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Last night I told someone on here, who i also know in real life, that i really like her art.
She said she didn't even know I'd seen it.
She's great. So, if I remember, every day I'm going to shout out an artist I've come across in my career - @yorkshirepost Arts Editor 2004 -2014
She said she didn't even know I'd seen it.
She's great. So, if I remember, every day I'm going to shout out an artist I've come across in my career - @yorkshirepost Arts Editor 2004 -2014
Playwright since 2010, screenwriter since 2014, radio presenter since 2013 - that's a lot of artists I've met, worked with, written about. I hate some of the things about this site, and the state of the world so I'm going to put something positive in. Here we go.
1: @lizipatch: she inspired this so starting with her. Tireless leader of @CityVarieties youth theatre. Her energy is amazing. She writes scripts with real candour and, recently, paints stunning pieces of art! Check her out on Instagram @lizipatchartist.
I assistant directed one of her scripts (2011ish?) and loved her raw emotional energy. She's a dynamo.
2: (this list will be so random!).
@ChrisConnel actor. I used to see him a lot @HullTruck and is one of the finest comic actors I've seen. He did this monologue in a Richard Bean play that had me gasping. It was Up On Roof 2006, when i was at theatre about 4 nights a week.
@ChrisConnel actor. I used to see him a lot @HullTruck and is one of the finest comic actors I've seen. He did this monologue in a Richard Bean play that had me gasping. It was Up On Roof 2006, when i was at theatre about 4 nights a week.
He was so good I considered driving to Hull (140miles round trip) to see him do that one monologue on my one night off. Comic timing off the charts, a lovely bloke and can play intense/scary very convincingly too!
3: @BalvinderSopal - how could I not? The first time I ever directed anything, little 10 mins extract for @wearepeshkar, was with Bal. I've worked with her whenever I had the chance. Fierce, funny, sensitive intelligent, I'm delighted she's landed a regular role as Suki in...
@bbceastenders she totally deserves it. But what makes her great is her commitment and dedication, her passion for the art of acting and her understanding of why her work matters to a community. Seeing her in my own plays is always a thrill. An inspiration. Love her to bits!
4: @emergentp: I wish I had the words to explain to Pauline how much I admire her. A Rambert trained dancer who met when she choreographed a play I was in for @RedLadderTC she is a true artist. Her resilience is extraordinarily inspiring. Her one woman show What If I Told You...
Felt like it had been dragged from her very soul. As a choreographer her energy is passionate and fearsome but as a performer she is tenderness itself. She knocks down any walls in front of her and always she goes on. A wonder woman.
5: time for a big one.
@iain_bloomfield. Where to start? I've written about him a lot over the years @yorkshirepost. When he was running Theatre in the Mill in Bradford he was generosity itself. People would go to him and he would simply give them belief in themselves and say
@iain_bloomfield. Where to start? I've written about him a lot over the years @yorkshirepost. When he was running Theatre in the Mill in Bradford he was generosity itself. People would go to him and he would simply give them belief in themselves and say
"yep, here are the keys to the building". He birthed a Lot of companies doing this. I was sad but pleased for him when he launched his own company. He is Always interested in making interesting, challenging work and has had a major impact on Yorkshire theatre. A real good 'un.
6: @natsbellino Fu.Knee.Bones. Nat is the most incredible clown, she really is. I had the joy of directing her the first time I ever directed a full play (it was disastrous, I didn't know my arse from my elbow). One of the joyful things about that project was working with Nat.
I since reviewed her work with @UncannyTheatre and her clowning is unbelievably compelling. She's also just a really warm, watchable, lovely actor - and human. I really like Nat!
7: RUTTER! @BarrieRutter, a man known by a single moniker and one that earns every one of its capped-up letters. Legend. Because Northern Broadsides became so established, it's possible to forget how anti-establishment it was to put the Bard in Yorkshire (gasp) tongue. Man's a
revolutionary. His fire and passion never once dimmed - he often wanted my head on a plate for things I'd written, and told me - because he cares. He also appears here because I happen to have a big exclusive with him in tomorrow's @yorkshirepost! Icon. We're blessed to have him.
8: Dave Toole. Didn't expect to be doing one like this - I first saw Dave in DV8's The Cost of Living in 2003. He was such a powerful dancer. He went on to fly at the Olympics and I came to know him as a Leeds stalwart. I knew him, but can't claim to know him as closely as others
whose tributes you'll see over the coming days. He's passed away and is a massive loss. To get a measure of him, look at the love he left behind, it's all over social media. If what survives of us is love, then Dave Toole leaves a hell of a legacy.
