the first one, we’re incredibly excited to have Mark Grist.  Mark was a teacher who became part of the Peterborough rap scene.  Mark brought his gentlemanly, nerdy and traditional poetry style to the rap battle circuit, and proved a cult favourite.  One recording of a battle went viral on youtube, attracting 3 million views.  He’s also done Bestival, Latitude, Glastonbury, Reading/Leeds and a host of other UK festivals.

This is the first York slam for at least 3 years (as far as I’m aware), and we’re already looking at a date for the 2^nd slam in January.  If you fancy having a go at the second slam, or want more info, email us sosyork@hotmail.com.  Also, this looks like selling out so make sure you grab a ticket asap here:  http://www.thebasementyork.co.uk/event/2235/

Farewell Cockpit, Leeds

Thanks to the medium of Facebook, I found out that The Cockpit in Leeds is closing down.  An integral part of the Leeds music scene, though the venue was far from a perfect space, it did host bands of all genres and sizes and no student in Leeds (07-10 for myself) could exist within the city without encountering the underground venue at some point.

I got to DJ thanks to the Non-Stop boys a couple of times, and danced merrily to the odd punk/ska tune they would occasionally play at Slam Dunk nights.  I was a member of Punk Soc, and we often dragged poor freshers along.

So here’s a list of cool bands I caught with memories:

Slam Dunk all-dayer saw farewell to The Hydropaths (though they’ve reformed for a few shows in November) and hosted the Creepshow, The Skinks and Random Hand, pretty much a perfect line-up.  It was also one of the first dates I went on with my girlfriend, even though I abandoned her to go dance…

First time I saw Frank Turner was at the Cockpit, which was a very exciting time just as he was riding on the waves of Love, ire & Song, supported by Chris T-T  I’ve lost count how many times I saw Sonic Boom Six & Random Hand, and grateful the Skints played a fair few shows before seeming to mainly stick to festival circuits.  King Blues were another favourite.  Saw The Beat and had some punx shout the wrong Exploited lyrics at me.  The Undertones with my mate John was a fun 1^st year highlight.  The amount of times I dashed there/back for gigs, both while still living in Leeds or back in York. 

It cemented itself as a venue you knew bands would play, and a hub for a scene.  Even if it didn’t actively promote scenes or a DIY ethic like smaller venues, it was a hub for familiar faces.  I’ve not been for a long time, but was keen to see Against Me!.  The show’s been moved, so now I’ll never squash into that small space and sticky floor, but thanks for the memories Cockpit!

Galtres Festival, zines & privilege

Last week I had a wicked time at Galtres Festival, hoe-downing to The Levellers, dancing along to Holy Moly & The Crackers, singing along to The Franceens, giggling thanks to John Otway and grooving to the Human League.  I also had the privilege of programming spoken word/poetry and comedy/stand-up for the Snapping Turtle and Little Top stages.

I use the word ‘privilege’ not to mean ‘honour’, but rather a sense of power.

I am armed with many tools of privilege.  I’m a white male, born in the UK, from a working class family but never fell into poverty.  I’m hetrosexual and cisgender, though adhere to queer theory and don’t believe in gender binaries.  My school wasn’t great, but it was still gave me a good enough education allowing me to use the system to eventually get a degree from a red brick university.

So many other people have spoken much more passionately and articulately about the issue.  Check out Jay The Nerd Kid, for example.

To say:  “I don’t walk into a room and see gender, ability or colour, I see human beings” if such a problematic statement.  It is complete erasure of people’s experiences, treatment by society & patriarchy, struggles, representation in the media and opportunities.  The same goes for poets, comedians, bands, musicians etc.  Saying “I just book acts I want not based on gender/colour” as if even acknowledging gender or colour or disability would somehow be sexist/racist/transphobic/ableist.

Some argue to give artists a platform just because of their colour or gender is unfair, and that every artist should be judged based on their skill.  Of course quality control has to be a factor, I’d be a hypocrite if I said I don’t consider this.  But there is an abundance of quality POC, female, trans, queer and disabled poets on the scene, and of course the more these artists are given a platform the more it encourages other people to try their hand at writing, reading and performing.

At York Theatre Royal, I programme a night called Words & Whippets.  In 2013 we had 6 acts (including myself).  This was split 50/50 male and female.  For W&W 2014 we had 5 acts, 2 women and 3 men.  Galtres Festival had 12 acts, and 5 of them were women.  Unfortunately several female comedians had to pull out of the comedy stage, so in the end we only had a single female comedian.  However the slam we ran was all-female.  I put on Hannah Nicklin’s solo show earlier this year, with 3 female acts, and 2 male acts (including myself).  Myself and Stu Freestone are putting on a new regular slam called Say Owt Slam.  The first event is 28th October, and we have gone for a very safe choice in Mark Grist as a headline act to help raise the profile with a well-known act.  But I'm keen as part of our platform, once the event has been established, to book a variety of acts from across the UK from the LBGTQ, Black, Disabled communities and scenes.

Last week I put out a zine based on 26 different interviews with female musicians from York, about their influences, experiences and opinions.  The zine can be found here:  https://henryraby.bandcamp.com/merch/nice-outfit-who-are-you-supposed-to-be-cyndi-lauper

I’m not saying we need to pat ourselves on the back, and neither do we beat ourselves up.  I’m not saying I’m a hero, nor a failure, because there’s no way to get it right/wrong.  But it’s always worth thinking about.  It’s an issue that needs considering and evaluating.  I am very grateful to have so many awesome feminist and queer friends I can learn from.

Always check your privilege.  Check your perspective, check your place in the world, check how you are assuming how the world works.  If you are a promoter, check your acts, check your line-ups, how you run events.  All I can do is ask you to at least consider it, for the moment.  But if real social change needs to happen then the next stage is to change it.  Deeds not words!