So, week one of four down as part of the A Conversation With My Father making process. Man, it was properly intense. It was also lovely, and natural, and sad, and strong and relaxed and heartwarming and hard to articulate. 5 days in a room with the effortlessly brilliant Alex Kelly at Embrace Arts in Leicester. Joined on day 3 by my dad, who talked to us both a bit more about policing, politics, protest and public order. By the end of the week we had a piece that ran to an invited audience at 50 minutes, with 5 major new sections, all of which expand on one of the three threads of the piece; policing, protest, and family. The post show discussion went on for over an hour, with people still wanting to talk more about all of the ideas bubbling under it. Here’s some highlights drawn from pictures I shared along the way. (And next up: Stockton on Tees at the ace ARC 4th-8th of Feb. Come along to the showing on the 8th if you can – let me know if you want a ticket)
All the kit ready at the beginning of the week
Alex and me on the first day in the studio. Where we did a lot of talking about me, my dad, and our history. We discovered the carbon monoxide story. And went through a lot of old photographs.
The beginning of the second day in the studio. Alex found two footballs. This day was much more heavily political. We talked about the things you wear for protest. We researched the laws around protest, kettling, policing public order, and talked about preparing for a protest. I drew diagrams. We found the exploded diagram protest gear section. Continue reading A Conversation With My Father Week 1
