The 'Quiet Little Englishman' on Stage!

Monday, 16 July 2007      Blog Category:  George Groves News
Liverpool Capital of Culture 2008
Every year since Athens in 1985, a city in Europe has been designated as the European City or Capital of Culture and next year will be Liverpool's turn. Since winning the prestigious title in 2003, the Liverpool Culture Company have been very active preparing for the 2008 celebrations and have just announced the 'Liverpool Commissions '. These are eleven brand new works of art which will be showcased throughout the year. One of the commissions is a theatre production called The Quiet Little Englishman which will be about our very own George Groves and his pioneering sound film work.

For the last two years playwright Esther Wilson and her colleagues at Zho Visual Theatre have been developing their proposal, researching George's story and applying for funding. They've won their commission from the LCC despite considerable competition and will subsequently share in £500,000 of funding. Esther writes that they still have some way to go as they plan to create a "huge multi-media event on a 'film lot' "  which will incorporate a sound installation, live music, dance and theatre. Matching funding will be required from other bodies but they are confident that they'll succeed. The director will be Paula Simm whose currently directing a show in Portugal.

This is fantastic news and congratulations to Esther and all at Zho. I will, of course, be reporting any developments in this blog. You can read more about the Liverpool Commissions here and here.