Matthew Linley, Author at Matthew Linley

Glorious Death

November 12, 2018May 3, 2018 by Matthew Linley

In Development How old is Europe and what is its future? Project Weblink: To Come I’m delighted to be once again working with Dritero Kasapi (director of Nina – a story about me and Nina Simone) on two projects, supported by an Arts Council/British Council International Artists Development Award. A Glorious Death is performed by an older actor/actress, a counter tenor (performing the music live) and 4 on screen characters. The piece is performed in alternative spaces – cafes, bars, galleries as well as studio spaces. The show explores Europe’s History – from WW2 to Brexit – seen through the life of Gloria, a story recovered by her son through song, old letters and personal videos (which feature Gloria’s sister, lover, young friend and an immigrant café owner). ‘A Glorious Death deals with so many issues – exile, racism, growing old, death, loss and memory amongst them – yet it is not a piece about issues at all. The subtlety of the director’s methods is utterly extraordinary ’ Nottingham Visual Arts ‘Glorious Death’ is a poetic and yes touching lament over Europe, a scrutinising and honest reflection of the Westerner’ SR Kulturnytt ‘Fascinating stories that stick. The montage technique used creates several meanings and ironies, contrasting with the sad quality that the counter tenor Nuri Harun Ates beautiful voice creates, but also to the nostalgia that is heightened by the speechless presence of Gloria’ Svenska Dagbladet Development period: Filming in Nov, Dec and January followed by rehearsals in March 19. …

Into the Cuckoo’s Nest

March 15, 2020May 2, 2018 by Matthew Linley

Client: Lepus Productions “Give me a girl that will wriggle and will twist; At the bottom of the belly lies the cuckoo’s nest” An intimate show about intimate places in folk song Project Weblink: http://lepusproductions.com/about-us/ Martin Green (of Lau and Flit) is a true maverick (as the Lau website has it a brilliant musician, thrilling performer, a free thinking visionary and all round good chap) And Into the Cuckoo’s Nest demonstrates that brilliantly. Martin is working with world-class folk musicians (including Brighde Chaimbeul on pipes) and performance makers, in examining the euphemism, the cuckoo itself and the folklore around it. An intimate show about intimate places in folk song Part performance, part documentary, part immersive theatre Martin Green (LAU) leads a crew of world class folk musicians, theatre performers, film makers and naturalists in examining the euphemism, the cuckoo itself and the folk lore around it. Tales from Ireland, Dartmoor, ancient Greece and the natural world all play a role in what they discover, part dissection of gender in folk song, part journey into hypnotic rituals and the nature of human behaviour. The creative team (see below) includes world class folk musicians with BAFTA award winning film makers and award winning immersive theatre makers creating a genre defying mix of folk music, film and theatre. “I see it in your eyes and it fills me with surprise That your inclination lies in my cuckoo’s nest.” There’s an early opportunity to catch a glimpse of Into the Cuckoo’s Nest at this year’s …

When Did You Stop Dancing

March 15, 2020May 2, 2018 by Matthew Linley

Presented by What A Little Bird Told Me Theatre The dancing plague; a true story bursting with heart & play Rach wants to tell you a story. A true story. The story of The Dancing Plague of 1518 started by a lone woman boogying in the streets. A story of 100s of women dancing in the streets. And not stopping… She wants to tell you in 2018 everybody is welcome on our streets, she spends most of her time feeling safe and that we don’t need a national campaign to tell a girl that she can. But she said she’d tell you the truth. She’ll do that instead. A show about female uprising, what it means to take a stand; and to stand together. Rachel McBride of What a Little Bird Told Me showed extracts from When Did You Stop Dancing at a Unity scratch night a couple of years, and Ive found myself talking about the show ever since! So it was only natural to continue working with Rachel once I stepped down from Unity! Key Dates: Fri 5th/6th October at 6pm – Liverpool Unity Theatre Thurs 11th October at 7.30pm – Manchester, The Edge Sat 13th October at 7.30pm – Edge Hill University, The Arts Centre Wed 17th Oct at 7.30pm – Barnard Castle, The Witham Wed 24th Oct at 7.30pm – Wigan, The Mill at the Pier (ALRA) Creative Team Written & performed by Rachel McBride Direction & dramaturgy by Chris Hill Creative Mentoring by Rachel Mars Object …

Horny Handed Tons of Soil

June 12, 2018April 27, 2018 by Matthew Linley

Client: Phrased & Confused Horny Handed Tons of Soil is a co-production between Phrased & Confused and Unity Theatre ‘A modern day Under Milk Wood’ (Chris McCabe) ‘it steals and quietly breaks your heart’ (Liverpool Sound and Vision) Project weblink: www.phrasedandconfused.co.uk Inspired by the maverick work of Adrian Henri, Horny Handed Tons of Soil, fuses beat poetry with folk song, electronic composition with live brass and percussion and documentary film with theatrical story telling. It’s a truly mesmeric show, beautiful in so many ways Heres the blurb: ‘The city is alive. Wandering the streets, the Child, the Poet and Death trace memories and map dreams onto a landscape shifting under the spell of time’ You can read more about the show, Adrian Henri here and about Lizzie Nunnery’s process in developing the show here http://phrasedandconfused.co.uk/about-the-show/ Key dates: 7 June – York Theatre Royal Web Links: http://www.nunnerynorheim.com/ Back in 2016 Phrased & Confused together with the Unity Theatre commissioned Liverpool based poet, folk singer and playwright Lizzie Nunnery to create a new spoken word piece to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the publication of The Mersey Sound by Roger McGough, Brian Patten and Adrian Henri. Lizzie has always found herself drawn to the work of Adrian – a poet, painter and performer – a polymath who like many of the artists both Unity and Phrased & Confused work with, crossed boundaries and genres with ease. So it was Adrian’s work, his ‘happenings’ and his wanderings (early experiments in mytho-geography) that …