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He’s a writer, performer and lecturer for whom the arts play a huge part in day-to-day life – and now he’s sharing the top cultural picks that you need to know about.
If Simon MacDonald had just one message to give, he says it would be this: “fund the arts properly or lose the arts forever.”
“Without the work of ArtHouse Jersey, Jersey Arts Centre, Jersey Opera House and countless others who promote creativity in all its various forms and guises, life would be extraordinarily dull,” he says.
It’s a strong message as arts heads report the sector as being in “crisis”, but he’s determined to show that it’s not all “doom and gloom” by sharing with Express five things that “make life worth it”…
I am lucky enough to be part of the group of people who said that not only did we want a literary festival, but we knew it was possible to make one happen. So how far have we come? OK – the fourth year of this really rather wonderful event and, to torture a ‘we made a band’ metaphor beyond endurance, here’s the story so far: we’ve negotiated the debut release that was critically-acclaimed. Then we were in to the ‘difficult-second-album’ syndrome. That worked out well. The third ‘concept’ release only served to strengthen our hardcore fanbase while maintaining a hugely successful popular following. And now for #4 because it’s nearly here.
Pictured: The upcoming Festival of Words, which invites islanders into the world of books, makes the first spot on the list.
I couldn’t be happier about being involved in this homegrown event that every year manages to attract a wide variety of incredible writerly talent to our shores – and I credit the team who put this together – such a diversely-skilled group whose attributes compliment each others so well: dovetailers and seguers – just the first couple of (totally made-up) words that spring to mind here when I think of them. I’m looking forward to so many things at this year’s festival – welcoming Lemn Sissay is going to be a standout moment, but I have huge affection for the free schools’ programme which has always been the platform upon which the festival is built.
I can’t possibly single out one or two events as I am prouder than proud to have them all here. What I am particularly delighted about is the fact that the local community really seems to ‘get it’ now and advance bookings for events is already up on previous years. For a population that has often been unfairly characterized by the ‘we’ll just turn-up on the day’ approach to the arts, things might be-a-changing. Hope so.
I think Jason Butler was probably born with a number of paintbrushes in his mouth and has only gone from strength-to-strength since then. I find it almost unbelievable that he lives on the same small rock as me, and it is doubly stunning to count him as a person who is directly known to me.
Pictured: Jason Butler at work.
Jason’s work is compelling, engaging and haunting. Viewing any of his pieces leaves a memory behind the eyes that never fades. I was lucky enough to be given the opportunity of wrorting words to accompany one of his ‘Seekers’ works a year or so back as part of an open studio event, and I found the experience so rewarding and deliciously futile – not a criticism at all – as I could quite possibly have filled a book with words that instantly occurred to me as I sat and thought, but would never have found the right combination. May he continue to speak to me and others in his unique way for years to come. I know a new exhibition is planned for the end of the year. And I can’t wait.
‘The Duke’ is one of those astounding works of genius that you cannot fathom it being the work of just one person. Yet, that is exactly what Shon-Dale Jones via parent company Hoipolloi have done with this. It is the story of a family heirloom – a porcelain figure of the Duke of Wellington, the integrity of a fledgling scriptwriter, and the untold misery reaped upon thousands and thousands of refugee children fleeing from war.
Head on over to the #IYAF blog ( https://t.co/MfJzDwtNr0) to check out a show report of #TheDuke by @hellohoipolloi, written by our Content and Marketing intern, Vanessa. Illustration of The Duke by Lucie Arnoux. pic.twitter.com/yjpopepKwm
— International Youth Arts Festival (@IYAF) July 11, 2018
Yes, I know. How could anyone weave a coherent narrative from such apparently disparate material? I can only assure you that he absolutely does. The fact that the show is presented for free, with audiences asked to make donations to the Save the Children’s Child Refugee Crisis Appeal, says everything that you need to know about the admirable sentiment behind this. Hopefully, one day, we’ll see ‘The Duke’ here.
Molly Byrne is a local actor/writer/director who formed Hyperdrive while studying at E15 Drama School. Graduating this year, the company managed to attract deserved rave reviews for this piece and, as well as winning a number of awards, it plays at the King’s Head Theatre in London before the company take another of their works, ‘Dreamland’, to the Edinburgh Fringe this August.
Looks what’s arrived! #Splinter 21st July @KingsHeadThtr pic.twitter.com/AXTMvnTdAm
— Hyperdrive Theatre (@HyperdriveTC) July 12, 2018
I have nothing but admiration for what she and her company have achieved in such a short space of time. And I think it’s really important that we here in Jersey know about it. ‘Splinter’ tells a tale of friendship – ‘both when it’s there and when it’s not.’
Finally: this - and it’s all about me. I’m working on a spoken-word performance based on the noisy, edgy, but also devastatingly funny photographs of Bob Mazzer. He travelled the London Underground in the 80s at about the same time as I was. He captured the look and feel of the place through a catalogue of incredible images of fellow travellers that he took and published in ‘Underground’, a book curated by The Gentle Author and published by Spitalfields Life.
Pictured: The London Underground provides the inspiration behind Mr MacDonald's next big project.
Having secured not only a generous and supportive developmental residency from Daniel Austin, but also a venue for the finished piece, ‘Going Underground’ comes to the JAC in October. Tickets only – no Oyster cards. Come.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and not of the Bailiwick Express.
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