Performing Poverty and Sickness: reflections on ‘The House’ (2015) and COVID (2019) We are living in “unprecedented” times we are told daily through the government performance talks on the telly which in this third month have become extremely tiring and worn out like overlong runs of badly done Shakespeare. Friday Night quiz nights with family and friends in and from …
Peter Billingham – It’s Simply the Memory.
Peter Billingham – It’s Simply the Memory. Peter was a wordsmith, a term I wouldn’t have used when I first met him, but I think best describes how he worked with words in performance. This is what I mostly remember about him: his love of words, the muscularity of his writing, his belief in the importance and uniqueness of the …
Eleven Months a Councillor and Everything is Cancelled!
Eleven Months a Councillor and Everything is Cancelled! 3 weeks ago I was campaigning for the next local election, counting out and bagging up leaflets and letters for local delivery. I was standing again this year due to the uncanny result in the last local election. Then COVID-19 kicked in and the election got cancelled. 2 weeks ago I was …
Hecate and Dog Poo
Hecate and Dog Poo One mighty canine whose master knows how to bag it and bin it In working as a Ward Councillor probably one of the most regular calls to action has been tackling dog poo and occasionally the human variety. When I first moved to Southport, Richard and I affectionately nicknamed our new home town ‘Southpoo’, and a …
It’s Winter time. We had an election…another one!
It’s Winter time. We had an election…another one! I think I now know why calling a General Election for this particular December 12 triggered a deep reaction in my soul. It thrust me back to December 12, 1970 when my sister Melanie was born. Images, thoughts and feelings crashed in on me with the announcement that we had to have …
Three Months a Councillor
THREE MONTHS A COUNCILLOR I have been a Local Government Councillor for almost three months now. I use this space to integrate my art thinking, the local government activities I do and the politics. It’s a new way of working for me and a new space. A FEW MUSINGS ON FORM, SPACE AND ACTION This time I said I would …
One Month a Councillor
One Month a Councillor I have been a councillor for one month. It has been a very busy month: Here is a taster of what I have been doing: Training: I had a one to one from an officer from Democratic Services outlining all my responsibilities as a new councillor. I met all the directors of service and heard how …
Five on a journey
Labour Councillors in Southport have been a rare breed since 1974. We have added five for Southport in the last two years. I am learning that theatre/performance making and politics is a more fascinating combination than I had thought. New challenges, new learning in a new space and time with different audience/participants. Watch this space for more musings on working …