This week I was delighted to be shortlisted for the BBC Radio 3 and Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC)’s New Generation Thinkers scheme, which gives arts and humanities researchers the chance to turn their research into programmes for BBC radio.
I’ve pitched a programme based on research I’ve been doing for my ‘village halls’ chapter of Art for the People, which explores how memorial halls built in the wake of the First World War turned profound loss into a gift for future generations. These were ‘functional memorials’: community spaces which looked backwards but also forwards to a brighter future. As we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, I’ll ask whether such spaces can provide a template for reconciling our own communal sense of grief, anger and loss.
I have a very personal connection to memorial halls: I spent hundreds of hours growing up in Weare Memorial Hall in Somerset, rehearsing as part of the Allerton Players. Founded by my grandparents Joy and Dennis Irving in 1966, the company ran for 55 years. Last week, we staged our final performance, an evening in memory of Joy, who died last year during the pandemic. Alongside readings, songs, carols and short ‘potted pantomimes’, my brother and I read Gareth Owen’s ‘My Granny is a Sumo Wrestler’, a poem my grandmother always loved.
I’m looking forward to developing my programme ideas with members of the AHRC and the BBC in January. I’ve long been a fan of the scheme, and have seen some wonderful friends and colleagues shortlisted and selected as New Generation Thinkers. Special thanks must go to my friend and colleague Fariha Shaikh, a 2021 NGT, who gave me such helpful feedback and advice on my application. After the workshops, 10 finalists will be chosen to become the next New Generation Thinkers. Wish me luck!
Revolutionary Red Tape 