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Terry O’Donovan on A Ballad of Thamesmead
As part of the Greenwich and Docklands International Festival, award-winning theatre company Dante or Die will be presenting A Ballad of Thamesmead, an outdoor, site-specific production that focuses on the clocktower at Thamesmead. The event is free to attend and is created in collaboration with the local community. We were delighted to ask Co-Artistic Director Terry O’Donovan to tell us about what promises to be an exciting evening of performance, music and light.
Hi Terry. Thanks very much for talking to us today about A Ballad of Thamesmead. Can you tell us about how Dante or Die came to get involved in the project?
I got a call from GDIF’s Artistic Director, Bradley Hemmings, earlier this year. We were mid rehearsals for Kiss Marry Kill and he asked if we would consider making a new production around the clocktower in Thamesmead. I had directed a show in GDIF back in 2015 but Dante or Die have never collaborated before so we jumped at the chance to make a new site-based piece.
What is the production about?
A Ballad of Thamesmead is about how the people who live in Thamesmead feel about their hometown. We start off reflecting on how the clocktower came to be there – it was gifted to ‘the town of the future’ from Deptford in 1986 and a town was built around it. Through interviews with local people and an architect who is part of the town planning team we jump back to the beginnings of Thamesmead, through the ups and downs of the area and look to the future of this distinctive part of London that that offers so much. Thinking about architecture and the people who then inhabit those ideas we asked our designer to create a miniature version of Thamesmead and he’s built a gorgeous mini model that can float in the canal.
And the title tells us it’s a ballad, so what does that entail?
When I first started researching the area I was struck by the natural world that is a key part of the architecture: lakes, wildlife, horses… And the kind of folkloric stories from the area. So I began listening to folk music as I read about the area and learning about how it was envisioned to be such a beacon of positive living. It made sense to me to write music reflecting on the past and peering into the future. I stumbled across a podcast called British Folk Music: Where are all the black people created by Marie Bashiru. I reached out to Marie and it happened that she grew up in the area – in Abbey Wood – and she came onboard as our balladeer. She’s been writing original songs inspired by our conversations and is creating an intricate soundscape interwoven with local people’s voices.
Dante or Die are renowned for their site-specific work. What about this location particularly spoke to you when you were devising the piece?
This really feels like going back to our roots. We saw the clocktower and said: we need to have a singer up there. We looked at the canal and said – we need a performer in there. It’s been a real joy to think about transforming a space that people inhabit every day without much thought for its beauty. We’ve been devising there for the last few weeks and it’s been truly magical to chat to local people about what we’re doing. We’re recording conversations as we go and they’re being embedded into the sound design. We’ve always looked at the human within buildings and spaces, and this piece does exactly that.
What are the challenges of working on an outdoor project like this?
There are restrictions aplenty, and hoops to jump through to do what you want to do. Getting access to the clocktower has been months of hard labour, ladder training and risk assessments from our team and the incredible production team at GDIF. And now that we’re almost at performance time we’re figuring out wet weather, windy weather, whatever weather plans. Whatever the weather we’ll have a show.
And what do you think it will mean to the community itself to have their home celebrated in this way?
It’s been a huge privilege to meet so many people from the area and hear their reflections on the past and their hopes for the future of Thamesmead. I hope that we represent a wide array of peoples’ views. One of the most wonderful parts of creating the show has been collaborating with Thamesmead Community Choir who are performing with us. Their voices are key to representing the community.
I hope that people feel that their town centre is transformed into a shimmering, beautiful place for two magical evenings – and that that magic lingers on for the years to come.
Many thanks to Terry for telling us about what promises to be a spectacular event! The Ballad of Thamesmead takes place as part of the Greenwich and Docklands International Festival on 6 & 7 September, 8.30pm. Tickets are free for Thamesmead & Royal Borough of Greenwich residents and just £5 otherwise; but should be booked in advance. Details can be found here.
