Blog Post 13 - A Five-Day Permission To Retreat And Nourish the Imagination

Its that five days of grace that some of us choose between Christmas and New Year and maybe some have forced upon us. A collective pause between the past and the future for a large number of people. Of course the world still turns with those that keep things going on our behalf, and those just 'getting through it'.

For many of us though unlike the staggering of summer holidays, this pause is different  perhaps because we know that others are experiencing it too. Its the one time of year when you can imagine what the vast majority of the population will be doing, certainly between 12 -8 on Christmas day. We know that many people will be surrounded by turkey, chocolates, crackers, silly hats, charades and new socks. This ubiquitous homing instinct in sharp contrast to those left out, picked up by organisations like Crisis who promise a hot meal, a hair cut and a new set of clothes. The  connections and the distances between people more keenly felt.

Its hard to do much work anyway in the pause but the exchange of emails and the pressures of deadlines do ease thankfully. Its a wonderful excuse to retreat into new books and scoff leftovers in front of a film you've wanted to see for a year.In spite of the resuming of January speed and demanded productivity looming ahead along with diets and frugality, many of us can give ourselves permission to be in the present moment for this short period, at least for a couple of these days. My friend Ria wrote a status on her Facebook page the other day

'Reading and snoozing and vice versa. What a perfect, perfect day!'    Kinda said it really.

For almost two years I faithfully got up early every day to write my blog post.There seemed a lot to write about. Its eased off a bit now. It was a ritual that I relished. It reflected a huge shift in my life, from one way of being and living to another. From almost thirty years in one space at Arc to a root and branch transformation into the life I now live. From a way of being that appeared to have a predictable trajectory through the rites of passage and beyond, the comfort of a feeling of familiarity and belonging to the now previously unrecognisable interior and exterior universes. 

Of course that sense of security is ultimately an illusion  - an attempt to steady the unrelenting flow of things. Nothing brought this closer to home to me than the recent death of my friend and colleague Joss. The presence of his absence is  palpable, not least in the many emails and texts I still need to refer to as eery instructions on the execution of his company's remaining work. His voice mails still fresh from only a few weeks ago.  An honour to caretake with Jules and Rachel, but with a certain responsibility to ensure its safe passage on Joss' behalf. It wasn't in his narrative nor mine - this thing - his so soon leaving. 

I really love this time for reflection and imagination. The pause that allows free reign to surrender to the butterflies of ideas that pop up unexpectedly into my head, demanding at least a little attention and consideration. Some are frankly very fragile and unlikely to ever be more than chrysalises, whilst others give me a rush of excitement and energy - that they will almost certainly manifest themselves one way or another before the year is out. Often this is simply in the act of sharing them with another person or two. I love the way an inkling of an idea can be shared, grow and spark a hundred others when the creative juices get going with the right others. I guess that's been one of the joys in what I cannot deny has been the scariest two years of my life.

Grace and Phoebe-
 Photo by their talented cousin Abigail Oliver

Starting a creative enterprise from scratch again after having done so 30 years ago with Arc is either an act of madness or faith, or maybe both. When the invisible promises perhaps to never become visible you have to hold on with gritted teeth to the knowledge that life is ever in ebb and flow and as Richard Keyes says in his poem 'Hokusai Says' - let life live through you. Easier said than done. And yet I am getting the hang of that. And I have some dear friends who are particularly skilled at this. I have always found it in the rehearsal room, where collective energy and creativity give rise to the most unexpected delights, but now its a very vibrant and conscious awareness and surrender to the adventure. Letting go of a certain control freakery from having led an organisation for a long time is refreshing in so many ways. Old rules don't apply any more, and the invitation to create has been stronger than ever and the encouragement from others at times breathtaking.

I am inspired by family, old friends and new

Nan and Edgar leave their mark

who believe in the art of the possible. So on Christmas day for the first time in my life I wasn't one of those sitting at the Christmas dinner table. It was my first Christmas day spent on my own with my mum and dad since I was two years old (imagine that!). We crept into the Boathouse cafe and played over mince pies, scratchy 78's and a cuppa.  Their belief in the possibility of the adventure was wonderful, funny and playful. They signed my ever-growing tablecloth of names, often adorned with quirky little comments. It felt like we stepped outside our own conventions - it was fun and great credit to the character and ongoing vitality of my parents.

