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The Guardian
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
‘We put our money where our mouth is': how the arts are transforming the north-east of England
There has been no shortage of creative talent from the north-east. The region's writers have created work that has educated generations (Terry Deary's Horrible Histories) and been reimagined by Hollywood (Lee Hall's Billy Elliot). Even those not from the region have chosen to base their most famous creations there (Ann Cleeves' Vera). Approximately 60,000 people are now working in the wider region's creative and cultural industries, and north-east mayor Kim McGuinness wants to see this increase. Her 10-year local growth plan aims to transform the north-east into a cultural powerhouse to rival current heavyweights, such as London and Glasgow. 'We want to treat our culture and creative industries the same way we treat green energy, advanced manufacturing or other traditional sectors that you would expect of the north-east,' McGuinness says. 'As mayor, I'm going to make sure we put our money where our mouth is.' At the heart of this plan is Northumbria University, which has produced a host of distinguished creative alumni, including Apple's former chief design officer Sir Jony Ive, Oscar-winning cinematographer Lol Crawley (The Brutalist), and bestselling author Cally Taylor, better known as CL Taylor. 'Northumbria [University] plays a strong role in helping us build an ecosystem of culture and creativity,' explains McGuinness. 'They're a really important partner.' One significant recent investment is £5m from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport to create a new writing centre for the region. The campaign to establish the new centre, set to be based within Newcastle's historic cultural and creative zone, known as Creative Central NCL, was led by the charity New Writing North in partnership with the university. Including audio studios and event spaces, the centre will have extensive collaborative working and teaching spaces dedicated to Northumbria University. Academics are collaborating with the likes of Hachette UK, Faber & Faber and Simon & Schuster to drive innovation within the publishing industry and provide students with sector-specific learning experiences. This is part of a broader, ambitious plan to integrate such opportunities across all undergraduate courses. 'We're keen to widen access to the publishing industry,' says Dr Neil Percival, co-director of cultural partnerships at the university. 'The real-world learning experiences students will gain from working with these partners will make them a key part of the future of the creative and cultural sector in the region.' McGuinness agrees, adding that 'the national centre for writing will be a jewel in our crown'. The university has other key partnerships, including Live Theatre, a theatre company specialising in new writing that provides students with access to rehearsals and delivers an industry-focused module; North East Museums, which includes teaching and research around heritage, curation and community wellbeing; and the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, which offers bespoke postgraduate training designed especially for Northumbria students. 'With Live Theatre, our creative writing students have been able to see their scripts read on stage, with professional actors and a creative director,' says Percival. 'Our partnership with North East Museums provides placement opportunities and projects on their sites all over the region for students across many subject areas including education, health and law, not only within the arts, and our fine art students have their graduation show professionally curated at Baltic and other galleries in Newcastle. 'You can't replicate that kind of real-world experience. They are very powerful, transformational opportunities that would be difficult to come by without the cultural connections we provide,' he says. And the university's involvement doesn't just benefit its students, with its research opening up opportunities for communities that don't traditionally have access to creative industries. The university was an instrumental founder of A Writing Chance, working with actor and philanthropist Michael Sheen, New Writing North and other partners to open access to the writing industries for writers from working class, low income or minority backgrounds, and it is leading on a national £3.9m research programme that fosters creative communities and promotes the devolution of powers over culture and the creative industries. 'Our research with our partners helps to break down barriers to access within the creative industries,' says Percival. 'We're able to give our cultural partners solid, evidence-based understanding of the impact of what they do … That, in turn, helps them meet local needs and bid for funding for further development, as well as helping to shape policy decisions much further afield in Westminster.' Known for its natural beauty (the region has two Unesco world heritage sites in Durham Cathedral and Hadrian's Wall and more than 300 miles of coastline), the north-east also hopes to further cement its place as a prime film location. A major move in this direction is the plan for the new Crown Works Studio in Sunderland, which will grow to include 19 sound stages, a vendor village and backlot. Crown Works received a £25m investment from the north-east devolution deal and will help create more than 8,000 jobs. Northumbria already has a partnership with the British Film Institute, and, through its work with all five regional universities to maximise opportunities for graduates and producers, can see enormous potential emerging from the development, making the region an even more attractive destination for students wanting to work in a vast range of roles connected with the film-making industry. It's something Gabriel Brown is excited for. Graduating from the university's film and TV production course in 2021, Brown now combines work on productions such as ITV's Vera and BBC's Smoggie Queens, with running his own company, Terabithia Pictures. 