The Full English

On 23 April 2009, people in Beds, Herts and Bucks will be able to take part in a unique production to mark St George's Day, as it makes its way from the Milton Keynes Theatre to St Pancras station in London.

'The Full English' will be performed by renowned theatre company Hoipolloi and is designed to be a celebration of all things English, from tea and crumpets to tennis rackets and cakes.

Hoipolloi will start the production at the Milton Keynes Theatre, before boarding a double decker bus to Luton station where they will catch a specially decorated train to St Pancras, performing all the way!

On arrival at St Pancras International Station, they will be greeted by a 100 strong choir on the concourse, singing a new anthem for England, composed and conducted by young English composer Sam Dunkley.

Artistic Director Janet Robertson gives us exclusive access to what's going on behind the scenes in her blog!

7 April 2009

Today was the first day for the Young Film Crews to be out and about.

Working with a BBC crew, they captured the thoughts and words of everyday travellers in and around St Pancras. Their work will be on view online and on the screens in St Pancras station on 23rd April. Tomorrow the second crew will be let loose on Milton Keynes. It will be interesting to compare the two.

Today I was also asked how people with so many differing backgrounds could identify with Made in England - The Full English. It occurred to me that our sub-title 'The Full English' summed it all up perfectly. Just like the great breakfast plate itself, each item from eggs and beans, sausages and bacon to mushrooms and black pudding maintains its own individuality, while simultaneously building and adding essential flavour to the whole experience.

Just like the England we enjoy around us today.

6 April 2009

The recording happened, almost without a hitch, and we have the first draft of the Anthem. There is still lots of production work to happen - it all seems like some kind of deep magic to me - but I'm assured that all will be well in the end and I'm really looking forward to hearing the complete version.

The schools are all on holiday now and over 120 kids are at home with words and music to learn, ready for their next workshop sessions in the week of St George's Day.

The fashion students were working with the BBC film crew today as they build their ideas and thoughts for their Made in England statements. There is so much visual scope within the fashion world, it must be really quite a challenge to focus down on just one idea or one area. Feels like a whole project in itself!

Hoipolloi are back in the country and their ideas for their performance pieces are growing apace and are full of very engaging sideways views of the commonplace. Not to give too much away......the beginnings could be rubbish!

1 April 2009

It's the day before we record the Anthem. So far today we have changed plans no fewer than four times! It's great to be involved at the sharp end of the creative process but sometimes....it's really hard to keep up!

The weekend was busy with planning and work-shopping all over the place. Unfortunately, for logistical reasons, the Roundhouse team are not going to be able to join us for the event. We are now working with Camden Music Service who have been quite extraordinary in their determination to keep young musicians from their area involved.

It seems to me another example of what this project is about. Every interaction with the process, and I'm and sure the product, is part of reality of its outcome. The 'right then, let's get on and get it sorted, "We'll have a go" approach of the Camden team - led brilliantly by Deborah Rees - is so much part of the essence of "Made in England".

The journey to St George's Day is interesting and revealing....I wonder what will happen tomorrow...... You'll be the first to know, and the first to hear the Anthem once it's complete!

Thursday 26 March

A big day all round. The almost final version of the Anthem is on my phone! Today’s workshops were the last sessions to get the feedback and ideas input before we record it early next week. Once it is ready for sharing, this website will be the first place it will ever be heard – so keep your eyes and ears here!

Today was the first day of school music workshops in London and in Milton Keynes. The primary children were brilliant. They had a great time with Sam working on the final verse for the Anthem.

From the six and seven-year-olds of year one to the very grown up nine and ten-year-olds in year five, they loved finding their ideas and voices in the piece. As it came together for the first time, the sound, with over 120 children singing, was very moving. Watching them experience the power of belonging to something so much bigger than themselves saw the pride and ownership of their work shine through.

Kenny Forrest (project music practitioner) was working with the soul band in Milton Keynes who are very excited and delighted to have the opportunity to be involved in Made in England. In their words - “we are bringing the funk to this piece”.

This is a really talented group of young musicians and singers form a Performing Arts specialist college who have taken the themes of the Anthem and found their own expressions of self within it. Their performance on St George’s Day, as Hoipolloi emerge from Milton Keynes Theatre and the project launches in the Theatre Square, will be a cornerstone of the event.

The Animation is on track and happy – no need to worry at all. The outline for it shows a good fun, quirky, one minute piece that everyone can have on their phone as a great visual to go with a slice of the Anthem. Won’t say too much yet, but .... I’m excited. Again, it’s a really young team whose ideas for this make me laugh out loud. 

One of the last pieces of the project to slot into place is the screen that will show images from the project, and from the sources that inspired the project, at St Pancas station.

Again, keeping to our ‘arts by stealth’ approach, I am looking forward to the reactions of commuters to the work available to them as they pass the screen. It will be an interesting art installation, just watching them watching us, watching them, watching us........I feel a chicken and egg moment coming on!

The media have been fairly frothed up about the project so far. Not quite getting the point but still, great that England at large is talking about celebrating itself!

The Anthem is very much an Anthem. It is a song of celebration. It is completely English and it is completely new. So...it is a new anthem for England. It is not THE new anthem for England, just A new Anthem for England in the words and music of the ordinary people of England celebrating their everyday experiences......and it’s a good sing too!

Tuesday 24 March

The workshops with the schools and community groups start this weekend and arrangements are getting tight. Making sure that all the practitioners are in the right place at the right time with all the right equipment is not always a joy!

The young film crew's letters home have all gone out and they are in place and very excited to be able to work with the BBC crew. I'm sure their work will further inspire Hoipolloi when they begin the process of character creation later on in April. It’s a great reflection that so many young people are willing to give up their own time to input to this project – they are genuinely pleased to be working on it.

The images from the under 5s who took train trips into the countryside around East Anglia arrive tomorrow and I'm looking forward to seeing them. It's always a great surprise to see how our pre-schoolers see our world - usually there is a lot to learn from the view.

Sam has been in the studio today working on all the strands of the Anthem. The idea is that they will layer one on top of the other in one big celebration piece in the centre of St Pancras - instrumentalist and vocalists, tiny children and trained voices all offering an unexpected encounter for commuters.

Monday 23 March

One calendar month to go before the St George's day event and so far the project is in great shape. Hoipolloi's creative concepts are fantastic - real reflections of all the ideas that 'Made in England' has thrown up. As the professional company at the centre of this, their imaginative twists and turns are bringing real definition to everyone's work.

Sam (Sam Dunkley, the composer) is working hard on the Anthem. It's such a song of the people. I am so pleased that he agreed to work on this and was inspired by the idea. As a young, emerging folk musician, composer and vocalist he has just the right toolbox of skills to work on a piece to reflect the thoughts, hopes and dreams of the everyday. It's all about celebrating the ordinary realities of Englishness. He has captured very keen responses from all the communities he has consulted on their ideas of Englishness and Made in England.

The animation project is not as far forward as I had hoped. There will be an update at the end of this week – it will add such a nice, fun touch to the event!

Fashion students; jazz musicians; a whole Primary school; a professional theatre company; a soul band, young singers; young film makers; images from the under 5s and a great deal of the travelling public - what more could a creative response to 'Made in England' offer?

Janet will be updating us regularly so come back soon for the latest information!