Lauren Crisp is a book editor, writer and keen follower of arts and culture. Born and raised in Harrogate, Lauren recently moved back to North Yorkshire after a stint in London, where she regularly reviewed theatre – everything from big West End shows to small fringe productions. She is now eager to explore the culture on offer in and around her home town. You can contact Lauren on laurencrispwriter@gmail.com
On Sunday evening, celebrated actor and director Barrie Rutter addressed an audience of theatre and poetry lovers at Ripon Arts Hub. This was the finale of a culturally rich season of events in Ripon, and a collaboration between Ripon Poetry Festival and Ripon Theatre Festival.
Yorkshire-born-and-bred theatre legend Rutter received the Sam Wanamaker Award, for pioneering Shakespearean theatre, in 2003, and was awarded an OBE in 2015 for services to drama.
He is perhaps best known as the founder and former artistic director of ground-breaking touring theatre company Northern Broadsides, based in Halifax. The organisation was created to bring together northern casts who would speak in unapologetically northern dialect, delivering Shakespeare to northern audiences to perform in venues that Rutter describes as “non-velvet” – from boatsheds in Hull to cattle markets in Skipton. His work gained him a reputation as a true trailblazer and as an ultimate champion of theatre in the north.
With a career spanning over 50 years, spent on stage, on screen and in theatres across the world, Rutter has a great many stories to tell. He seamlessly interspersed personal anecdotes – from mingling with jazz musicians in 1970s New York, to getting drunk in champagne caves with his friend, Hugh Griffith, of Ben-Hur fame, to his favourite behind-the-scenes Shakespeare stories – with poetry, prose, and musings on language, citing everything from Baudelaire to Bilston, along with his poetry, the poetry of his friends, and that of the north.
An entertainer in the purest form of the word, Rutter is forthright and wry, yet measured and precise in his reflections; in the intimate space of Ripon Arts Hub, his thoughts and tales made for captivating listening. His love for language, the way words work, and the magic of word play were all on resplendent display, and he plotted these, humorously and often poignantly, against the story of his life, career, and the people he has met along the way.
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Record entry for Ripon Poetry Festival competition
The 2023 Ripon Poetry Festival, which came to a close yesterday evening, proved a success with sell-out performances and a record entry for the annual poetry competition.
The final event, held at the Ripon Arts Hub on Allhallowgate, was an evening with theatre legend Barrie Rutter, the actor and director who founded Northern Broadsides to champion acting talent from the north.
This year’s 11-day festival also featured Internationally-famous children’s author Michael Rosen, who made a return to the city, having helped to launch the first Ripon Poetry Festival in 2017.
Festival curator Andy Cross told the Stray Ferret:
“It has been another tremendous year. We’ve had sell-out events from the outset and more than 300 entries for the poetry competition, which is a new record.”
Mr Croft (pictured above, centre) was among the panel of three judges that included Ripon Theatre Festival director Katie Scott and last year’s competition winner Simon Strickland (pictured left) who selected the poem, Newborn, written by Edmund Thomson Jones as the 2023 winning entry.
His entry, which was inspired by the birth of his daughter, now features alongside other entries in the 142-page festival anthology titled Creative Juices.
A separate anthology including entries from children, has also been published.
The festival, which is the biggest of its kind in Yorkshire saw performances from poets Hadley-James Hoyles, Alison Carr, Robert Powell and Sarah Wimbush.
In addition to workshops for children and adults there was open mic evening organised by Write-on Ripon and Ripon Writers Group.
A review of An Audience with Barrie Rutter is available here.
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Famous author to return to Ripon Poetry Festival
Internationally-famous children’s writer Michael Rosen, who helped to launch the first Ripon Poetry Festival in 2017, is returning to the city to take part in this year’s event.
The author, whose works include We’re Going on a Bear Hunt, features in a packed programme that also includes theatre legend Barrie Rutter, the actor and director who founded Northern Broadsides to champion acting talent from the north.
The festival, which will run from September 21 until October 1, is the biggest of its kind in Yorkshire and will also see performances from poets Hadley-James Hoyles, Alison Carr, Robert Powell and Sarah Wimbush.
In addition to workshops for children and adults and an open mic evening organised by Write-on Ripon and Ripon Writers Group, Tim Harrison, former director of music at Middlesbrough Cathedral is joining forces with author, poet and festival curator Andy Croft for the world premiere of a chamber oratorio.
At the heart of the festival is a competition for poets of all ages who are being invited to submit their creative work for consideration by an independent panel of judges.
Entries are now open for three categories — under-11s, 12 to 18 year-olds and adults.
Those judged to be the best will be published in anthologies covering each of the three age ranges. More details about the festival and how to enter can be found by clicking here.
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