Taking the classic Smiths’ song Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me as their cue, director, writer and performer Ben Harrison and musician and composer David Paul Jones delve into the ‘80s with a new show.
The show is a meld of David’s original music and covers of the ‘80s classics with Ben’s short stories, all set in the ‘80s when both men were teenagers. This example of the beauty of gig theatre is a sequel to Ben Harrison’s collaboration with Amy Duncan in 2022, Undertow Overflow, which saw Ben performing on stage for the first time in 27 years.
The show is directed by Scott Johnston, written and performed by Ben Harrison with original music and covers by David Paul Jones, and featuring Justyna Jablonska on cello, Emery Hunter as BSL. There is a Signed performer for all performances and Simon Wilkinson does the lighting design.
Ben Harrison and David Paul Jones’ collaboration and friendship began with the Grid Iron show Those Eyes, That Mouth in 2003 which won seven awards and was presented to great acclaim in Edinburgh and Beirut.
Ben Harrison, who one of the most acclaimed and awarded theatre directors in Scotland, known best for his work as Co-Artistic Director of the multi-award-winning company Grid Iron, said “I’m delighted to be returning to the stage as a performer again in the company of wonderful and trusted collaborators Scott Johnston and David Paul Jones and some exciting new artists. Delving back into my teenage years in the Eighties has been fascinating, very funny and very healing as David and I revisit our formative experiences in those years from the perspective of the present day.”
David Paul Jones who is a classically trained composer and pianist and one of the leading composers and musical performers on the Scottish performing arts scene said “Ben Harrison and I have been collaborators for over twenty years, creating many theatre productions together with Grid Iron and beyond. I grew up in Ayrshire in the 1980s and fell in love with the music of Cocteau Twins and This Mortal Coil, a love affair that triggered my own path to a life dedicated to composing and performing music. One of my passions is re-imagining classic songs, getting under the skin of a song’s poetry and often finding a deeper, sometimes hidden, narrative. ‘80s music has this potential in abundance.”
Dates and venues:
Tron, Glasgow: 19th – 21st September
Summerhall, Edinburgh: 23rd – 25th September
James Milne Institute, Findhorn Bay Arts Festival: 28th September
Irene Brown
Radio Summerhall Arts 