On Me: Crowdfunding Success!

May 18, 2022February 8, 2023 dtktheatrefundraising, independent, Manchester, Performances, theatreLeave a comment

We did it!! Thank you so much to everyone who donated to our Kickstarter or shared the link to help us reach our target.

On Me will be playing at the Seven Oaks pub theatre in Manchester city centre between 27th and 30th July this year, with one BSL interpreted performance.

You can book tickets via the Greater Manchester Fringe by visiting https://manchester.ssboxoffice.com/events/on-me.

To learn more about the project as it goes ahead, and/or to keep up to date with the activities of theatre company Dangerous To Know, please follow @dtkmanc on Twitter/Instagram and http://www.facebook.com/DangerousToKnow.

Our Crowdfunder: The Last 20 Days!

April 29, 2022February 8, 2023 dtktheatrearts, Campaign, crowdfunder, Fringe, fundraising, GBV, gender based violence, independent theatre, Manchester, Manchester arts opportunities, Manchester theatre, Manchester theatre opportunities, North West arts, theatre, true crime, UK independent theatreLeave a comment

We’re now in the last 20 days of our crowdfunder – and we need help to get over the finish line in time! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/onme/on-me

This campaign will support the upcoming production of “On Me”: a brand new play that tackles gender based violence, sexual violence and femicide, with the action taking place on the set of a true crime documentary. The funds we raise will feed into the “match funding” for our Arts Council bid, enabling us to pay a set wage to our creative team. If we don’t hit our target, we get nothing at all.

The play is coming to the Greater Manchester Fringe this July (2022), and will be performed at The Seven Oaks on Nicholas Street from 27th – 30th July.

Every little helps – if you can give just £1, you’ll be supporting an independent theatre company and enabling us to hire creatives looking for North West UK theatre jobs in what could be a major stepping stone in their career. You’ll also help us to make a powerful contribution to the urgent fight against #GBV. We have some great rewards too, so you’ll get something in return for your contribution!

If you can’t donate, please share information about this campaign wherever you can.

On Me, true crime, UK independent theatre

Announced: Event in Ambleside!

July 20, 2015February 8, 2023 dtktheatreAmbleside, Brontë, DangeroustoKnow, fundraising, Lake District, Library, Literature, nocowardsoulismine, poetry, readings, spokenword, VictorianLeave a comment

Another event in August! Come along to Ambleside Library on 25th August at 5:30pm to get a chance to hear gorgeous Brontë work and enter into a discussion about the unique and unusual family.

The event is FREE to attend! Please see the Facebook event page here.

Original pieces will also be brought to the stand, and audience members are welcome to donate a short piece of work for this purpose. Simply email dtkmanchester@gmail.com!

Dangerous To Know is a currently self-funded Northern theatre company, which will always be grateful of support. Our upcoming production, The Dissolution of Percy, an original piece about the final few years in the life of Branwell Brontë, will be staged in Greater Manchester and Yorkshire this coming November. For more information, and to watch a trailer for the production…

PLEASE CLICK HERE

Announced: Scarborough Event!

July 17, 2015February 8, 2023 dtktheatreBranwell Brontë, Brontë, DangeroustoKnow, fundraising, Indiegogo, poetry, Scarborough, Yorkshire1 Comment

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Ladies and gentlemen, we’ll be in Scarborough on 8th August at 6pm, reading a little more of the beautiful work by the Brontë family, and chatting about their intriguing lives and (in some cases) scandalous relationships!

Original pieces will also be brought to the stand, and audience members are welcome to donate a short piece of work for this purpose. Simply email dtkmanchester@gmail.com!

If you’d like a little more information about the event…

PLEASE CLICK HERE

More Brontë readings to come!

July 15, 2015February 8, 2023 dtktheatreAmbleside, Branwell Brontë, Brontë, Cumbria, DangeroustoKnow, fundraising, Lake District, nocowardsoulismine, Scarborough, York, YorkshireLeave a comment

After the success of our big campaign in June, in which AD Caroline Lamb walked 130 miles in one week, stopping off to deliver readings of poetry, prose and letters by the Brontë family, we thought we’d crack the little black folder out a second time for a few of the important Brontë-related sites we’ve not yet covered* (the walking boots are staying at home this time!)

