Persistent and Nasty

Episode 145: Annabel Logan by Persistent and Nasty

Today Elaine chats with director/writer Kelly Holmes.

They discuss all things horror, the process of getting a film made and their love of cinema.

Both Kelly and Elaine happened to be wearing the same t-shirt when they met via zoom. The brilliant Eat The Patriarchy tees from the great The Spark Company

Kelly Holmes

Director | Writer Kelly Holmes is inspired to make genre films that have a real emotional connection with her audience. She has developed an aesthetic approach to cinema, focussed on creating detailed worlds. Kelly is also interested in stories that push the boundaries of psychological reality and/or fit in her macabre view of the world.

Her shorts have won multiple awards at international film festivals and she has received Creative England/BFI funding, Creative Skillset funding, the Rafford Scholarship, television commissions, and won prizes in competitions such as the Enter the Pitch, and has been chosen for talent development on several schemes including the Reykjavik International Film Festival Talent Lab and BFI Network X BAFTA Crew.

Kelly has just completed her Creative England Emerging Talent/BFI and France 3 funded short ATTRITION, a WW1 supernatural drama set in the 1915 gas attacks. The film stars Edward Hogg (Taboo), Jack Roth (Bohemian Rhapsody), Lewis MacKinnon (Victoria) and Jack Parry-Jones (Our Girl). ATTRITION was broadcast on Armistice weekend on national French television in 2018.

Her Scottish short FAMILY PORTRAIT, a Victorian family drama about death portrait photography won the Paris Courts Devant postproduction prize, including being broadcast 3 times on France 3 television. And it has screened in over 50 film festivals winning 12 international film awards.

Kelly has also been mentored by director James Kent (Testament of Youth) and by director/writer Peter Strickland (Berberian Sound Studio, Duke of Burgandy) and also shadowed Douglas McKinnon (Doctor Who, Outlander) on Sherlock: The Abominable Bride.

Kelly is attached to two feature scripts, the first a 1960s menopausal body horror in development with BFI Network, and second a dystopian plague drama set in the far north of Scotland. She is also in development with Blazing Griffin on a single TV drama based on a true-life story.

She holds a BA and MA in Film Theory and MFA in Advanced Film Directing. She has also taught film theory and practice for 14 years as a Senior Lecturer at institutions including the University of Derby and works on BFI Film Academy Residentials in Edinburgh teaching filmmaking to 16-19 year olds.

Website: kellyholmesdirector.com

Twitter: @kellydirector

Instagram: @kelly_director

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Resources

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https://www.artsminds.co.uk/

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IT’S SPOOKY SEASON

Elaine chats with the wonderful Scottish actress and singer Therese Bradley. The two chat everything from horror movies, to rediscovering your joy. Motherhood and in particular coming back to the industry after having a baby and being a carer in the many different forms that role takes for a child or for elderly relatives.

Therese Bradley

Scottish actor and singer. Who has worked extensively in television and film. Best known for her work in Outcast, Young Adam, Peaky Blinders, Vigil, Outlander, The Curse and to many Scottish viewers River City. Therese also sang with world famous DJ’s touring Japan. A brilliant, captivating performer.

Twitter:@therese_bradley

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Resources

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https://rapecrisisni.org.uk/

https://rapecrisis.org.uk/

https://www.artsminds.co.uk/

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https://freelancersmaketheatrework.com/sexual-violence-support-services/

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Today Elaine and Louise chat with the brilliant playwright Sara Shaarawi. They chat Sara’s new play Sister Radio which is touring Scotland right now and is a co-production between Stellar Quines and Pitlochry Theatre . The play is about Sisters Fatemeh and Shirin have been living together, in the same flat in Edinburgh, for 43 years. In this flat they cook, read their coffee grains, listen to the radio, and try to remember their childhoods in Tehran but they no longer talk to one another. When a global pandemic hits and the sisters are locked in their flat, they are forced to reckon with their memories of a betrayal that changed the course of their relationship. The trio also discuss the lack of visible and vocal support from the theatrical community regarding the events in Iran

We as Persistent and Nast know we need to do more and wish to make a call out to our theatres in Scotland to discuss what we can do to help.

Sara Shaarawi

A playwright from Cairo, based in Glasgow. Sara has received development support from the National Theatre of Scotland, Creative Scotland, Playwrights’ Studio Scotland, the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Edinburgh International Festival. Has had her work read at the Tron Theatre (Glasgow), Traverse Theatre (Edinburgh), Village Pub Theatre (Edinburgh), Platform (Easterhouse), Rich Mix (London) and the CCA (Glasgow), and I’ve had plays produced internationally in Germany, South Africa and Uganda. In 2017, she began to take on producing projects, most notably project managing the Arab Arts Focus showcase at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and partnering with the Workers Theatre to crowdfund and create Megaphone, a new bursary aimed at supporting artists of colour based in Scotland. Sara was Executive Director of Highlight Arts between 2019 -2021 and often work as an administrator for small film festivals in Glasgow. In 2021, her first play Niqabi Ninja was produced by Independent Arts Project (Edinburgh) in association with Hewar Company (Alexandria), it opened at Shubbak Festival in London, followed by a Scotland-wide tour and a run at the Edinburgh International Festival.

