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Dash Arts Podcast
Our Public House: The Country at a Crossroads
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Join us on the road as we travel the length and breadth of England to hear what people want to change. In communities across Cornwall, Yorkshire, Norfolk, the North West, South East and the Midlands, we’re supporting people to write and deliver speeches on what difference they want to see.
Robust public debate and the freedom to make arguments and counterarguments are essential to democracy. Today, however, political dispute is ever more sectarian and angry, fears of misinformation are widespread and political discussion is often confined to groups of the like-minded talking to each other online.
Together with our partners at the Universities of Birmingham and East Anglia, we’ve been exploring this 'crisis of rhetoric' throughout the year with a series of workshops exploring persuasive speaking across diverse communities in England. Our research will eventually lead to Our Public House, a state-of-the-nation theatre production, inspired by the speeches and writing of our national participants, from writer Jude Christian and director Josephine Burton.
Book your tickets for Speak Out! - a series of live events in Manchester (21 & 22 November) and London (23 November), where we’re bringing together participants from our workshops, speechwriters, activists, politicians and academics to explore speech making's ability to provoke, persuade and empower.
In the podcast we’re grateful to hear from:
Participants from Underground Lights, Coventry, St Hilda’s Community Centre, Tower Hamlets, HMP Styal, The Writers' Block, Redruth, Arbourthorne Men’s Social Club, Sheffield, Manchester Deaf Centre and Citizens UK, Brighton.
Josephine Burton - Artistic Director of Dash Arts
Professor Alan Finlayson - Professor of Political and Social Theory at the University of East Anglia
Henriette van der Blom - Reader in Ancient History at the University of Birmingham
Cristina Catalina - Senior Producer
Marie Horner - Podcast Producer
Jude Christian - Writer and Director
Our Public House is funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), Arts Council England, Three Monkies Trust, and individual giving.
More episodes
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The Reckoning: Why Now?
44:34|In the third episode on the journey towards our production, The Reckoning, Dash’s Artistic Director, Josephine Burton is in conversation with Rory Finnin, Professor of Ukrainian Studies at the University of Cambridge. Interspersed by some short performances from the developing script, the two discuss the creative process behind the making of the production, rooted in testimonies taken from survivors from the Russian war in Ukraine. Support this year’s Big Give: Help Bring Reckoning to Life and Double Your Impact!Help Dash Arts bring The Reckoning to life, a powerful documentary-style production based on Ukrainian testimonies. Premiering in 2025 and marking three years of war, The Reckoning will spark vital conversations on the impact of war and possibility of restorative justice. Your donation will be doubled during the Big Give Christmas Challenge which is live from Tuesday 3 to Tuesday 10 December. Please help us reach our £5,000 goal!Follow this link for more information and to donate from 3 December The Reckoning - a new, groundbreaking work of theatreIf you haven’t already, you can hear episodes one and two from this podcast mini-series on The Reckoning where we explore the beginnings of the piece and later speak to author and journalist Peter Pomerantsev on why he shared the testimonies with Dash.Thank you to our partners and funders Cambridge Festival, Cambridge Junction, the Ukrainian Studies Department at the University of Cambridge, Open Society Foundations, the Fritt Ord Foundation, Goethe-Institut in Exile, Goethe-Institut in London and individual giving.In the podcast, we hear from:Josephine Burton - Artistic Director, Dash Arts Rory Finnin - Professor of Ukrainian Studies at the University of CambridgeSam Kyslyi - PerformerMark Quartley - PerformerUnderscore and sound design by Anton BaibakovOur intro music is Fakiiritanssi by Marouf Majidi
Georgia's Art of Protest
57:11|More than half the world's population is voting in elections this year. Dash Arts dives into one of those elections, speaking to artists in Georgia about how they are responding to the political turmoil in their country. The ruling party, Georgian Dream, is fighting for an unprecedented fourth term at the end of October 2024 and continues to be accused of silencing free speech, taking control of arts and culture and using fear to intimidate any criticism. As part of Dash Arts’ exploration into protest and the public voice, Josephine Burton speaks to three Georgian artist activists who are uniting artists from across the sector, shouting for democracy and pushing for change. In this episode you will hear from:Josephine Burton - Artistic Director, Dash ArtsThomas De Waal - Journalist, author & specialist in Eastern Europe and the Caucasus regionAna Riaboshenko - Artist & one of the Initiators of Culture for DemocracyPaata Tsikolia - Theatre Director and PlaywrightLevan Mindiashvilii - ArtistThanks to Mariam Uberi and musician Aleksandre Kharanauli. Hear his work on Spotify.To hear more podcasts on protest, art and activism by visiting the Dash website.Levani’s art - https://levanm.com/ More information (in Georgian) on Culture for Democracy: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61556194792093