'There is just so much opportunity and so much experience in this region,' he says. 'The north-east as a whole is very much on the rise. It's fully deserving of that chance and that funding. 'There's a mass of incredibly talented crew and cast [here],' he says. 'It's an incredibly beautiful place to film, and a very friendly place to film as well, and in general, the locations and studios go unsung in terms of praise, because the attention is focused on London, Manchester or Glasgow.' Like the film industry, the music industry is now seeing the enormous potential in the north-east too. The 2025 Mobo awards were held in February at Newcastle's Utilita Arena and the Mercury Prize will also be hosted there in October, the first time this event has been held outside London. Meanwhile, industry giant Warner Music UK has announced ambitious plans to open a major studio facility in the heart of Newcastle, working closely with Generator, an organisation dedicated to nurturing and growing musical talent in the region – all of which is contributing to the north-east's transformation into a region that meets cultural needs. 'Having access to things you enjoy, whether that be a choir in your local community centre, or going to the Stadium of Light to see Bruce Springsteen – that whole range of cultural opportunities should exist for you,' says McGuinness. 'It's about mass participation.' Percival agrees. 'Go out and see things,' he says. 'Get your kids involved. Let your young people see the career routes available to them in the north-east, so that they have a fair crack at the whip.' Find out more about how Northumbria University is shaping futures and driving change
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
FAMU President, DeSantis' Choice
Lee Hall on the Florida A&M University campus. (Photo by Jay Waagmeester/Florida Phoenix) Florida A&M University has weathered its share of storms, the most recent being a deeply embarrassing debacle when a Texas donor conned former FAMU President Larry Robinson and a close circle of school officials into believing that the hallowed institution was the recipient of a $237.75 million gift. After discovering the gift was a hoax, Robinson resigned, which led to the uproar over the past several weeks surrounding the choice of Robinson's successor. During a presidential search process shrouded in secrecy, the Ron DeSantis-dominated FAMU Board of Trustees voted 8-4 for Marva Johnson, a last-minute addition to the presidential finalist list. 'The late entry of Marva Johnson into the pool of candidates to become FAMU's president has sparked concern about her allegiances, the selection process and her apparent lack of qualifications, MSNBC said. 'Johnson, who has been appointed to boards by Gov. Ron DeSantis and former Gov. Rick Scott, has no college administrative experience and has remained an ally of DeSantis as his GOP administration has undermined Black history lessons in the state.' The likelihood that Johnson might be chosen provoked in a multipronged campaign of resistance, including a petition against her candidacy that gathered more than 10,000 signatures. Florida's state NAACP president threatened legal action over the selection process. Popular film director Will Packer, a FAMU graduate who has produced films like 'Takers,' 'Straight Outta Compton,' and 'Think Like a Man,' warned that 'a group of activist Republicans are trying to put in the highest position of power someone who is solidly and objectively unqualified for it. A range of Black media personalities online also sounded the alarm on Johnson. There have been calls for boycotts and other punitive measures to express displeasure over how all this has played out. The primary objections involve Jonhson's connections to DeSantis, who throughout his time as governor has exhibited barefaced hostility towards Black Floridians while implementing a raft of racist ideological MAGA policies aimed at institutions of higher learning. A WFSU story in the days following last Friday's selection captures the temperature. 'Florida A&M University is ablaze following the appointment of Marva Johnson to the school's presidency. Alumni, students and other FAMU stakeholders are weighing how best to move forward,' the story said. 'Johnson is a controversial candidate for her ties to Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, as he works to remake higher education in the state. Now, the school's interim president is urging calm amid backlash and boycott threats in response to Johnson's appointment by the FAMU Board of Trustees,' the story continues. 'I urge you to stay engaged and remain connected,' Interim President Tim Beard wrote in a statement. 