Meeting Joe Strummer
Encyclopedia
Meeting Joe Strummer is a two-handed play by Paul Hodson
Fringe First winner in 2006. The play originally starred actors Steve North
and Nick Miles
and was produced by Brighton Theatre Events at The Gilded Balloon
. It subsequently toured the UK in Autumn 2007 with Steve North
and Huw Higginson
taking the role of 'Nick' and in March/April 2010 with Steve North
playing 'Steve' and Jason Pitt playing 'Nick', produced by The Future is Unwritten Theatre Company and directed by Paul Hodson.
and The Mescaleros
. They have seen a lot since they first met as teenagers watching The Clash
play the Rock Against Racism
rally at Victoria Park
in 1978: divorce, class warfare, acid house
, the bleak Thatcher years and even soap stardom, but the flame of punk idealism – what they describe as the “inner Strummer” – has never quite gone out.
Have they done what they wanted in their lives? Can they put their past differences behind them? And - most importantly - will they meet their hero Joe Strummer?
With a cast of only two, the play is performed with no props on a bare stage in front of a large banner of Joe Strummer
. There are rapid jump cuts in time and place between scenes.
Introduction
Meeting Joe Strummer is a perceptive, funny and hard-hitting play about male friendship, integrity and the struggle to retain youthful idealism in the face of life’s bitter blows, which was an Edinburgh FestivalEdinburgh Festival
The Edinburgh Festival is a collective term for many arts and cultural festivals that take place in Edinburgh, Scotland each summer, mostly in August...
Fringe First winner in 2006. The play originally starred actors Steve North
Stephen North
Stephen North , sometimes credited as Steve North, is an English actor. He had his first major role playing fireman Colin Parrish in four series of the ITV drama London's Burning...
and Nick Miles
Nick Miles
Nick Miles is an English actor well known for his part in ITV's Emmerdale as businessman Jimmy King. He also appeared in the music video of Embrace's 1998 hit "Come Back to What You Know" as a policeman....
and was produced by Brighton Theatre Events at The Gilded Balloon
The Gilded Balloon
The Gilded Balloon is one of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe's best-known venues, established by Karen Koren in 1986 in Edinburgh's Cowgate. When a fire destroyed the original premises, Teviot Row House in Bristo Square became the Gilded Balloon's main venue....
. It subsequently toured the UK in Autumn 2007 with Steve North
Stephen North
Stephen North , sometimes credited as Steve North, is an English actor. He had his first major role playing fireman Colin Parrish in four series of the ITV drama London's Burning...
and Huw Higginson
Huw Higginson
Huw Higginson is an English actor. He is most famous for playing PC George Garfield in The Bill from 1989 to 1999. He has appeared in Heartbeat, EastEnders, Casualty and Jessica...
taking the role of 'Nick' and in March/April 2010 with Steve North
Stephen North
Stephen North , sometimes credited as Steve North, is an English actor. He had his first major role playing fireman Colin Parrish in four series of the ITV drama London's Burning...
playing 'Steve' and Jason Pitt playing 'Nick', produced by The Future is Unwritten Theatre Company and directed by Paul Hodson.
Story
Fortysomethings Nick and Steve meet again for the first time in years at a gig by Joe StrummerJoe Strummer
John Graham Mellor , best remembered by his stage name Joe Strummer, was the co-founder, lyricist, rhythm guitarist and lead vocalist of the British punk rock band The Clash. His musical experience included his membership in The 101ers, Latino Rockabilly War, The Mescaleros and The Pogues, in...
and The Mescaleros
The Mescaleros
The Mescaleros were the backing band for Joe Strummer, formed in 1999, which went on to make three albums prior to Strummer's death in 2002. Many of the band members were gifted multi-instrumentalists...
. They have seen a lot since they first met as teenagers watching The Clash
The Clash
The Clash were an English punk rock band that formed in 1976 as part of the original wave of British punk. Along with punk, their music incorporated elements of reggae, ska, dub, funk, rap, dance, and rockabilly...
play the Rock Against Racism
Rock Against Racism
Rock Against Racism was a campaign set up in the United Kingdom in 1976 as a response to an increase in racial conflict and the growth of white nationalist groups such as the National Front. The campaign involved pop, rock and reggae musicians staging concerts with an anti-racist theme, in order...
rally at Victoria Park
Victoria Park, East London
Victoria Park is 86.18 hectares of open space that stretches out across part of the East End of London, England bordering parts of Bethnal Green, Hackney, and Bow, such as along Old Ford Road, London E3 and Victoria Park Road E9. The park is entirely within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets...
in 1978: divorce, class warfare, acid house
Acid house
Acid house is a sub-genre of house music that emphasizes a repetitive, hypnotic and trance-like style, often with samples or spoken lines rather than sung lyrics. Acid house's core electronic squelch sounds were developed around the mid-1980s, particularly by DJs from Chicago who experimented with...
, the bleak Thatcher years and even soap stardom, but the flame of punk idealism – what they describe as the “inner Strummer” – has never quite gone out.
Have they done what they wanted in their lives? Can they put their past differences behind them? And - most importantly - will they meet their hero Joe Strummer?
With a cast of only two, the play is performed with no props on a bare stage in front of a large banner of Joe Strummer
Joe Strummer
John Graham Mellor , best remembered by his stage name Joe Strummer, was the co-founder, lyricist, rhythm guitarist and lead vocalist of the British punk rock band The Clash. His musical experience included his membership in The 101ers, Latino Rockabilly War, The Mescaleros and The Pogues, in...
. There are rapid jump cuts in time and place between scenes.
External links
- The Future is Unwritten Theatre Company set up by Paul Hodson and news about future and current tours of the play.
- Review of play from The Guardian
- Strummerville, the charity set up by the friends and family of Joe Strummer in the year after his death. The charity seeks to reflect Joe's unique contribution to the music world by offering support, resources and performance opportunities to artists who would not normally have access to them.
- Obituary in The Independent by Chris Salewicz, later author of the biography Redemption Song