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Beast Market: A verbatim theatre, photography, video and creative writing project exploring themes of community, diversity and cultural change within our West Yorkshire town.

“I was just overcome with joy when I sat and watched someone deliver my story, even better than I had done, but yet I could still see myself in her. How lovely to see the cast act real peoples’ characters - their voices, their stories, their experiences and their journeys. I think I have learnt a lot from this production and would like to see ‘Beast Market’on tour, so that other places and people can relate to this wonderful production in their own way.” Angie Smith: interviewee featured in Beast Market

Click here to see images and pictures from Beast Market

Huddersfield Literature Festival Poetry Competition Winners

Photographs from the Beast Market Project by Amanda Crowther were at the core of a competition organised as part of the 2008 Huddersfield Literature Festival. Budding creative writers were asked to subnit poems, songs and raps in response to some of the photographs. Here are the winning entries.

Man, leaving by Sally Baker

You walk down the staircase
barely touching the red walls,
towards a light so clear it could be five a.m.
You walk down the staircase
carrying nothing, as if you needed nothing
on your journey from kitchen to world,
a coffee cup still warm on the table,
a plate with half a slice of toast.
You leave behind a woman whose alarm
is set for seven, when she will rise
and struggle into the day in a blue overall,
sit at a checkout for hours
until her head pounds and her legs itch.
You go quietly, forgetting
the warm bed and her warm arms,
her dream of being a sea creature,
her fluid body swimming through the dark,
because outside is a new morning
and you want to burst into it,
like you’ve been submerged all your life
and have suddenly lifted your head
above the surface and breathed a first breath.

The Hooded Man by Mark Jervis

'We're employed by the Government. The more we're seen, the more intimidated the public feel. We frighten people so much that they'll gladly swallow anything the government throws at them if it means we’re kept under control. Extra taxes on booze and fags; CCTV; identity Cards; curfews; the DNA database - people would never swallow the erosion of their civil liberties like that if they weren't kept in perpetual terror by the likes of us loitering on street corners.'

                                                  As Tagnut was taking all this in, they were stopped by a woman who asked if she could take their picture. Jez agreed enthusiastically but the prospect worried Tagnut and he took Jez to one side as the woman set up her camera.

‘Are you sure this is a good idea Jez?’

‘Of course, it’s great exposure. Gobber will love it.’

‘But what if my parents see the picture? How do I explain why I’m dressed like this?’

‘They’ll never think it’s you. Just pull your cap down and put your hood up. Here, have one of these’ he handed Tagnut a cigarette.

‘I don’t smoke’ he said.

‘I know, but I haven’t got any herbal cigarettes left. The lads upstairs usually roll them for us – they’re completely non-toxic and look and smell like spliffs. You’ll have to make do with this for the photo. Just hold it in your mouth so that your hand obscures the lower part of your face. No-one will recognise you.’

The woman said she was ready. When the photograph was taken Jez bobbed around in the background making the chord of A flat on an imaginary cello. Tagnut glared into the camera with the most menacing expression he could manage as he tried not to choke on the cigarette.

He didn’t feel very menacing. He just wondered what on earth he’d got involved in.

The Market by Angi Holder

I pause to rest the woven basket,
heavy with aubergines and sweet potatoes,
guava, melon, fragrant mangoes.
It makes my shoulders ache.
Nearby, my wife selects pearl buttons
from a tray, matches thread
to silken fabric, soft and peacock blue.

I wait, and glimpse across the crowded market
four girls in saris; they make a beaded necklace
of amethyst, of garnet, topaz, ruby,
strung between their guardian aunts,
black robed and sombre.
They pause to buy whole mace and ginger,
chilli, pungent cardamom.
The vendor twists each paper cone, exchanges
aromatic cinnamon for tarnished coins.
I watch; the youngest girl looks up and
hides a smile behind her slender fingertips,
looks away. The gesture is familiar.
I saw it on my wedding day, the same dark eyes
peering through the scarlet voile,
the painted nails and bangled arms,
the garlands of aster and marigold.
The air weighted with jasmine and sandalwood.

My wife drops buttons, threads, into the basket,
trickles English coins into a leather purse.
You look a million miles away, she says.
No, not that far. But many years ago.
For this is no Mumbai bazaar, but Huddersfield,
where beneath the teeming Yorkshire sky
I saw four girls in saris, a beaded necklace
strung between their guardian aunts.

Photographic Exhibition at The Medialounge, The Media
Centre, Huddersfield, May 1st 2008 – May 30th 2008.

A marvellous preview night attracted over forty visitors and
featured a performance from Chol theatre, four readings from
members of a creative writing team from AIM and of course
walls of the best photographs from the Beast Market project.

In the following weeks over 300 people saw the exhibition and
plans are to show the pieces in local venues in the coming
years.

If you would like to see some of the images click here.....

Background to Beast Market Theatre Production

World Premiere: Main stage Lawrence Batley Theatre, Huddersfield

Wednesday 12th – Friday 14th March 2008

Huddersfield 2008. An ordinary town in Yorkshire or at the centre of
world events? In the view of some, the old Beast Market's seen
better days, but can the new communities cast a different light on
what it means to be British in the 21st century?

In this powerful new piece of verbatim theatre Chol Theatre gathers
the diverse voices of Huddersfield to take a fresh, funny and frank
look at what's happening under the surface of this Pennine town.

A state of the nation piece blending storytelling, images, movement
and live music, Beast Market is the voice of modern British urban
community.

The piece is directed by Andrew Loretto, previously director of the
National Student Drama Festival and Bradford’s Theatre in the Mill.

He says it was very much the project he wanted to do when he
arrived at Chol Theatre, which is based at the LBT.

“I was very keen to do something by, about and with Huddersfield,
” he says. “The Huddersfield voice is not out there and I wanted to
show the town’s stories in a piece of theatre,” he says.

Eighteen months of work produced a wealth of material in interviews
with all sorts of people who frequent the streets around Beast
Market and the open market.Traders, shoppers, homeless people,
restaurant customers and police officers were recorded. Even
Kirklees Council leader Robert Light and Huddersfield vicar Catherine
Ogle got in on the act.Views ranged from anarchist to the far-right,
although Andrew says the aim was to be non-judgmental.

“We asked them to talk about how they feel about being here, how
it’s changed and what they’d like to see. “It’s celebratory and is
very positive in tone. But it also addresses social concerns through
honest conversation.” says Andrew.

The result has been distilled into a piece of what Chol calls verbatim
theatre, performed by six actors. It’s edited, but the meanings of
what the interviewees said are unaltered.

Throughout the research and development process, freelance
photographer Amanda Crowther has produced an archival collection
of photographic images celebrating the Beast Market area and those
who live, work and play in the area.

Click here to see images and pictures from Beast Market

Production team

Director: Andrew Loretto
Producer: Susan Burns
Composer/Musician: Giuliano Modarelli
Designer: Emma Wee
Lighting: Douglas Kuhrt
Movement Director: Dominic Leclerc
Research: Cheryl Roberts-Creaghan & Mandeep Kaur Samra
Photography: Amanda Crowther
Script: Susan Burns and Andrew Loretto
Stage Manager: Hannah Mills
Video designer: Shanaz Gulzar
Voice Coach/musician: Eilon Morris

Admin: Roohi Sarwar
Marketing: Amanda Crowther & Ben Baughan
Project Assistant: Ben Baughan
Editing assistant: Rebecca Legg
ASM intern: Rupert Philbrick
Sound intern: Adam Martin
Signer: Alan Haythornthwaite