'Your advocacy, your feedback and your financial support are crucial to ensuring that our institution continues to thrive.' To describe DeSantis' assault on higher education as a remaking is a grave understatement. Since 2023, he has taken a wrecking ball to Florida's higher educational system in his misguided effort to stamp out liberalism and 'woke' ideology and install university presidents, educators, board members, and others who embrace the governor's conservative agenda. A 2024 report by the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), details the 'the various manifestations of political and legislative interference in Florida's higher education system under the DeSantis administration and that of his predecessor, Rick Scott.' 'These include attacks on faculty academic freedom and tenure; the assault on the curriculum; the elimination of diversity, equity, and inclusion programs; the development of a patronage system marked by politically connected administrative appointments; the stacking of the statewide board of governors with Republican former political officeholders and professional political operatives beholden to the governor and the legislature; the passage of legislation making confidential identifying information of applicants for presidential positions at state universities or Florida College System institutions; political and legislative attacks on the higher education accreditation system; legal challenges to public employee unions; and the broader assault on the rights and social gains of LGBTQ+ communities.' In short order, DeSantis – term-limited from running again for governor – has enacted hostile takeovers of the New College, the University of Florida, Florida International University, and the University of West Florida. As the Florida Phoenix has reported, DeSantis is installing his political allies at state universities so that they can purge these institutions of 'ideological concepts.' To date, five of 12 schools have new presidents and another four are looking. People like Packer and Adora Obi Nweze, president of the Florida State Conference NAACP, issued calls to scrap the entire process and start again. Nweze urged the FAMU Board of Trustees to 'recommit to a fair and untainted process' that reflects the university's legacy of academic excellence. She and others were ignored and Johnson now will become FAMU's 13th president. During a volatile meeting that ran about two hours, as Johnson introduced herself to the community, tempers ran hot. Packer warned trustees that choosing Johnson would be detrimental to FAMU's future, but she sought to assuage those fears. 'I know that the comments you're bringing – while they're coming to me in a way that may evidence angst – are coming from your love for this university, your love for this university's legacy, and your interest in making sure that you protect it. If I am selected, I would fight and win for FAMU,' Johnson told the crowd. 'No, I'm not a Trojan horse. I was not sent here to dismantle FAMU. … 'I would love the opportunity to work with you and to grow FAMU.' Johnson also said: 'I understand the gravity of this moment. I'm grounded in the importance of FAMU's legacy, and I'm energized by the opportunities that we have in front of us.' The new president served as vice president for governmental affairs (meaning she was a lobbyist) for Charter Communications, a telecom company, and is a former member of the State Board of Education. I reached out to Desirée Nero, a corporate and government consultant and 'a very proud alum,' said she understands the concerns but now that Johnson has been selected, FAMUANs must figure out how to work with her. 'Universities are moving more in the direction of being managed like businesses. The president's job is to raise money, build relationships, and increase the universities' global impact and reputation. Marva Johnson can do that,' Nero said. Nero gives Johnson props for succeeding as a Black woman in business – 'I'm sure she has had to fight some battles in her rise to leadership,' she said. 'She's well educated; a Georgetown undergrad, an MBA from Emory and a J.D. from Georgia State,' said Nero, who has 20 years of experience working in leadership development within Florida State government. 'Republicans and MAGA are not one and the same. There's nothing recently that indicates she will walk the MAGA path.' FAMU, the state's only public historically Black institution, was established in 1887 during the height of Jim Crow and segregation because African Americans weren't allowed to attend white institutions. Racism and purposeful underinvestment has always dogged the university. In 2023, the Biden administration sent letters to 16 governors – including DeSantis – urging these states to review $12 billion in funding disparities among land-grant universities. The U.S. Department of Education alleged that the states disproportionately underfunded Florida A&M University by nearly $2 billion compared to University of Florida – the second largest funding disparity among all land-grant universities. This disparity has resulted in 'inadequate resources and delay critical investments in everything from campus infrastructure to research and development to student support services,' then-U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona wrote. The Trump administration recently rescinded a $16.3 million grant that had been awarded to FAMU's College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. Meanwhile, FAMU is struggling to properly prepare its students to pass board examinations in its nursing, law, pharmacy, and physical therapy programs. Alan Levine, vice chair of the Florida Board of Governors, last year threatened to get rid of the programs if there's no improvement. Those who support Johnson hope she has the political connections, fundraising acumen, and leadership skills to reverse these challenges. And they hope she will convince DeSantis not to mess with FAMU the way he did New College. 'Change is inevitable and history has shown us that those who fight change are subject to be left behind,' Nero said. 'Change isn't coming to FAMU, it's here. FAMU may be in the fight of its life and we need a warrior to champion this fight. This is too important to be confrontational.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Times