Twitter: @StellarQuines

Instagram: @stellarquines

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Resources

https://www.samaritans.org/?nation=scotland

http://www.rapecrisisscotland.org.uk/

https://rapecrisisni.org.uk/

https://rapecrisis.org.uk/

https://www.artsminds.co.uk/

https://www.bapam.org.uk/

https://freelancersmaketheatrework.com/sexual-violence-support-services/

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IT’S SPOOKY SEASON

Elaine and Louise chat with the incredible Jordan & Skinner. Otherwise known as theatre maker Melanie Jordan and director and artistic director of Stellar Quines Caitlin Skinner. We chat about their new show THE TIME MACHINE (click for tickets/date/venues).

A feminist retelling. The four have a brilliant and inspiring conversation

Melanie Jordan

Melanie is an actor, director and theatre maker based in Glasgow who makes performance in theatres, on screens and on the streets which is visually driven, physically dynamic and exposes our shared humanity with curiosity and humour. Melanie is Physical Theatre Practitioner with Surge and co-Artistic Director of feminist theatre company Jordan & Skinner.

Melanie creates devised small-mid scale touring productions, and works with both professionals and communities. She specialises in Physical Theatre, Circus, Street Performance and Clown, and teaches across Scotland and internationally.

Caitlin Skinner

Artistic Director & Chief Executive Officer of Stellar Quines Theatre Company.

Caitlin joined Stellar Quines in April 2021. She is also one half of feminist theatre company Jordan & Skinner and director of new writing theatre company Pearlfisher. She was formerly Artistic Director of the Village Pub Theatre and Associate Director at Theatre. Her recent directing credits include Distance Remaining by Stewart Melton (Helen Milne Productions) Alone by Janey Godley (National Theatre of Scotland) Five from Inside by Rona Munro (Traverse Theatre). She was also recently Associate Director on Lament for Sheku Bayoh by Hannah Lavery (National Theatre of Scotland).

Website: Jordan & Skinner

Instagram: @jordanandskinner

Twitter:@joandskin

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Resources

https://www.samaritans.org/?nation=scotland

http://www.rapecrisisscotland.org.uk/

https://rapecrisisni.org.uk/

https://rapecrisis.org.uk/

https://www.artsminds.co.uk/

https://www.bapam.org.uk/

https://freelancersmaketheatrework.com/sexual-violence-support-services/

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The Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2022 series

Elaine chats to the creators of Two Fingers Up Gina Donnelly and Seòn Simpson. How the show came to be, sex education, female masturbation. The pleasure if enjoying your own body and more.

TW: there is mention of an assault case from Northern Ireland.

Two Fingers Up

What do you remember of sex education and puberty? Or at least, what can you remember that you haven’t blotted out? For many we were given the archaic and established believes that our parents and grandparents were told; of how to act, what to shave and what not to do, with much of the suggestions being a way to ‘control’ our bodies – that’s right, we’re talking abstinence. Unapologetic, unfiltered, and uncompromising, Two Fingers Up grasps the audience by the unmentionables and drags them down to the confusing level of adolescence. And shifting from young girls of ten into teenage years, Sarah Reid, Orla Graham and Shannon Wilkinson transmogrify themselves through the experiences and confusions. As the dynamics of the production move forward, the emotional integrity shifts from comedic, to intimacy, to revolutionary and a call of action and acceptance. Seón Simpson and Gina Donnelly’s writing has a precision of understanding in an eloquent (and not so eloquent) manner, but the direction in places needs a tighter fisted approach – particularly in the shows more aggressive sequences. Disconnecting any personal bias from the agreement with what the writing covers, Two Fingers Up contains itself as a well-developed and crafted piece of theatre. Not only this, but the production also works well as a piece of film – streaming over demand for Summerhall. Gavin Pedan’s filmmaking retains the authenticity of the stage while allowing a few snippet changes in camera angles to draw audiences closer to the facial expression of the cast. And outside of the occasional lighting change, Oisín Jayat’s sound design brings additional erratic momentum to the production .The energetic trio bound around the stage, utilising the space to its fullest in their exploration of humour and jest. As expected, comedy is the centrefold holding together the meticulous commentary and shoe-string narrative. Playing multiple roles, crossing age milestones, and experiencing the wonders of masturbation, love and their first dick pics, the performances form accessibility to the audience with exuberant expression, timing, and accessibility. But this doesn’t devalue the fear and anxieties present in young women in Northern Ireland. The trio effortlessly conveys the impending dread to a nation with systemic issues of religious impressions onto sex education and freedoms. They challenge the stigma of sex and women in Northern Ireland head-on and do so while infusing a sterling understanding and belief in Seón Simpson and Gina Donnelly’s writing. They openly grasp the idiotic notion of denied pleasure, or the idea of pain and ‘first-time’ sex in women, broaching an openness with the audience to discover themselves.