And yet again on another of my days of grace this week, I sat with three people in the candlelit soulfulness of the Boathouse cafe, aware of the silence of the sleeping offices. Some of you may remember the talented young composer, Iqra Zamen who played her own composition at the launch of the Boathouse in October? Well she visited, as she sometimes does to play the piano. Alongside her and a plate of mince pies and lemon madeira cake three of us gathered. A motley crew indeed. One -  the anonymous commissioner of a new composition by Iqra for the 2015 50th anniversary of Barking and Dagenham which I am delighted to be part of  - and the other - Naz, a new friend I met and got talking to in the Red Cross Charity shop last month. 

THERE"S ALWAYS A PLACE TO GO
 Miro Tomarkin http://www.saatchiart.com/mirotomarkin

We found ourselves together at the BH to talk about how we could support Iqra in her development as a talented emerging composer and pianist. She played some Eric Satie and we listened to her rough draft of the composition which she says is inspired by the movement of the water of the river, and the graves in St Margaret's churchyard. We talked about grandmothers, pianos, Lahore and school, ate a few more biscuits and went home.

And then there is Miro - a wonderful painter and Cultural Connector for Creative Barking and Dagenham who pitched up with the gift of  one off print of the above painting to my surprise and delight!  MIRO will become the art curator for our galleries in the new year as well as mounting his own show in March. He has a great garden too, and I woke up in the early hours of boxing day inspired to make a garden in the boat on the terrace of the Boathouse Cafe. Exploring planted boats produced many imaginative examples - and the conversation has begun with Kathy Mason, a local grower of organic herbs and vegetables, and with Miro about making a cottage garden in a boat. I like the simplicity of that, and its certainly one of the 'retreat' ideas that is achievable next spring. 

That's it really. A starting from scratch again, learning from the love and joy of the years at Arc and ready to pick up the pace when I need to shortly. But before then, two more days in retreat and nourishment of the imagination. Thanks to those who are sharing these present moments with me.

Wishing you a joyful, creative and surprising New Year. 

T' arrah for now. 

Guest Blog: Jules Tipton - Associate Director, Present Moment Theatre. On the death of our friend and colleague Joss Bennathan

I am very pleased to welcome Jules Tipton as my guest blogger today. She writes below of her long and fulfilling working partnership with Joss Bennathan. Over to you Jules:

In August 2009 I received a phone call from Joss Bennathan – would I consider becoming his Associate Director for Present Moment’s forthcoming production of ‘Doctor Faustus’?

I’d known Joss socially since 1999 & had seen many of his edgy productions of classic texts, making them accessible & contemporary for new audiences. I’d worked for him on Newham’s Gifted & Talented devised theatre projects where we took groups of year 9 students from across the borough and devised a piece of theatre in 3 days, which they performed on the 4^th – in the main space at Stratford Circus.

We had bonded on our commitment to working with young people, and stretching them – demanding their focus, assuming their commitment to a shared goal, working with other young people who shared that commitment, from outside their geographical area – often beyond their comfort zones, & ultimately raising their aspirations & achievement.

I didn’t have to think twice, and in October 2009 we began auditions for the professional company of 7 actors, and – which has most bearing on Theatre Lab – an ensemble of 10 acting interns who would work alongside the professionals. I had the responsibility of working independently to support these young men through their own creative journeys, as part of the larger process: working on text, character and delivering the professionalism that working with Joss Bennathan demanded.

Yes, they found the process challenging. Yes, there were some issues around punctuality & rehearsal room discipline in the early stages – but nobody buckled. But yes, they achieved – on comparative levels to the actors who had spent 3 years in training.There was no dumbing down of expectation

The point of this story? The success of this model is what Present Moment Theatre Lab was based upon. Taking young people from outer London boroughs and giving them an experience which was professionally supported, and professionally demanding, using the same professional approach that Joss took when rehearsing any of the Present Moment Productions, or those he was engaged in for Birmingham School of Acting, or for Greenwich Playhouse, or Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts; at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe or numerous London fringe theatres.

