Lung Theatre’s Matt Woodhead on Calling Barnsley
Here at ET Towers we’re always keen to hear about the latest adventure from LUNG. Over the years they have created some extraordinary documentary-based productions that have given visibility and voice to hugely underrepresented stories and demographics. Now it appears they’re doing something involving a phone box? Your guess is as good as ours, so we called up writer and director Matt Woodhead to ask about their latest project.
Hi Matt. Great to speak to you again. I think the last time was when your show The Children’s Inquiry was winning our Etties Award for Best Musical. Great choice if I say so myself… So, that production used the voices of children in care to tell a deeply profound and impactful story. Can you tell us about Calling Barnsley and what it plans to do with voices?
Eep! A HUGE thank you for the Ettie! We were all dancing up and down when we heard the news. The cast absolutely worked their socks off, it’s gorgeous for them to be recognised in this way!
Our next project – Calling Barnsley – is something entirely different. Helen (Monks, Co-Director of LUNG) and I have interviewed people from across Barnsley, to find the untold stories of the borough. So far, we’ve collected 30 monologues that have been performed by actors and put into a classic red phone box. Yorkshire is a county that is proud of its mining past. This project pays homage to these stories, but also asks ‘Whose voices have gone unheard?’
Where is this phone box going to be and who will have access to it?
The phone box is open and free for everyone to access. It is currently sitting at The Civic Theatre in Barnsley. If you are in town, come on down, pick up the receiver and hear who is on the other side!
Whose stories are being told, and how did you research and compile them all?
Calling Barnsley is like a big box of chocolates – each story is totally different. Dial one number and you’ll hear a 999 responder confess the stress of the job. Dial another, you’ll hear tales of a sumo wrestler. Dial again and you’ll step inside the world of a daughter caring for her dad. Just like a walk through Barnsley town, you never know what you’re going to get.
A phone box is a really retro, usually redundant object; how does that idea fit with the various stories being actively shared?
I know this makes me sound like a w**ker, but history is not in the past; we live with it every day. One story in the phone box is from a young lad in Goldthorpe who saw the burning of the effigy of Margaret Thatcher. The scars of the miners’ strikes are still felt in Barnsley today, but we also need to look forward. The phone box is the perfect container for these stories. It pays homage to the old whilst also celebrating the new.
You’ve also set up some wraparound activities and workshops connected to the project. Can you tell us a bit about them and how they extend the impact of the work?
This whole project has been co-created with 14 incredible students at Barnsley College. For the last 18 months they have acted as Creative Associates, shaping our vision. Our fabulous Engagement Officer Rachael Walton has also facilitated over 20 workshops across Barnsley, asking people to write and share a story that matters to them. Everyone has a story to tell, people sometimes just need someone to listen.
What have responses to Calling Barnsley been like so far?
The response to Calling Barnsley has been completely overwhelming! So much so, we are touring the phone box to community centres across Barnsley this autumn. We’re also gassed that the stories will be published by Faber & Faber this autumn. So watch this space!
Thanks very much to Matt for telling us all about this brilliant installation. Calling Barnsley was Commissioned and Funded by Storying Barnsley, in partnership with Barnsley College and Barnsley Civic. The phone box is free to use and will be at Barnsley Civic until the end of May so why not drop by and listen in?