SHOW: TICKETS

INSTAGRAM: @uptwofingers

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Resources

https://www.samaritans.org/?nation=scotland

http://www.rapecrisisscotland.org.uk/

https://rapecrisisni.org.uk/

https://rapecrisis.org.uk/

https://www.artsminds.co.uk/

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https://freelancersmaketheatrework.com/sexual-violence-support-services/

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The Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2022 series

Elaine chats with director Katie Jackson about their new play Visiting Cezanne. We chat the industry as a whole, coming through the pandemic, being nonbinary in the arts and much more.

Visiting Cezanne

How does an artist keep going when all seems hopeless? Seeking an answer, a failed artist in New York visits the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2016. From there she unexpectedly travels to an artist’s studio in southern France in 1900. She desperately wants to get back to her home in 2016 but Paul Cezanne, another obscure artist with his own problems, is not being helpful. Also ensnared in this crisis are Cezanne’s gardener and an art historian from Utah. This play's creative team is Glasgow-based.

SHOW: TICKETS

WEBSITE: redrovertheatre.com

KATIE JACKSON

Katie is a theatre director based between Glasgow and London. Having started out as a stage manager, Katie has worked professionally in theatre since 2014 and started to move into directing in 2019.During the pandemic, they relocated to Glasgow to study at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, completing a Master of Fine Arts Degree in January 2022.

Katie's directing leans heavily into exploring naturalism on stage and delving into the realities of everyday existence for everyday people. When not directing, Katie works in the care sector, supporting vulnerable adults.

Website: katiejacksondirector.com

Instagram: @katie_jax

Twitter: @katie_jax

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Resources

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https://rapecrisis.org.uk/

https://www.artsminds.co.uk/

https://www.bapam.org.uk/

https://freelancersmaketheatrework.com/sexual-violence-support-services/

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The Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2022 series

Elaine chats with director Jen McGregor and actor Catherine Bissett about their new play The Masks of Oscar Wilde. A great conversation about covering many things from queer culture to pushing buttons with theatre to make people really think.

The Masks of Oscar Wilde

Man of letters. Aesthete. Victorian moralist. Playwright. Oscar Wilde wore many masks. But as a well–meaning professor and his eager student trace the life of the legendary writer, it becomes clear there may be more masks waiting in the shadows. As they dig deeper, we begin to wonder. Are they hiding something? What if some masks are better left in the shadows? A test of wits, of "truth", and an examination of the fabulous and scandal-ridden life of Oscar Wilde and the man behind the masks.

SHOW: TICKETS

INSTAGRAM: @matchmakertp

TWITTER: MatchmakerTP

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Resources

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https://www.artsminds.co.uk/

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The Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2022 series

Elaine chats with Celeste Cahn. Celeste is a writer performer for America. We chat Celeste’s new play, women pleasure and much more.

A Lady Does Not Scratch Her Crotch

Once upon a time, there was a young girl – not a princess or a pretty girl waiting to be one. No dress fanned out as she sat. She could barely sit in a dress. She saw no happily ever after on the horizon. Fresh from New York, ‘Cahn's sincerity and sharp humour are truly winning – I couldn’t stop laughing through the entire show’ (TheEasy.com). From princesses to periods, a look at gender, sexuality, and the near impossibility of growing up.

SHOW: TICKETS

INSTAGRAM: @ladydoesnotscratch

TWITTER: @doesnotscratch

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Resources

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https://www.artsminds.co.uk/

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The Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2022 series

Elaine chats with Emilia and Meg Beech of The Oxford Bells. An A Capella group bring fierce feminist songs to the Edinburgh fringe. We talk feminist songs, what singing, and music means to us and how our feminism is moving and should always be inclusive.

I’ll Tell You Mine

A musical coming-of-age journey. There’s a song for every stage of life, and for every relationship in it – the one you have with your mum, your friends, your partners, your exes, yourself. Follow Oxford’s original all-female-identifying a cappella group through the mess and the magic of being a woman. With a set spanning seven decades of pop history, featuring everything from Whitney Houston classics to Olivia Rodrigo chart-toppers, there’s something for everyone. We all have a story – if you tell me yours, I’ll tell you mine.

SHOW: TICKETS

INSTAGRAM: @oxfordbelles

TIKTOK: @oxfordbelles

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Resources

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https://rapecrisis.org.uk/

https://www.artsminds.co.uk/

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