The young people who have participated directly in Present Moment Theatre Lab 2013 & 2014, and those who have seen the productions in the participating schools have engaged in something which will leave a lasting impression. The English teachers who have participated in “Shakespeare & Beyond”: introducing rehearsal room techniques into the English teaching classroom, or those who have  accessed the educational resource packs for both Midsummer Night’s Dream & The Tempest, will have benefitted – and so will those young people whom they teach.It’s like ripples in a pool – far reaching & on-going, developing.

In 2014 Present Moment Theatre Lab expanded – more young people were offered the opportunity to participate, across more London boroughs. With 2 casts rehearsing simultaneously there was the potential to tour more widely.But also we offered “added value”: as a way of documenting & reflecting on their arts journey the cast were all offered the opportunity to engage in Trinity Laban’s Arts Award programme, at Bronze level, or to add to their portfolio for their Silver Arts Award which they were doing at school.

'Arts Award is a range of unique qualifications that support anyone up to 25 grow as artists and arts leaders, inspiring them to connect with and take part in the wider arts world through taking challenges in an art form - from fashion to film making, pottery to poetry.Through Arts Award young people gain a nationally recognised qualification enabling them to progress into further education and employment.' taken from the Arts Awards website http://www.artsaward.org.uk/site/?id=1346

We are proud that, alongside the rigours of rehearsal, learning lines in a complex language that was new to many of them, discovering ways of tackling the verse, and dealing with life that goes on around this process – including getting GCSE & A/S level results in the middle of it – young people engaged with this Arts Award – through which I am proud to have supported them & assessed their portfolios. 

The project received a resounding endorsement from the external Arts Award assessor:

“A fantastic project rich in opportunities for the young people’s individual development”

And it with great sadness that I find myself writing this for my dear friend and so very talented Colleague. I am proud to be part of the transition team working to ensure the continuation of Joss' legacy.


Jules Tipton - Associate Director - Present Moment Theatre. December 2014.

Blog Post 12: Excellence is a habit: Personal reflections on the death of my friend - Joss Bennathan, Artistic Director Present Moment Theatre.

The group of young people in this photo look pretty happy with themselves. And so they should. This was taken on 27th September at the Boathouse, Barking and captures the energy of the day and indeed of the whole project. These excited smiley faces belong to some of the 27 young actors who took part in the Present Moment Theatre Lab production of The Tempest this summer, directed by the company's Artistic Director - Joss Bennathan.

Joss Bennathan. April 2 1958 - November  26th 2014

It was a feat of innovation, creative imagination, endurance and acute intelligence. I was privileged to work on the project with Joss and a fantastic team of theatre practitioners, who sought to give these young actors from 8 north east London schools the experience of being in a professional theatre production. Indeed for some the experience of being in their very first theatre piece.

It was with deep sadness that we were told of Joss' death by his children, Ella and Matt on Wednesday, November 26th. Joss died peacefully surrounded by his family after a brief illness borne with great dignity and bravery. The following article appeared in the Evening Standard Londoner's Diary on Thursday 28th November

Fond memories of Joss Bennathan

“This is going to take you to a very dark place but fear not. I know how to bring you back,” director Joss Bennathan told his actors last year. After a short illness the teacher and theatre maker, son of late Marxist historian Eric Hobsbawm and brother of Editorial Intelligence’s Julia, died on Wednesday at just 56.

“I cannot stress enough how much I admired and respected him,” said Munira Mirza, London’s deputy mayor for education and culture, who was involved in Bennathan’s Present Moment Theatre Lab project, which puts on Shakespeare plays with east London schoolchildren.
“He spoke with conviction about how drama teaching could raise its game. He believed in the need for theatre which transforms young people’s world view and helps them transcend their own experience.”

I have known Joss for over 20 years and as well as colleagues we were close friends. We met at a mutual friend's party in 1992 when Joss was Curriculum Leader at New Rush Hall School in Redbridge. It was at this time he was thinking seriously about leaving teaching and becoming a freelance director and teacher trainer. We hit it off immediately and had a great deal in common. Our conversation, intense, robust and usually challenging went on for much of the past 22 years. 

Soon after leaving New Rush Hall Joss joined Arc as an Associate Director and remained so until his death. He worked for us extensively, writing support materials for teachers and directing and performing in a number of pieces over many years. In this role he brought a great deal to the company, with his ability to act as a bridge between the worlds of education and the theatre. And in particular drama education. 