Estonia’s Singing Lands
01:01:21|“I’ve long nurtured a dream to get out and finally explore what it was about the forests and seas of Laulasmaa, ‘the land of song’, in Estonia that inspired Arvo Pärt and so many musicians.”Join Dash’s Artistic Director, Josephine Burton as she travels to the Arvo Pärt Centre in Laulasmaa, Estonia to investigate the mystical musical relationship between nature and the people of EstoniaFrom the Arvo Pärt Centre Josephine wanders the forest, swims in the sea and explores Helikula, ‘the village of sound’, where musicians from the Union of Composers were given summer houses during Soviet Times.We started collaborating in October 2020 during the pandemic with a widely celebrated online event with the Arvo Pärt Centre combining a pre-recorded concert and a conversation with musicians Andres Kaljuste, Sophia Rahman and Arvo’s son Michael Pärt. You can hear this previous episode here.For more on the trip you can read Josephine’s blog and see more photographs of the incredible Estonian landscape on the Dash Arts website.In the podcast, we hear from:Josephine Burton - Artistic Director, Dash Arts Michael Pärt - Music Editor and Chairman of the Arvo Pärt CentreSophia Rahman - PianistAndres Kaljuste - ViolinistRein Lang - Former Minister of Culture of EstoniaLiisa Hirsch - Composer Kristina Norman - ArtistTitle music by Fakiiritanssi by Marouf MajidiCompositions by Arvo Pärt played by Sophia Rahman and Andres Kaljuste:Fratres Für AlinaSpiegel im SpiegelWith thanks to the Estonian Ministry of Culture and Estonian Cultural Counsellor in London for enabling Josephine’s trip. Artwork: A PHOTO JOSEPHINE’S TRIPReference to the previous episode (Jan 2021) - https://open.spotify.com/episode/7pN6oLyNmgxVEqjNjZW8Dg?si=34666bcd1c984ba6 Blog link - https://www.dasharts.org.uk/blog/arvo-prts-inspiration-discovering-the-magic-of-estonias-forests-and-sounds
Our Public House: Election Special
42:30|On 4th July millions of UK voters will take to the polls. Candidates are vying for our attention through speeches and debates. In this special episode Artistic Director, Josephine Burton, catches up with four former speech-making workshop participants across the country on how they are experiencing the election campaign, and analyses our political candidates and the quality of their speechmaking with Alan Finlayson, Professor of Political and Social Theory at the University of East Anglia, and collaborator on our national workshops.To find out more about our plans for the theatre production go to www.dasharts.org.uk/our-public-house Our Public House is funded by Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), Arts Council England, National Theatre’s Generate Programme, Three Monkies Trust, The Thistle Trust, and individual giving.In the podcast we’re grateful to hear from:Kate, Max, Devika and Jonathan - Workshop ParticipantsJosephine Burton - Artistic Director, Dash ArtsProfessor Alan Finlayson - Professor of Political and Social Theory at the University of East Anglia
Our Public House: Election Onstage and Off
45:33|Whilst the country builds up to a general election, we’re in the midst of creating Our Public House, Dash Arts’ state-of-the-nation theatre production.Hear from Artistic Director Josephine Burton and playwright Barney Norris on how our play weaves together the ideas and speeches of over 150 voices from across England and the ever shifting political landscape. Plus catch us in the rehearsal room at Theatre Royal Stratford East, performing some of the draft script and songs on stage at HOME in Manchester and in a speech-making workshop with Manchester Deaf Centre as we reflect on the long research and development process behind a Dash Arts production. Our Public House is funded by Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), Arts Council England, The Thistle Trust, Three Monkies Trust, and individual giving.In the podcast we’re grateful to hear from:Josephine Burton - Artistic Director, Dash ArtsBarney Norris - Writer, Our Public HouseProfessor Alan Finlayson - Professor of Political and Social Theory at the University of East AngliaCristina Catalina - Senior Producer, Dash ArtsJonathan Walton - composer and musicianNick Pynn - composer and musicianMina Anwar - actor & singerMatt Hill - composer and musicianAnd the participants from the speech-making workshops around the country.
