BFI Collaboration of Cult Classics
Anyone under 40 who was born and bred on the Rotherhithe Peninsula would have grown up watching the regeneration of the Isle of Dogs; Canary Wharf in particular. First it was One Canada Square, the tallest building in the UK for 20 years, blinking its laser light out every second to make sure you knew it was there and how high it was. That monument to money was soon followed by other tall buildings until we arrived at the beautiful cityscape we have now, to look at from across the Thames, writes Michael Holland.
We had seen it all before, here in SE16. The docks closed, the associated industry collapsed soon after, people moved out to follow the jobs and most of the peninsula was a wasteland for ten years before our own regeneration began.
But we fought for the people, so most of the former dockland became low-level housing, new schools, community centres, a shopping mall and places where families could go to eat, drink and play. We even got woodlands! But all the time we had little reminders of that dock history; old wharves and warehouses, cranes, derricks and swing bridges were left behind, renovated and repurposed.
Canary Wharf is the same. Alongside those skyscrapers are the cranes and warehouses once used to load and store cargo.
So, coming from a dockworker family going back at least a century, I was very excited to be invited to an old cargo boat that had been transformed into an arts centre by Inigo Lapwood, who has been restoring and repairing historic ships for years, and Natalie Hill, who began her working life as a lawyer before turning to producing award-winning documentaries. A boat that for a hundred years was delivering grain to London.
Natalie was behind Stacey Dooley Investigates, and five series of The Apprentice, along with many other top programmes. She became involved in Theatreship when she thought ‘Inigo’s plan to turn an old cargo ship into a cinema, theatre, and music venue would make for a really interesting documentary… Then the more time I spent on the boat, Inigo’s enthusiasm was infectious and I ended up joining the project.’
Natalie now runs the film programme, amongst many other things: ‘It’s all hands-on deck when you grow a not-for-profit arts centre on an old ship!’ she explained.
For over two years, Inigo’s dream has seen Theatreship collaborate with the BFI on the work of Powell and Pressburger, and currently on BFI’s “Rip it Up” season.
Theatreship has a series of screenings celebrating the changing face of youth rebellion. It’s a dive into the youth-driven movements which have ‘defined our cultural identity, the agonies and ecstasies of growing up in Britain, and the issues facing the next generation’. As each film (selected by Natalie) has such a clear musical identity that is defining of the time, ‘we’ve paired each film with a live music performance (before or after the film) with young musicians who are paving the way to define their generation’.
The night I went along, it was The Beatles’ 1964 film, A Hard Day’s Night, which was nominated for two Oscars and got great reviews. I saw it on its release, when the band was at the height of Beatlemania, but even though the music is absolutely brilliant, the film itself does seem a little bit silly now. But that didn’t matter because I thought of my dad and all his workmates who could have once been in this ship’s hold unloading the cargo. They would have liked to have revisited this up-cycled version to watch John, Paul, George and Ringo.
I was also thinking about how the young audience (mainly musicians who had come to see the live band) reacted to the film. Being musos, they would have known of The Beatles, and how they influenced so many generations of bands that followed; Ozzy Osbourne says without them there would never have been a Black Sabbath; Oasis pretty much have The Beatles living in their heads; Nirvana, The Byrds, Queen, ELO, all say their inspiration came from Liverpool’s ‘Fab Four’.
And what did I pick up from the audience? Several of them came out saying the film’s catchphrase, ‘He’s very clean, isn’t he?’ in a Scouse accent. Although I’m sure they already knew the great songs.
The accompanying band for the evening was August, who did a short set before the film, that included a very distinctive version of And I Love Her, where they absolutely made it their own, plus Maxwell’s Silver Hammer, that they had a whole lot of fun with.
Their own tracks had a lot going on. It was trancey, jazzy, it rocked and they produced good harmonies as well as gave each other a chance to shine alone. I liked them and could have listened to more.
But Rip It Up is just one of the events that Theatreship hosts; there is a free Mystery Film night every Wednesday, curated by Natalie, who tells me, ‘What unites the films – which can span across the decades and different countries and genres – is a real warmth and engagement from the audience for a hidden gem or classic film they don’t know.
There are other collaborations: ‘I work with Abi Asisi on a Sapphic POC cinema night and have paired with Phase magazine for the BFI youth culture programme. This helps the ship work with programming for different demographics and tastes and stay welcoming to all.’
With free nights, and live music along with a cult classic for £7.85, I wondered how Theatreship stayed afloat: ‘We have a real focus on financial accessibility, with free music and cinema events every single week, and a no questions asked free or discounted ticket policy for all our programming – it’s really important to us that everyone can afford to come to any event onboard!’ says Natalie, adding, ‘I volunteer full-time for the project as does Inigo. We are really clear that we don’t want to push the costs onto the community via higher prices. Without arts funding and donations, independent venues like ours will risk shutting down, so we’re always working to try to get funding in so we can keep doing the work we do!’
Their volunteering, community spirit is contagious. I saw one woman checking tickets, taking photographs of the event, being a roadie for the band by clearing the stage, and doing the lighting! Bravo.
This is the information for the rest of the Rip It Up season, but the website tells a much bigger picture of life on board Theatreship.
Sunday 30th August
Film: Human Traffic, the definitive British cult comedy-drama, chronicles the chaotic, ecstasy-fuelled weekend of five twenty-something friends, with live music from atmospheric electronic trio Domina.
Tuesday 1st September
Music: Wasabi – Film: This Is England, Shane Meadows’ gritty classic followed by a live performance from shoegaze alt-band Wasabi.
Address: South Quay Plaza, Theatreship, London, E14 9SH
Booking and times: https://theatreship.co.uk/