While dates are still being confirmed, we are pleased to announce that our intimate, enlightening, fun and slightly scandalous event will soon be delivered in Scarborough, Ambleside and York during August and September. Other sites may yet be added!

CLICK HERE: Readings announced in Westmorland Gazette

CLICK HERE: Readings announced in Yorkshire Times

CLICK HERE: Readings reviewed on Brontë Society Blog

*Yes, we do know about London and Brussels. One day!

Fundraising walk: Final day

June 28, 2015February 8, 2023 dtktheatreBranwell Brontë, Brontë, DangeroustoKnow, fundraising, Indiegogo, Library, Manchester, nocowardsoulismine, poetry, publicity, Sowerby Bridge, the Brontës, The Dissolution of Percy, TheDissolutionofPercyLeave a comment

TRAILER / INFO / CAMPAIGN

We had an early start, and set off from Haworth with the sun beating down upon us as we set a course for the final point in our journey: Sowerby Bridge, where Branwell Brontë once worked as a clerk on the railway.

It isn’t just the Brontë connection that causes me to be fascinated by Haworth – it’s the fact that, visually, it has changed so little since their time, and the thought that a number of its inhabitants can boast local ancestry stretching back before the time of the famous literary family.

VIDEO: “MYSTERIOUS” HAWORTH

The names used in the area also suggest their link to the town’s history. The Haworth Free School may once have welcomed Branwell into its tutelage, but for some reason – be it his highly strung personality, the mental or physical health issues that many now suggest that he had, or something else – he could only have attended for a few months before being withdrawn for home-schooling.

I got the chance once again to pass over the lovely West Yorkshire Moors, though the terrain wasn’t always on my side.

VIDEO: DAD JOKE

Though I did make a couple of friends along the way. The locals of West Yorkshire are friendly whatever their species!

As is always the way with the North, one kind of weather didn’t seem to be enough and, suddenly I found myself battling gale-force winds as I made my way through Wainstalls.

VIDEO: BIT WINDY!

Eventually, signs for Luddenden Foot, where Branwell briefly enjoyed a promotion to the position of clerk in charge, lifted my spirits someone despite the sweltering sun, as my destination was getting ever-closer:

However, I knew my legs and feet wouldn’t hold up for much longer, and was grudgingly grateful that this was the final ten miles of my 130 mile journey. I decided to write a short song to commemorate the quest as I hobbled along. (Warning: suggests a naughty word!)

VIDEO: CAROLINE’S TOTALLY ORIGINAL COMPOSITION

Trivia: Caroline holds Grade 8 with distinction with the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music. Seriously. It’s on her Spotlight and everything. The fraud.

I was overjoyed to arrive in Sowerby Bridge in good time, and found a wonderful welcome awaiting. This fab display really made it all feel a bit special, and was particularly poignant as this was the final date of my readings tour:

Audience members were arriving a good fifteen minutes before the start, and, once I began, all seemed highly interested in the subject and started some really interesting discussions after the talk was finished. Sowerby Bridge library really seems a vital part of its community, and this seemed evident in the numbers that attended the event.

At the end, I packed away my things with a degree of sadness, because, though I was looking forward to heading home for a good rest, I knew I would miss this project hugely. I hope to put on some more readings in the near future (there is one lined up for 8th July at 7:30, at the Kings Arms in Salford), but it was the combination of those and the walking that really made this an experience to remember.

The adventure had also left its mark on my trainers, which evidently decided that enough was enough and have now been given last rites.

You have served me well, trainers. You will be remembered.

VIDEO: TRIBUTE TO MY TRAINERS

So it’s over now! A few really exciting opportunities have arisen from this venture, and we have big plans for the next couple of months before The Dissolution Percy hits the stage at the Kings Arms in Salford from 4th – 7th November and for one night in Haworth at the Parkside Social Club on 14th November.

