A young woman wants to see the sea. A stranger stands on a cliff. The last grey seal swims
towards the shore. On her eighteenth birthday, Cerys, a tough care-leaver, breaks the city’s lockdown and travels to the coastal cliffs that birthed her, the crumbling landscape drawing her back to her mythic past.
Evocative and lyrical spoken word storytelling that draws inspiration from the traditional
Selkie myth and reimagining it for a not-too-distant future. A haunting interweaving of story, music, poetry and song, with a rich backdrop of harmonies.
‘Beautiful and heart-rending’ ‘Spell-binding and magical’ ‘Utterly transporting’
(Audience Feedback)
‘No York shaper of words captures a sense, meaning and memory of
place so movingly, so evocatively...’
‘Elliot Smith-like nihilism contrasting with nimble, beautiful guitar playing.’
(Charles Hutchinson Press)
We are delighted to welcome PitchWitches to perform as an opening act to this performance of The Ballad of Blea Wyke. PitchWitches is the new vocal quintet led by Em Whitfield Brooks, an old friend of Helmsley Arts Centre who brings together some of the finest singers in York for a soaring set of close harmony songs.
The Ballad of Blea Wyke - About the Company
Produced by Hannah Davies in association with Next Door But One and Say Owt
Writer / Performer
Hannah Davies is a writer, theatre-maker and slam-winning poet from Yorkshire. She has written for Royal Court Theatre, Ice&Fire, York Theatre Royal, Guild of Misrule and performed at leading spoken word nights across the UK. She has held roles including co-leader of the MA Playwriting at University of York, Artistic Director of Common Ground Theatre and Executive Producer at ARCADE. hannahdavies.co.uk
Musician / Performer
Jack Woods is a Yorkshire based musician, and instrumentalist. He studied music at the British and Irish Modern Music Institute, and plays mandolin, violin and guitar. He has played in many different bands across many different genres, writes and records as Pascallion and has featured on BBC Introducing with Jericho Keys. pascallion.bandcamp.com
Director
Em Whitfield Brooks is a director, choral leader, creative facilitator, voice teacher and coach. She has directed large-scale community opera and small-scale touring theatre, she has produced/directed for Ryedale Festival Community Opera, was a choral director of Hull Freedom Chorus, Angus & Ross Theatre Company, Back to Ours in Hull and was Artistic Director at Helmsley Arts Centre 2012 - 2016. emwhitfieldbrooks.com
Sound Engineer: Jim Taylor
Photo credit: MSC Photography
Artwork credit: Amy Made This