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Times
Mother Courage and Her Children review — intense and intimate Brecht
This new production of Bertolt Brecht's classic brings together disparate elements to create a wondrous feat of theatrical alchemy. The only marquee name among the credits is Lee Hall, the playwright and Billy Elliot screenwriter, here returning to his native northeast with a bespoke 90-minute version of Brecht's play. Ensemble '84, which forms the bulk of the 20-strong company, is made up of Co Durham residents, assembled after a county-wide casting call, who have been rehearsing together since October. Rounding out the collaboration is the Isango Ensemble, from Cape Town, which offers artistic opportunities to people from deprived backgrounds. Hall has whittled Brecht's tale of a woman profiteering from the inflated market of a 17th-century European war down to its essence, and
Channel 4
18-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Channel 4
How Billy Elliot writer is bringing theatre to the community
He's used to his plays opening on Broadway or the West End, but Lee Hall's latest production is playing in a church in a former mining village in County Durham, just up the road from where his award-winning film Billy Elliot was set. Hall's new adaptation of Bertolt Brecht's anti-war classic 'Mother Courage and Her Children', is the first production by one of Britain's most unlikely theatre companies.
The Guardian
06-03-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Billy Elliot writer's new play swaps West End for church hall in County Durham
His plays have been buzzy, hot-ticket openings in the West End and at the National Theatre. Films he has written have had glitzy debuts in Cannes and Venice. But for the next world premiere of a Lee Hall show, head to the Methodist church in a former mining village in County Durham. Hall's new adaptation of one of the greatest plays of the 20th century, Brecht's anti-war classic Mother Courage and Her Children, is to be the inaugural production of one of Britain's youngest and most interesting theatre companies. The play will open at Horden Methodist church in May, the first production of a new venture called Ensemble '84, which is a sister company to the internationally acclaimed Isango Ensemble. Isango was co-founded by the British theatre director Mark Dornford-May 25 years ago in one of South Africa's most deprived places, the sprawling Khayelitsha township on the edge of Cape Town. Its mission is to give opportunities to people who don't have them, to train people who live in townships to a professional standard and give an artistic voice to a part of the world that doesn't have one. The mission in Horden is the same. Day-to-day life in the townships and east Durham may be very different, but the similarities are still striking, said Dornford-May. 'A lot of the issues are very similar in terms of lack of opportunity, lack of expectation, lack of a sense that these communities actually have any ownership over the arts whatsoever. 'All those things are the same. They're exactly the same to be honest. Having a lack of opportunities to express what they feel about the world through art.' Hall is a screenwriter and playwright with a stellar CV which includes Billy Elliot, The Pitmen Painters, stage adaptations of the films Shakespeare in Love and Network, and screenplays for the films Victoria & Abdul and Rocketman. He first translated Mother Courage more than two decades ago but this is 'a completely updated version', Hall said, written especially for the new Ensemble '84 production. The north-east cast was assembled after a call-out on social media and working with local job centres. 'I wanted to make sure that no one couldn't have a go,' said Dornford-May. 'We auditioned and saw close to 200 people of all different ages. The only requirement was you had to live in County Durham and be over 18.' Those recruited have been paid the minimum wage while being trained to become actors. When rehearsals start in April they will be paid Equity rates. The new show will also feature actors from Isango creating a company of 19. 'Apart from West End musicals and maybe the RSC and the National who else is putting that many people on a stage nowadays? 'It is exciting on so many levels but daunting as well because we want to make it work.' Hall said Mother Courage was one of the most important plays of the 20th century, 'and widely seen as one of the greatest plays ever written about the cost of war. 'Not just because it focuses on the little people – the victims of war. But it also examines how we are all corrupted by its values. 'Although Brecht wrote it about the thirty years' war in the 17th century, sadly, it's as relevant now as it was when it was written. It could just as easily be about what's happening in Ukraine this week. 'It's brutal, immediate, but full of characters we recognise. It's a play anybody can understand and probably see themselves in it. I am thrilled it's happening in Durham.' Mother Courage and Her Children runs at Horden Methodist church 14-24 May.
