This piece alone is well worth my annual sub to The Post. I greatly value your regular investigative journalism, and I suppose I should regard the pieces of superlative writing such as Laurence’s as the icing on an already superb cake.
The profound love Terence expressed for his Liverpool in "Of Time and the City" has not been generally reflected back, except by those people who have witnessed his best work. As just one example, Distant Voices, Still Lives" is a wonderfully crafted Liverpool time capsule, with characters that resonate and stay with you. A cultural high. Literally a wonderful piece of work.
An oft overlooked role of the media is in promoting and celebrating contributions to society - obviously missing - but the role of the "arts organisations" and "culture" seems too to ever drift away from their actual purpose. Just as newspapers covet clicks and shareholder value, the likes of ACE and the DCMS covet desk jobs of no value and playing politics - and perhaps personal favourites - with budgets.
The recent story where the Bluecoat was awarded a mere 600 grand was accompanied by a quote from Arts Council Engand "it’s particularly important that we’re making this happen in communities where cultural investment has historically been low".
What an admission, and on top they expect a pat on the back!!
When a European Capital of Culture, and one of the country's biggest true metropolitan cities, is also a place where cultural investment is low, WTVF.
They're not wrong by the way. Manchester based ACE awards their local locality over twice per head as we get. Together with the government there is also the recent self gifting of the budget consuming Factory venue, and the English National Opera - directed to Manchester after a completely un-predetermined "competition" of course. Combined with a pointed cut to our Welsh National Opera who are as a result no longer able to come here. Vandalising an important cultural link that goes back years.
Terrence, due to his heritage and being a creator of good things with clearly no time for BS, never stood much of a chance.
Yesterday the LCR announced the creation of a new "visitor economy partnership", with representatives from, among other fields, the hotel and night time economy sector, but notably no one from the theatre, museum or art gallery world. Feels like an oversight, or maybe these attractions don't need tourism and are adequately sustained by locals?
A great piece and as others have said definitely not something you'd expect to find in a local paper!
I agree that we should be doing more to honour many of our successful artistic citizens. However I wonder if this is really a Liverpool-specific issue. In the UK as a whole people don't view film as an art form, and in film our focus tends to be on the actors - the people we see - rather than those behind the camera. Apart from Alfred Hitchcock and Steven Spielberg, can you picture a single film director?
Add to that the fact that Terence Davies's films are not really ones with mass-market appeal and it's not surprising he's not better known in his home city. But I don't think this makes us more philistine than people in London, Manchester or Birmingham
A long and rich piece. Thank you for such stimulating writing.
I'm afraid the city that froths over Eurovision camp is unlikely to rejoice and celebrate someone and something more cerebral in the way that Dublin does.
My only reservation about Davies's work is for Of Time and The City which showed signs of cobbling and overindulgence.
Never heard of him but I don't watch a lot of movies - and being in Kirkby is like a cultural desert as we have no theatre, no cinema, nowhere for music or the arts.
I don't watch TV either, so if any of his movies or plays were on TV I'd miss them.
Good article though - informs those like me who are not particularly inclined towards any of the arts except music.
As Liverpool City Council help normalise Israeli Apartheid, this should make people look at South Africa and try to figure out why deaths there, dwarfed by Israelis body count and sheer destruction, mattered so much.
Black lives matter - but brown lives, the lives of Palestinians and those in the Middle East/Arab lands, don't matter.
I get the feeling this Terry Davies would have tackled this uncomfortable truth.
Our council in Liverpool is a disgrace - two faced hypocrisy. Little wonder poor old Terry Davies is a forgotten son of the city.
This piece alone is well worth my annual sub to The Post. I greatly value your regular investigative journalism, and I suppose I should regard the pieces of superlative writing such as Laurence’s as the icing on an already superb cake.
Nice piece Lawrence, very deep and meaningful. A cerebral read definitely not one for the ‘Echo’ and really a nice start to a sunny Saturday.