Albion and The Nightingales
56:17|In the still of a spring night, we journey into the woods with musicians Sam Lee and Jack Durtnall to hear the beautiful and increasingly rare song of the nightingale with a concert and conversation around the campfire. Artistic Director Josephine Burton treads lightly in the footsteps of a historic partnership between the nightingale and humans. The BBC’s first ever live outside broadcast was recorded exactly 100 years ago in May 1924 as cellist Beatrice Harrison played alongside a nightingale. Our episode is the start of a new series of Dash Arts podcasts exploring the relationship between art and nature, and part of Dash's current season, Albion; an investigation of modern Englishness in all its complexity. Join us as we travel across landscape and language, digging deep into folk and written histories, oral traditions, music, storytelling, theatre and performance. Visit the Singing With Nightingales website to find out more about Sam’s work and to join him on such a magical evening in the woods. In the podcast we’re grateful to hear from:Josephine Burton - Artistic Director of Dash ArtsSam Lee - Musician and ConservationistJack Durtnall - MusicianAudience members from Singing with Nightingales
OI VA VOI - Back Together
47:10|“In many ways, I owe everything to the band.”It’s been over 25 years since two students ran into each other on a street corner in Oxford and decided to set up a band. Oi Va Voi, rooted in Jewish and Eastern European musical traditions, would eventually reach hundreds and thousands of people across the world. Dash’s Artistic Director Josephine Burton and Jonathan Walton, also known as Lemez Lovas, knew they needed more people and more instruments. Soon after Sophie Solomon, Steve Levi, Leo Bryant, Nik Ammar and Josh Breslaw joined the band and they began fusing together klezmer, jazz, funk and drum and bass.Last summer, their breakout album, Laughter Through Tears, turned 20 and the band marked it with a celebratory reunion gig at EartH in Hackney. In this episode we hear from the original members of the band and moments from last summer’s reunion.As with all enduring families - there have been many moments when both life inside and outside the band got really tough, but Oi Va Voi lives on and this podcast celebrates these stories, the music and the people who made it. Josephine also shares why Dash Arts delayed releasing this episode back in October 2023.In the podcast, we hear from:Josephine Burton - Artistic Director, Dash Arts and former Singer, Oi Va VoiJonathan Walton/Lemez Lovas - former Trumpeter, Oi Va VoiJosh Breslaw - Drummer, Oi Va VoiLeo Bryant - former Bassist, Oi Va VoiSophie Solomon - former Violinist, Oi Va VoiNik Ammar - former Guitarist, Oi Va VoiSteve Levi - Clarinetist, Oi Va VoiKT Tunstall - former Singer, Oi Va VoiMusic:Recorded live at EartH, Hackney on 22nd July 2023. Used with permission of Oi Va Voi.Intro: Fakiiritanssi by Marouf MajidiArtwork:Album Cover taken from an early ep, Odessa, recorded in early 2000. Photo credit lost in the mists of time!
The Reckoning: How It All Began with Peter Pomerantsev
40:00|In this second episode on the journey towards our production, The Reckoning, we hear from journalist and author, Peter Pomerantsev who co-founded The Reckoning Project and who first shared with Dash the hundreds of witness testimonies from survivors of the Russian war in Ukraine. Dash’s Artistic Director, Josephine Burton and Podcast Producer, Marie Horner hear about Peter’s motivations for starting the project and why he asked Dash to bring these stories to the stage. The Reckoning Project trains journalists to work with lawyers and analysts to collect stories of the horrors of war, detentions, torture and shelling that can be submitted as evidence in court. Peter and Josephine explore the relationship between the lawyers, journalists and witnesses, and how this has influenced Dash’s production. We also hear from Peter’s colleagues at The Reckoning Project, Nataliya Gumenyuk and Kostiantyn Korobov, on what has changed since the war began two years ago and what justice could look like for the people they speak to.Peter joined us while he was in London to promote his new book, How to Win an Information War: The Propagandist Who Outwitted Hitler. To find out more visit Faber’s website.Josephine will be sharing more about the production in Cambridge on Wednesday 20th March alongside Rory Finnin, Professor of Ukrainian Studies at the University of Cambridge. Get your tickets here.In the podcast, we hear from:Josephine Burton - Artistic Director, Dash Arts Peter Pomerantsev - Journalist and AuthorNataliya Gumenyuk - JournalistKostiantyn Korobov - ArchivistMarie Horner - Podcast ProducerMusic by Fakiiritanssi by Marouf Majidi
Our Public House : The Lock-In
16:20|We’re in the pub for the next stage of Our Public House, a state-of-the-nation theatre production. Hear the show take shape in the studio and how Artistic Director Josephine Burton and playwright Barney Norris are being led by the speeches and writing of extraordinary individuals and communities from across the country. How do you pull together over 120 voices, ideas and stories to lock in a play that will resonate with our audiences?Our Public House is funded by the National Theatre's Generate Programme, Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), Arts Council England, Three Monkies Trust, and individual giving.In the podcast we’re grateful to hear from:Josephine Burton - Artistic Director, Dash ArtsMarie Horner - Podcast Producer, Dash ArtsBarney Norris - Writer, Our Public HouseActors Alex Austin, Ed Gaughan, Syreeta Kumar, Mark Quartley, Saroja-Lily Ratnavel, and Sophie Stone Musician - Nick PynnAnd the participants from the speech-making workshops around the country.