Joss always had a huge commitment to disadvantaged young people, believing in the power of drama and theatre to unlock potential and encourage their 'seeing' of the world from a wide range of perspectives, rather than getting locked in immediate experience. He was a firm believer in the potential for excellence.This was at the heart of his desire to work with young people to enter the world of Shakespeare, to reveal it to them through the process of dynamic rehearsal. 
                                  

Joss and I also had a special 'peer' relationship as directors.  Never more so than when he set up Present Moment Theatre in 1999. Directors are a funny breed, very protective about our work and sometimes reticent to let other directors into our rehearsal rooms. I am never entirely sure of why this is, maybe its a level of vulnerability, perhaps a nervousness about exposing the mess and emotions that often rear their heads in rehearsal, an innate protection of the actors ? In spite of this rather 'precious' tendency Joss and I supported each other enormously, whether by coming up with ways of approaching a text, exercises, casting, or simply as critical friends in each other's rehearsals. We always had a sense of commonality and an artistic comradeship.

And Joss was a personal friend too for all those years. He was very good at friendship, as all those close to him would tell you. Indeed over the past eight weeks of his illness as well as the huge love and support of his family - he was surrounded by many friends, either in person or through the endless text messages and emails which I know gave him comfort. This was a testament to his enduring ability to 'show' up for his friends.  Over the years he would check in with me regularly, particularly if he hadn't heard from me for a while, and he'd invite me over for dinner where we would vacillate between stories of our children and those of our work challenges. Joss was truly a loyal friend.

For the first time this summer I found myself working for Joss rather than the other way round. It was strange initially and indeed I got to see him in action close up in a way that I hadn't quite before. He was a hard task master no doubt - tough on the professionals and on the young people. He always had the goal in mind - a transformational experience through theatre for actors and audience. He passionately believed in inviting his young actors into the world of the play, in this case of The Tempest, revealing to them the universality and connectedness of the characters, ideas and themes and bringing the play alive to them. There is a certain prophetic irony too that The Tempest should be Joss' last play as indeed it was Shakespeare's - as is clearly pointed in Prospero's final speech.

Now my charms are all o'erthrown,
what strength I have's mine own,
Which is most faint: now, 'tis true,
I must be here confined by you,
Or sent to Naples. Let me not,
Since I have my dukedom got
And pardon'd the deceiver, dwell
In this bare island by your spell;
But release me from my bands
With the help of your good hands:
Gentle breath of yours my sails
Must fill, or else my project fails,
Which was to please. Now I want
Spirits to enforce, art to enchant,
And my ending is despair,
Unless I be relieved by prayer,
Which pierces so that it assaults
Mercy itself and frees all faults.
As you from crimes would pardon'd be,
Let your indulgence set me free. 

Cemone Collins as Prospero in The Tempest. Photo by Claire Williams 

I find it hard to believe that Joss left so quickly. Only on the 20th September were we presenting the GALA performance of the piece at RADA and on the 27th we gathered at The Boathouse to evaluate the experience. Two days later Joss was showing signs of his illness. In the short few weeks that followed he worked like a trojan, went to New York and was texting and emailing until a couple of days before he died. He was concerned to tie up loose ends and to ensure the safe passage of his Present Moment projects. It was extraordinary to see that he could not leave until he was sure of his legacy. And we promised him we would look after it for him.    

Sam Palmer as Prospero In The Tempest. Photo by Claire Williams

Of course this is all secondary to the loss experienced by his children, Ella and Matt and their partners, and his two beloved granddaughters, the youngest who was born in May this year, his mother and indeed all of his large family. Joss was a very proud father and grandfather and we often regaled each other with funny and touching stories about our respective children.


I will miss my friend enormously and will do my best with Ella, Matt, Rae, Jules, Mike and Mary to ensure that we do justice to Joss' work going forward, although we recognise that his was a unique voice in drama and education. He would wish to be remembered as having left a mark on generations of teachers and young people as well as the audiences who so much appreciated his bringing to life of classic texts. 


Goodbye my friend.


Joss' funeral takes place next Friday - December 12th in North London.