The profound love Terence expressed for his Liverpool in "Of Time and the City" has not been generally reflected back, except by those people who have witnessed his best work. As just one example, Distant Voices, Still Lives" is a wonderfully crafted Liverpool time capsule, with characters that resonate and stay with you. A cultural high. Literally a wonderful piece of work.
An oft overlooked role of the media is in promoting and celebrating contributions to society - obviously missing - but the role of the "arts organisations" and "culture" seems too to ever drift away from their actual purpose. Just as newspapers covet clicks and shareholder value, the likes of ACE and the DCMS covet desk jobs of no value and playing politics - and perhaps personal favourites - with budgets.
The recent story where the Bluecoat was awarded a mere 600 grand was accompanied by a quote from Arts Council Engand "it’s particularly important that we’re making this happen in communities where cultural investment has historically been low".
What an admission, and on top they expect a pat on the back!!
When a European Capital of Culture, and one of the country's biggest true metropolitan cities, is also a place where cultural investment is low, WTVF.
They're not wrong by the way. Manchester based ACE awards their local locality over twice per head as we get. Together with the government there is also the recent self gifting of the budget consuming Factory venue, and the English National Opera - directed to Manchester after a completely un-predetermined "competition" of course. Combined with a pointed cut to our Welsh National Opera who are as a result no longer able to come here. Vandalising an important cultural link that goes back years.
Terrence, due to his heritage and being a creator of good things with clearly no time for BS, never stood much of a chance.
Yesterday the LCR announced the creation of a new "visitor economy partnership", with representatives from, among other fields, the hotel and night time economy sector, but notably no one from the theatre, museum or art gallery world. Feels like an oversight, or maybe these attractions don't need tourism and are adequately sustained by locals?
Maybe our leaders are hoping we'll all be so permanently drunk that we don't notice when the last gallery is shipped out to another city.
Of all the sectors in our city that don't need a "boost", it's the night time economy.
A great piece and as others have said definitely not something you'd expect to find in a local paper!
I agree that we should be doing more to honour many of our successful artistic citizens. However I wonder if this is really a Liverpool-specific issue. In the UK as a whole people don't view film as an art form, and in film our focus tends to be on the actors - the people we see - rather than those behind the camera. Apart from Alfred Hitchcock and Steven Spielberg, can you picture a single film director?
Add to that the fact that Terence Davies's films are not really ones with mass-market appeal and it's not surprising he's not better known in his home city. But I don't think this makes us more philistine than people in London, Manchester or Birmingham
A long and rich piece. Thank you for such stimulating writing.
I'm afraid the city that froths over Eurovision camp is unlikely to rejoice and celebrate someone and something more cerebral in the way that Dublin does.
My only reservation about Davies's work is for Of Time and The City which showed signs of cobbling and overindulgence.
A Post subscription is such good value.
Thanks
Watched ‘Of Time and the City’ at FACT and will never forget the experience.
Thanks for this brilliant piece. We should have Davies Day, instead it's Malmö on the Mersey.
Whoa...that's thrown a feral cat among the scouse cultural pigeons.
Wonderful tribute to a true artist.
Never heard of him but I don't watch a lot of movies - and being in Kirkby is like a cultural desert as we have no theatre, no cinema, nowhere for music or the arts.
I don't watch TV either, so if any of his movies or plays were on TV I'd miss them.
Good article though - informs those like me who are not particularly inclined towards any of the arts except music.
As Liverpool City Council help normalise Israeli Apartheid, this should make people look at South Africa and try to figure out why deaths there, dwarfed by Israelis body count and sheer destruction, mattered so much.
Black lives matter - but brown lives, the lives of Palestinians and those in the Middle East/Arab lands, don't matter.
I get the feeling this Terry Davies would have tackled this uncomfortable truth.
Our council in Liverpool is a disgrace - two faced hypocrisy. Little wonder poor old Terry Davies is a forgotten son of the city.
May his soul rest in peace.
Thanks for educating me.
Great read. Thanks for that.