1987: THE LONGEST
Photographer: Leon Morris
Each week we're bringing you a moment from a different year of Heart n Soul. Last week we kicked off with an image of the original members of Heart n Soul writing their very first show, a musical called ‘Rock n Roll Dance’.
This week we spoke to Mark Williams, who co-founded Heart n Soul with Pino Frumiento and Alix Parker, about a photo of another early Heart n Soul production…
‘This picture was taken at The Albany Empire and is of Heart n Soul’s second ever production ‘The Longest’, named after one of Pino Frumiento’s songs. It is an original music theatre piece set on a pier that has broken away from the land. A group of people who work at a funfair on the pier have fallen asleep, only to wake up and find themselves afloat and far from land.
‘The show is all about the group’s journey to get back to land. In this scene the group have made it back, but have to plead to Gillian and Donna's characters (wearing inflatables) to be allowed to stay. They are performing a song called ‘I Want to go Home.’
‘Many of the early Heart n Soul productions represent feelings of separation or being hidden – in this case it is the pier being separated from land. Over the years the stories we told became more literal, but at first it seemed it was easier to articulate ideas through fantasy.’
The actors from left to right are Sue Hoban, Gillian Byrne, Pino Frumiento, Steve Dawson, Geoff Goodall, Winston Green and Donna Mctigue.
Look out for 1988 next week!