THE ALAN SILLITOE SEASON 2012
Celebrating the life and work of Alan Sillitoe with a year-long season of Nottingham-based events.
The Alan Sillitoe Memorial Lunch
Saturday 21 April
Welbeck Banqueting Suite, West Bridgford, Nottingham
Enjoy a free welcome drink, lunch, displays on Alan’s life and work, and an entertaining after-dinner talk by our guest of honour, the award-winning crime writer John Harvey.
‘Saturday Night and Sunday Morning’ – The Musical
Tuesday 8 May – Saturday 12 May
Nottingham Playhouse
Alan’s iconic debut novel gets the musical treatment by local theatre company Musicworks.
Ticket prices: various.
Visit www.nottinghamplayhouse.co.uk for more details.
Musicworks website: www.musicworksnet.co.uk
‘Saturday Night and Sunday Morning’ – The Event
Saturday 30 June – film at 7.30pm, bands and DJ from 9pm
Nottingham Contemporary
Sunday 1 July – jazz brunch in the CaféBar, 11am – 3pm
A proper Nottingham Saturday night out followed by a chilled-out Sunday morning jazz breakfast. Join us for a screening of Karel Reisz’s Brit-grit classic film adaptation in The Space, then take it on over to the CaféBar for two of Nottingham’s bolshiest bands, The Smears (all-women punk outfit) and The Sleaford Mods (acerbic rap/rant), along with DJ Mista Shotta spinning classic vinyl from the 60s. Sunday morning’s jazz brunch comes complete with music from Nottingham’s mighty Ben Martin Trio.
Entry: £6 for the film screening; suggested donation to the Alan Sillitoe Memorial Fund for the gigs.
Visit www.nottinghamcontemporary.org for more details.
‘The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner’ + ‘Mimic’, introduced by William Ivory
Sunday 16 September, 1pm
Broadway Cinema, Nottingham
Join us for a screening of Tony Richardson’s classic adaptation of Alan’s anti-establishment novella, starring Tom Courtenay (in a career-making performance), Michael Redgrave, James Bolam and John Thaw. This year marks the 50th anniversary of film’s release, and with the Olympics having captured the country’s imagination for over the last month or so, what better time to consider an alternative evaluation of competitive sport?
The programme also features the national big-screen premiere of Sam Derby-Cooper’s short film ‘Mimic’, based on one of Alan’s most psychologically complex short stories (from the collection ‘Men, Women and Children’). Alan mentored the filmmakers during production and personally sanctioned the film’s distribution.
With comparatively few adaptations out there (of the fifty plus books Alan published, the adaptation ratio works out at four feature films, one short film and one TV drama), this is a great opportunity to see some excellent work on the silver screen. The event is introduced by local legend William Ivory, writer of ‘Common as Muck’, ‘Night Flight’ and ‘Made in Dagenham’.
This is a one-off screening at 1pm. Visit the Broadway’s website for more information: http://www.broadway.org.uk/events/film_the_loneliness_of_the_long_distance_runner_plus_mimic
‘Saturday Night and Sunday Morning’ – The Jazz Suite
Saturday 20 October
Lakeside Arts Centre, University of Nottingham
Following a stunning performance at Arnold’s Bonnington Theatre last year, composer/trombonist John Aram returns to Nottingham with his powerful and evocative jazz suite based on Alan’s novel.
Ticket prices: various.
Visit www.lakesidearts.org.uk for more details.
John Aram’s website: www.johnaram.com
‘The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner’ – The Play
Saturday 22 October – Monday 29 October
Nottingham Playhouse
Alan’s anti-authoritarian follow-up to ‘Saturday Night and Sunday Morning’ is adapted for the stage by acclaimed touring company Pilot Theatre.
Ticket prices: various.
Visit www.nottinghamplayhouse.co.uk for more details.
Pilot Theatre’s website: www.pilot-theatre.com
Alan Sillitoe Day 2012
Saturday 27 October, 11am – 5pm
Nottingham Contemporary
We’re incredibly excited to be launching the Sillitoe Trail mobile phone app commissioned by the BBC and the Arts Council as part of this year’s ground-breaking online arts project, The Space (go here for a panoply of Sillitoe-related material on The Space website). Additionally, Nottingham based publishers Five Leaves will be launching their re-press of Alan’s critically acclaimed novel ‘The Open Door’.
There will also be talks, videos and artwork exploring the themes and landscape’s of Alan Sillitoe’s Nottingham, with contributions from Billy Ivory, Michael Eaton, Al Needham, Ann Featherstone, Derrick Buttress, David Sillitoe, James Walker, Paul Fillingham, Pete Davis, Neil Fulwood and others.
This is a day-long event, from 11am – 5pm; the price is £15 (including a limited edition book) and tickets can be booked online (go here) or from the Nottingham Contemporary Shop. And why not stay with us for …
Sillitoe Night! Nottingham Contemporary’s Cafe/Bar will be hosting an evening of spoken word with attitude from Andrew ‘MulletProofPoet’ Graves, John Marriott, Sarah Shrugs, beatboxer Motormouf, as well as music from Sleaford Mods and local legends Gaffa. 8pm till midnight, entry free but a suggested donation of £3 to the Alan Sillitoe Memorial Fund will be encouraged on the door (although anyone joining us from the daytime events won’t be muscled for the three quid, honest!)
‘Saturday Night and Sunday Morning’ – The Exhibition
Saturday 17 November – Sunday 10 February 2013
Djanogly Gallery, Lakeside Arts Centre, University of Nottingham
Monday – Saturday: 11am – 5pm
Sundays/Bank Holidays: 12 – 4pm
Thematic exhibition, inspired by Alan’s novel and its classic big-screen adaptation, which explores the rise in cultural confidence among the working class, focusing on youth culture in the late 50s and early 60s through photography and innovative documentary films.
Entry: free.
Visit www.lakesidearts.org.uk for more details.
Please note: this list is not comprehensive, as more Alan Sillitoe related events will be happening in and around Nottingham throughout the year. Please bookmark this page and keep checking back for new events and more information.