9: @MezMezula I think she's been in four or five of my plays now. Like a couple of other actors, I've written parts specifically for Mez. I first saw her on stage playing Juliet @BradPlayhouse in 2006 and immediately saw someone with ridiculous amounts of stage presence...
it was impossible not to watch her. She recently signed with agency @NorthofWatford and I wouldn't be surprised if she started appearing in TV shows soon. She's also a dancer, singer, theatremaker: she's a proper artist, hugely rewarding to work with her!
10: @BPMonkey. When I started this I wanted to put something nice in the world, big up some people in the arts world I've come across and maybe sing for some who are unsung. Ivan is a tech genius kinda dude (I don't know a lot about tech) who has had many many artists place their
babies (shows) in his hands. And he's just a total dude about it. He's calm, solid, dependable and very, very good. A Lot of artists will nod their heads at this one. The Bradford Theatre in the Mill tech dude is...he's a total dude. One who it is a delight to have on your team.
11: @Emmabob3. She is, simply, one of the best humans you could hope to meet. She paints these beautiful delicate little sketches, writes blogs and the like with the fury and passion of a warrior, and her plays, Oh my days - you know sometimes when you see someone else's play and
you just think: "I literally couldn't imagine what that person has just conjured up!". That's what it's like watching her scripts. Literally nobody else could write the dreamlike wonder fantasies she writes. She's epic is Emma. Also a very inspiring teacher by all accounts.
12: @kamal_kaan where to start!? I don't remember when we first met, but soon afterwards I wrote a part for him. He's won awards for his performance in my play The Chef Show - incredibly deserved, his performances in it are just beautiful and he has this incredible, intense
vulnerability that is utterly magnetic on stage. He's also a writer with a poet's heart, lyrical and wonderful. He's a really special one is Kamal.
12: @piglungs Chris Thorpe has it. You know that thing when someone is on stage and you just feel safe, in good hands, because this is someone who just Knows what they're doing? That's the experience of watching Chris. I've seen a number of his shows over the years and always
leave feeling inspired and like I've learnt something. But honestly it's that command on stage that is really quite something. I don't know how he does it, but it's bloody impressive to witness it first hand.
13: a reminder that this is in no particular order, in fact is totally random! @RedDixon57! I've had the enormous privilege of have Rod direct my work And he cast me in the Red Ladder production of Promised Land, which changed my life. I've reviewed his work for years and he is
only ever interested in making an audience think and feel. His Mother Courage with @PaulineMcLynn1 was stunning. I bet he doesn't really know how many lives he's had an impact on with his work. Plus he's proper mad. A director who will always go to bat for you. Legend.
14: @AmandaHuxtable some people I've come across in my two decades of writing about the arts in the North are inspiring just by virtue of being themselves. Like Amanda. She - entirely deservedly - stepped into the shoes of Dawn Walton @eclipsetcl this year and she is the perfect
person to run it, but that's not why she's on my list. She's here because she has just kept going, one foot in front of the other, making work, building a career, being an artist. Her dedication to her craft and to building a career in the arts in the North - inspiring.
15: Michael Hugo (who I can't find on twitter!). I saw him in @mca_debbie's Accidental Death of an Anarchist by Northern Broadsides back in 2008 in that dirty beautiful Viaduct theatre in Halifax. It was a comic performance that I don't think I've seen bettered. I couldn't help
but think it must have been like watching Rowan Atkinson doing those early stage performances at the Ed Fringe. Hugo is an other-worldly rubber faced clown whose performance stays with me. I just wish I could see him more often on stage. He has an astounding gift.
16: @mattangove. A member of the Slung Low familu. They all have a Wild amount of different skills and, obviously, at some point this list will feature the gang's leader, but today it's gotta be Matt. One of the stalwarts of the company who makes stuff happen, who keeps a level..
head, who makes the mad magical ideas the company dreams up, reality. He's one of a Lot of people who crack on behind the scenes to makes Yorkshire theatre great. He's a good bloke is Matt.
