What lessons can the past teach us? How best can we learn from the experiences of others, and just how important is the role of memory and storytelling in shaping our narratives of the present and future? An exciting new venture dedicated to capturing the memories of retired variety entertainers aims to inspire a new generation of young performers. This is a Dovetail Original Project with a significant focus on training and education.
The Royal Variety Performance celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2012, and now a group of budding entertainers are preparing to explore the history of this fascinating art form while learning the skills and techniques that will help them develop the potential to create their own imaginative projects in the future.
Young actors from the Manchester-based MaD Theatre Company have been invited to meet and interview performers from variety’s bygone ‘Golden Age’. Memories of the retired performers, all residents at Brinsworth House in Twickenham, will be captured on film.
Otherwise known as ‘The Old Pro’s Paradise’, Brinsworth is the dedicated nursing home of the Entertainment Artistes’ Benevolent Fund, and each year the Royal Variety Performance is held in aid of EABF. All its residents are retired members of the entertainment profession and their dependents. In its focus on relationships between former variety artists and young performers, one of the project’s aims is to foster mutual respect between these two groups and to highlight the value and relevance of intergenerational links.
Training and mentoring are important elements of all Dovetail projects. Variety of Memories has been created by Dovetail to provide an opportunity for young people to learn about their heritage and about the importance of capturing memories in 'living history'. The project will include training in interview techniques and specifically in gathering oral history. They young people will learn how to create and manage an archive with workshops at Salford University. They will also learn about the history of variety performance through working with Gina Frost and John Topliff at 3MT (The Three Minute Theatre) in Manchester’s Northern Quarter.
As always, the creation and management of effective working partnerships between individuals and organisations are an essential component of Dovetail’s work in encouraging creativity through facilitating the sharing of ideas, skills and expertise.
Partners: Brinsworth House, MaD Theatre and 3MT.
Funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, All Our Stories.