So keep an eye on our website and Twitter feed (@DTKManc) for updates. In the meantime, please do take a look at the below link for The Dissolution of Percy‘s trailer, further information about the production, and for the chance to donate to our exciting new company! Please share the information wherever you can – any assistance is hugely appreciated.

TRAILER / INFO / CAMPAIGN

Fundraising Walk: Day 7

June 26, 2015February 8, 2023 dtktheatreBranwell Brontë, Brontë, DangeroustoKnow, fundraising, Haworth, Indiegogo, nocowardsoulismine, poetry, publicity, Sowerby Bridge1 Comment

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It was a rather grim start to the day, damp and overcast, but the walk was only a little over six miles in a straight line between Thornton and Haworth.

To set me up for the day ahead, I thought I’d give a little history lesson as I went on my way:

VIDEO: THORNTON ROAD

Then I recalled that it was time to do a birthday shout-out for a certain someone. I wasn’t quite up for stopping off to buy 198 candles though.

VIDEO: MANY (MANY) HAPPY RETURNS!

While the walk into Haworth was utterly gorgeous and highly atmospheric, it seemed so short compared with earlier treks that I could have blinked and missed it. I did have time, however, to be substantially miffed by the sight of a lovely claret-leather chair sitting alone in a field.

I’m sure we could have made use of it if no one had wanted it; it looked in decent nick! However, if a person had brought it out with thoughts of sitting and admiring the fabulous view, then kudos to them – I’d have done the same.

After a short time, I found myself skirting the moors, with a direct path over them to Haworth. I was far too tempted. I clambered off the road, and had a little peace and quiet amidst the scrubby heather and tussocks of grass.

Breaking over the brow of a hill, I finally came across this belter of a vista, with the town half-shrouded in mist at the bottom of the valley:

A little further along, a steam train puffed along the Worth Valley railway below me, and I went completely potty, scrambling to film. Sadly I failed. You’ll have to imagine it. But it was lovely.

The bunting was out in the town as I walked to the top of the steep street, making a beeline for the obligatory selfie outside:

The Brontë Parsonage.

After admiring the bullet holes left in the church tower opposite by the wonderfully unique Reverend Patrick Brontë – who slept with a loaded pistol close at hand every night and discharged it out of the window every morning for safety’s sake – I had a poignant moment in the church where I paid my respects to the whole family, save Anne who was laid to rest in Scarborough.

The talk, at the brilliant art cafe, Cobbles and Clay, was very well attended and the response was superb. The pieces that audience members donated to be read were of an extremely high standard as usual. After a very nice chat with the attendees, I popped over to The Black Bull, famously Branwell’s preferred watering hole, for a respectful pint, and was pleased to see that his favourite chair, still in one piece almost one hundred and seventy years after his death, was on display partway up the stairs.

It’s hardly as if I’m a stranger to Haworth, but I very much enjoyed this visit – as I do all visits – to perhaps the most famous of my destinations.

With tomorrow comes the final stretch to Sowerby Bridge, where Branwell worked as a clerk on the railway, before I return to Manchester and reality. I’ll be at Sowerby Bridge library at 2pm, and it would be fantastic to see this wonderful adventure off in style.

Please do come along!

See the company’s trailer for The Dissolution of Percy, find out more information and take a look at our crowdfunding campaign below:

INFO / TRAILER / CAMPAIGN

Fundraising Walk: Day 6

June 26, 2015February 8, 2023 dtktheatreBranwell Brontë, Brontë, DangeroustoKnow, fundraising, Indiegogo, Thornton, YorkshireLeave a comment

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Having stayed the night in Leeds thanks to the kindness of my sister, I set off for Thornton after a welcome lie-in, considering the 12-and-a-half mile walk was one of the shortest of my journey!

I must, however, have been slightly befuddled in the earlier part of the day, as I became convinced that the walk was still shorter.

VIDEO: CAROLINE DOES SOME POETRY AND FAILS AT MATHS

Upon noticing that the distance was actually printed on the top of my map…

VIDEO: FOR GOD’S SAKE, JIM – I’M AN ARTIST NOT A NAVIGATOR

However, after my initial confusion wore off, I enjoyed a sunny and leisurely walk from Leeds, through Bradford and on to Thornton. The shorter distance allowed me to take regular breaks and look around at the landmarks scattered throughout West Yorkshire – each a homage to rich industrial history.