Ps: more on @SlungLow in today's @yorkshirepost https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/arts-and-culture/theatre-and-stage/why-leeds-based-theatre-company-slung-low-modern-day-inspiration-3019216
Ps: more on @SlungLow in today's @yorkshirepost https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/arts-and-culture/theatre-and-stage/why-leeds-based-theatre-company-slung-low-modern-day-inspiration-3019216
17: @mca_debbie. In 2004 I saw Northern Broadsides' The Bells by a promising writer called Deb McAndrew. It was exciting to interview her because she was off the telly! Met Deb and immediately warmed to one of the loveliest most genuine folk I've met in the industry...
Her plays kept getting better. Her Accidental Death of an Anarchist is a major highlight of two decades of reviewing.
Just so happens that tonight is the premiere of The Call @claybodytheatre, a new project I she asked me to work on - i was so chuffed! https://claybodytheatre.com/the-call/
Just so happens that tonight is the premiere of The Call @claybodytheatre, a new project I she asked me to work on - i was so chuffed! https://claybodytheatre.com/the-call/
18: @watson_dance: I got to know Sharon before she started running Phoenix Dance in 2009, but it was when she took over the international Leeds based dance company that I got to see up close how impressive she is. She took over Phoenix after a bonkers couple of years with the
previous person in charge and she righted the ship. Without her leadership we might have lost a world class dance company that's vital to our cultural fabric. She now trains the future of dance at Northern Dance. One of our most impressive cultural leaders. And man can she dance.
19: @WorksWithWords I feel like we need a really epic one today. A reminder there are good people. Most folk in this list are those I've come across in my capacity as a journalist, but back in 2010 I was selected for a @bbcwritersroom scheme and won the lottery: aka got Lisa as..
a mentor. Four years later I was writing on Emmerdale. The most inspiring, brilliant, caring, insightful mentor you could ask for. As a friend she's incredible, as a human she's like all the Avengers in one awesome package. Here's how good:she makes me believe in goodness. Today.
20: @ProducerBev - she's in the news today and she would have gone on my list at some point anyway! I first met Emma when she was working with an extraordinary producing house, DepArts, that had a major impact on the cultural landscape. When she went on to work with Selina...
Thompson and Eclipse i was incredibly impressed - she's one of a few young producers who came into Leeds about a decade ago and had this massive impact. Her work is literally internationally recognised - she's a real powerhouse of Yorkshire culture.
21: @AmyLetman is another one who I happen to have written about in today's @yorkshirepost. I first met Amy in Hull at a city wide show staged by @SlungLow in 2011. She arrived to be producer at the Leeds Playhouse where, within a few years she had turned Transform into a mini...
... festival that had a massive impact. I'm still amazed at the work producers do and it's thanks to people like Amy that some really boundary pushing work gets made. Yet another of the behind the scenes people that make stuff happen in Yorkshire. https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/whats-on/arts-and-entertainment/how-transform-festival-brings-creative-adventure-yorkshire-3026823
22: @NikolaiFoster. I think I first met Nikolai in 2007 when he was directing Bollywood Jane at the Leeds Playhouse. I've always loved Nikolai and his story - he's an ordinary lad from near where I'm from who happens to be a brilliant director who can paint beautiful big stage...
pictures. I really liked his Bollywood Jane, I Loved his Animal Farm and I will always remember his Amadeus @crucibletheatre in '07 for it's extraordinary power. I was delighted when he got the top job at the Curve, but he has made a heck of an impact on Yorkshire theatre.
23: @dukeofbeeston. Mark might not even know how big an influence he has had on Yorkshire theatre (and on me personally!). He mainly writes television these dates, but I remember interviewing him @yorkshirepost when his debut Sunbeam Terrace was at the Playhouse and realising...
then that he was a bit different to people I'd come across in theatre. His play Crap Dad, in 2004, had this beautiful moment where the cast sang Tender and it still gives me goosebumps. As a teacher he's inspired writers across Yorkshire - I first started writing at his class!
24: @AnnaJaneCasey. The first time I met Anna Jane was in 2011 when she was in Company with Dan Evans at Sheffield Crucible and you know when you just click with someone? She's got this incredible energy about her. She's so charismatic off stage and then on stage that charisma...
goes into overdrive. Genuinely one of the loveliest people I've interviewed @yorkshirepost and I went on to watch her dazzle on stage in Annie Get Your Gun, Flowers for Mrs Harris, Calendar Girls, all sorts. She's proper is Anna Jane - and a proper stage star. She's great.
