Unthanks to bring variety and ‘mischief’ to The Glasshouse
A new attraction announced by the folk pioneers
New and just announced for The Glasshouse in the autumn is The Friday Night Club, a genre blending and possibly genre bending night curated and hosted by The Unthanks in their role as Artistic Partners of the international centre for music.
What’s promised is a quarterly show featuring musicians, poets, comedians and musicians (classical, jazz, folk) who might possibly share billing with some short film screenings.
It’s suggested “local legends and touring artists” will share the Sage Two stage and “pop up surprises” are also promised.
Adrian McNally, musical director of The Unthanks, explains the concept eloquently, saying: “We firmly believe in the cultural intelligence of modern audiences and healthy mischief.
“If a folk singer is followed by a cello sonata, followed by a stop-motion film, followed by a comedian, followed by a jazz ensemble, it might be a surprise, but surely not a problem.
“We doubt the majority of concert goers will bat an eyelid and hopefully, for the artists involved, it will be enriching to find their work bookended differently, reaching new ears and not relying exclusively on their fanbases.”
It promises a variety or cabaret-style vibe which might not be new but has certainly fallen out of fashion in recent years.
First up on September 26 will be a line-up featuring singer-songwriter Clara Mann, author Fiona Mozley, a Royal Northern Sinfonia ensemble and musician and humorist Tim Dalling whose stage career could be summed up as healthy mischief.
The Unthanks, much loved folk pioneers, will open and close the show, while inviting the audience to make an evening of it with food beforehand and a drink in the bar afterwards.
Looking more closely at the inaugural line-up, Clara Mann is described by The Unthanks as a Franco-British ‘almost-folk’ newcomer and by The Independent as having “gone from one to watch to one of the best songwriters in the country”.
She will present her first album, Rift, to the Friday Night Club audience.
Yorkshire author Fiona Mozley will reveal how her 2017 debut novel, Elmet, which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize, is being transformed into a site-specific theatre piece for Bradford City of Culture.
Scheduled for the autumn, it will feature music performed by The Unthanks.
Tim Dalling will offer a blend of storytelling and poetry, summoning up the wild fun of old-time variety shows.
As The Unthanks acknowledge, his songs, often comical but sometimes deadly serious, can make you laugh one moment and cry the next.
The Unthanks collaborated with fellow Artistic Partner Maria Włoszczowska, the renowned violinist, to select the compositions to be performed by Royal Northern Sinfonia players.
On launch night, they’ll share music by Finnish composer Einojuhani Rautavaara who died in 2016, aged 87.
This from The Glasshouse: “Writing his String Quartet No. 1 at just 23, during his neo-classical phase, there are hints of Stravinsky mixed with Finnish folk music in the first and final movements.
“The Slavic romance of the middle Andante hints at the freer, tonal beauty of his later work.”
It was back in the autumn that The Unthanks, Maria Włoszczowska and Corinne Bailey Rae were announced as Artistic Partners of The Glasshouse.
The idea was that they would work with the institution and Royal Northern Sinfonia over three years and be supported by them in curating and creating new work.
Lucy Scott, senior producer at The Glasshouse said: “Our artistic partnerships are about artists shaping new ideas for music and connection.
“With The Friday Night Club, The Unthanks are turning Sage Two into a welcoming place where creativity can take unexpected turns, bringing together different artforms and ideas into the room.
“Sage Two is the perfect setting for it: great sound, an intimate atmosphere and a space where artists can take risks, try things out and surprise us.”