Got to love a “dark, satanic mill”!

I arrived in Thornton hours ahead of schedule and used the time to have a good look around the lovely village.

VIDEO: DORA THE EXPLORER

Naturally, we had to drop in on the Brontë birthplace (pictured top), now a superb coffee shop called Emily’s, which is decorated to retain the rustic feel of the place and displays artwork inspired by the family. A lovely touch is that graffiti is not only permitted but encouraged on the loo wall. A previous occupier had chosen a quote that I, in particular, appreciated:

Emily’s also boasts THE fireplace before which Charlotte, Branwell, Emily and Anne were born:

After an utterly fabulous pot of Desi Masala tea and an Italian-inspired Ploughman’s lunch, we headed down to the old ruined chapel where Patrick once preached, and in which the four younger Brontës were christened.

Finally, we made our way up to the extremely accommodating New Inn. The pub had a great feel and is well laid-out for events. They were setting up for a big event on Saturday, which will feature local ales, live music and family activities, but the staff still gave up their time to help arrange the room and make us feel at home.

The readings went extremely well, and it was great to have the buzz of a busy bar accompanying them. All in all, a really lovely day!

We’re down to our last few events, though do watch this space for anything that may pop up in the future! Please do watch our trailer and check out further details here:

INFO / CAMPAIGN / TRAILER

Here’s where I’ll be for the final few days:

Cobbles and Clay, Haworth – Friday 26th June – 18:00pm

Sowerby Bridge Library, Sowerby Bridge – Saturday 27th June – 14:00pm

The Kings Arms Theatre, Salford – Wednesday 8th July – 7:30pm

Pleas e do come along and/or spread the word!

Follow the company on Twitter (@DTKManc) and use the hashtag #nocowardsoulismine to tweet about this adventure!

Fundraising Walk: Day 4

June 23, 2015February 8, 2023 dtktheatreBranwell Brontë, Brontë, DangeroustoKnow, fundraising, Gargrave, Halifax, Haworth, Indiegogo, Leeds, Library, nocowardsoulismine, poetry, publicity, the Brontës, The Dissolution of Percy, theatreLeave a comment

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The weather was absolutely fantastic today (the above photo perhaps not being the best evidence, but the sunburn on my forehead, ears and neck confirms it!), and we chose a route away from main roads in order to enjoy a bit of quiet and to get a chance to take in the surrounding landscape.

It was a little longer – around 27 miles in total – but it took us by Haworth and over the moors, through to Halifax.

Alright for some… lazy cows.

The views were stunning, and we enjoyed the opportunity to relax a bit, though we were still working to a time limit! By the time we reached Halifax, we’d walked over 90 miles overall, so the tiredness really was kicking in!

VIDEO: CAROLINE CRACKS UNDER THE PRESSURE

VIDEO: INSPIRED BY THE MOORS AND DISTRACTED BY BIRDS

What a fantastic venue Halifax Library is, and what a lovely and receptive audience turned up! Many thanks must go out to the staff who not only worked hard to promote the event, but had chairs, teas and coffees set up for the attendees when we arrived.

Today marks the end – I think – of the 20+ mile stretches. Tomorrow, we deliver readings at The Cardigan Centre in Headingley, Leeds, at 8pm, and we’d love to see you there!

I can’t possibly close without thanking a very special member of my support team – my mum – who has worked twice as hard as I have; walking alongside me, planning and navigating the routes, listening with great patience to my incessant impromptu Brontë lectures… Time pressures have rendered it impossible for her to continue the journey with me, but we’ll check in frequently. A million thanks and lots of love!

See the link below for details of how you can support our campaign. Watch the trailer for our production, The Dissolution of Percy, donate or share the information as you wish!

INFO / TRAILER / DONATE

Here are the remaining dates and venues for Caroline’s walk and readings tour:

The Cardigan Centre, Leeds – Wednesday 24th June – 20:00pm

The New Inn, Thornton – Thursday 25th June – 20:00pm