25: @exitthelemming. I got to know Sam pretty well when he was running Sheffield Theatres. It was always going to be tough to follow Michael Grandage into that role, but Sam did something a bit special in Sheffield. He brought real glamour, a proper splash of showbiz but also...
he programmed with real blazing intelligence. Thanks to his willingness to challenge his audience we got some stunning productions there when he was running it from 05 - 07. Caryl Churchill's A Number with his dad was Beautiful. He should have been given a lot longer in the job.
26: @goldfinchgazer Sarah has been such a fixture of my career as a reviewer @yorkshirepost.
I've seen her in plays by Broadsides, by Godber, I've seen her in York and in Scarborough and in the brilliant Richard Bean's Pub Quiz Is Life in Hull: she's a Yorkshire stalwart....
I've seen her in plays by Broadsides, by Godber, I've seen her in York and in Scarborough and in the brilliant Richard Bean's Pub Quiz Is Life in Hull: she's a Yorkshire stalwart....
One of those actors you see on stage and think: "We're in for a good time here tonight." Never seen her turn in a bad performance and she always does something mischievous, with a glint in her eye that lets you know she's having fun and tells the audience to do the same.
27: @Darren_Kuppan. Again, none of this is in order! I first saw Darren on stage in @AmandaPlays lovely Bollywood Jane. He had loads of stage charisma and it was remarkable to watch him command the stage as the lead in what was more or less one of his first roles. I went on to...
have the privilege of having Darren in my play Partition and what was so impressive to see was his brilliant work ethic. I realised that was why he'd got that early role and gone on to do some great work - he's incredibly committed and a joy to work with.
28: @dermot_daly. I've not seen as much of Dermot's work as I'd like, but I'm really looking forward to his directing of Red Ladder's new production My Voice Was Heard. He's one of those people who I got to know just as a result of being around the Yorkshire theatre scene...
He's a great example of why Yorkshire theatre is so welcoming - he's just a really lovely bloke with a properly nice vibe and even though I don't know that we've sat and broken bread together, I always smile when I see him in a room. Yorkshire theatre. Friendly faces. Lovely.
29: @The_AsifKhan now this is a story all about how...we should build each other up. Asif is a Bradford lad who is an actor but also a writer with projects in theatre and TV. Bit like me without the actor bit! I was first aware of Asif as an actor in Freedom Studios' stuff with..
the inspirational Madani Younis. That an Asian lad from Bradford trained at RADA and later acted @TheRSC is a Really important story. I've charted his story and work in @yorkshirepost and long may it continue. Really interested in / excited to keep sharing Asif's success story!
30: @TanyaVital what you need to understand about Tanya is that she is the physical embodiment of determination. I first met Tanya when she was creating short films and little 'interventions' with Chicken Shop Shakespeare. She'd already had impressive success as an actor....
A regular role on Emmerdale etc. When we met I really admired the way she decided she'd JFDI with her colleagues and Chicken Shop Shakespeare. She's still at it now, doing all sorts of self-started digital projects that are beyond my understanding. A little powerhouse!
31: @tanyamoodie. This list is about people I've come across while covering Yorkshire theatre for nearly two decades and some might be a bit surprised to see Tanya here. It would be weird to me if she wasn't on the list. In 2003 I saw her play Medea @LeedsPlayhouse and...
interviewed her about it for @LeedsNews
The experience of watching her and interviewing her remain among the most intense of my career. She breathed and lived that role and pulled the audience in in a way I've rarely seen. If I could watch one performance again, it would be that.
The experience of watching her and interviewing her remain among the most intense of my career. She breathed and lived that role and pulled the audience in in a way I've rarely seen. If I could watch one performance again, it would be that.
32: @AlexanderKelly. Today I feel like I want to give all the Tier 3 devastated theatres/companies a hug. I can't, but I can keep doing this.
Watching Alex on stage is like being in the company of your really lovely friend who just happens to be a brilliant storyteller...
Watching Alex on stage is like being in the company of your really lovely friend who just happens to be a brilliant storyteller...
He runs Third Angel with Rachael Walton beautifully. I first saw The Lad Lit Project in 2005 and instantly just fell in love with the way he invited you into his one man show by virtue of being such a welcoming storyteller. Class of '76 is one of my favourite one man shows ever!
33: @darrenbakerart. Most of these shout outs are about theatre folk, because that's the area I've specialised in. But if you don't know Darren, you should. I first came across Darren way, way back when he was having one of this first exhibitions in Huddersfield...
Immediately I really liked him, but more than that, I realised it was one of my first meetings with an obsessive, truly great artist. He's got enormous talent, but what makes him great is his obsessive dedication to his craft. It's incredibly inspiring. Little wonder he has...
Become so highly regarded. And he is still incredibly modest and all his well deserved success has had no dent on his total dedication to his craft. I don't speak to him as much these days, but he still inspires me - a lot! An actual great artist, a humble bloke, a Yorkshire lad!
34: @thegcfoundation. I realised that just because she's no longer with us, this list would be redundant if it didn't include Geraldine Connor. I don't need to say much about the mother genius who birthed Carnival Messiah. If you don't know her (unlikely) https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/arts-and-culture/geraldine-connor-tropical-storm-energy-behind-new-reggae-musical-1973712
You know her legacy. That's because while the work she created when she was with us was extraordinary, her legacy is felt across Yorkshire, the UK and globally in the multitude of artists she inspired. There's no point writing more, she was far bigger than 280 characters.
35: @jagsanghera1. He's a lovely bloke is Jag. I first came across him when he was starting out and I asked him to be in my first short film in....2010/11ish? We often talk about Jag at home - he's much admired round our place for his determination. He's always known what he...
Wants to achieve with his work as an actor and he works bloody hard at achieving it. In a world that's always looking for brown blokes to play "Terrorist 1" he's managing to find his path on screen.
He's great in @aadhand debut short film, out next year. I really believe in Jag!
He's great in @aadhand debut short film, out next year. I really believe in Jag!
36: @JamesMcLean5 obviously the mighty Mikron folk will appear on this list, but I have to shout out James. A Mikron stalwart, he's also a bit of a Yorkshire fixture and he's one of those actors who has the ability to welcome and audience into a performance/show. The sort of
Performer who the audience just instantly warm to. He's also a really enthusiastic supporter of Yorkshire theatre and others in the industry - which really isn't always a given!
37: @ArchivingAlanA might seem a surprising one, and you might not know him, but he does an absolutely stirling job. Simon is Sir Alan's official archivist. I personally reckon we don't really appreciate Sir A enough. Because he's up there in Scarborough, being prolific and
making it look easy I think we take him for granted. Simon does a brilliant - really thoughtful actually - job of telling us the story of why we shouldn't. Check out the archive and you'll see what I mean. He's a real champion for Yorkshire theatre, doing what he does.
38: @alicenut1 - back in 2006 I saw Alice's first (or maybe early?) play Foxes at the Playhouse. With that play, she discovered her voice as a writer and she just. Took. Off. It is So impressive what she has achieved in her writing career and she really inspires me. Her work...
ethic is really something - it feels like she's the epitome of the adage of perspiration and inspiration. She probably doesn't even know how much she inspires me. She's a brilliant thing for Yorkshire's creative scene.
39: @LeedsPlayhouse. I wasn't going to do venues, and I do love all the venues we have in Yorkshire, but as everyone is posting about the Playhouse's 50th birthday, I reckon I can justify including it. What's amazing, heartening and inspiring is to keep hearing the stories of..
how much the Playhouse means to people. I first stood on the stage when I was 15 and screwed up my audition for the National Youth Theatre. Fortunately I've forged a million happier memories since. It's a special, special place.
40: Dominic Gately. I'm pretty sure Dom doesn't do social media, but I totally want to include him. I think I first saw him in @dukeofbeeston's Scuffer and he was such a menacing presence on stage. I took a punt and asked him to be in my first short film back in 2010 and to my...
surprise and joy he said yes! - and I discovered while he can play menacing brilliantly, he is an actor of enormous sensitivity and intelligence. I've loved watching him over the years, in my work (thrilling!) and particularly in @MPeakeOfficial's Beryl.
Lovely actor and man!
Lovely actor and man!
41: @kasharshad Bradfordian, half-Asian, I relate a lot to Kash! I first started seeing him around the Yorkshire theatre scene a few years back and was really pleased when he directed my Slung Low Shorts play in 2016. In the last few years his directing career...
has really stepped up a gear and he's done some brilliant work with the likes of Freedom Studios. What I admire most about Kash is his commitment and work ethic. He just keeps going building an impressive body of work. I love it when I see his name pop up in different theatres!
