Images courtesy Metal
This evening we went to an excellent talk by the inspirational designer Bruce Mau and one of the things he talked about is the fact that even in the art and design world we rarely talk about Beauty. Even though we are in fact attempting to make our world more beautiful we use other terms.
So I’m delighted to report that at Metal at Edge Hill Station all this week there is very much a thing of beauty. From the moment you arrive and hand your ornately inscribed ticket to the conductor in his top hat and long black coat you enter a bygone era, reminding us again that this is the oldest passenger station in the world. It was opened in 1836 and the characters Juniper and Sonny have inhabited the place ever since, or is it just a rumour, an urban myth, they may even be pigeons.
The two main characters are excellently performed by Laura Powers-del Arco and Adam Millington as they take us on a promenade around the station buildings and even through the underpass where we pause for a while to listen to the musicians at either end as a train passes over our heads – coincidence or perfect timing?
The music and the story which is told in poetic form is by Rebecca Joy Sharp and the visual creations, curiosities and obfuscations are by Elizabeth Willow.
After the performance we gather in the Tearooms for tea and cakes and a raffle and for once I actually enjoyed completing the obligatory evaluation form as it had questions such as ‘Did you have a biscuit?’ and ‘Do you have a tail?’
It was a cold evening but I hardly noticed, I was lost in the magic.. and the beauty.
At time of writing there are still tickets available for Friday and Saturday evenings and the Saturday matinee which is signed and wheelchair accessible. You can buy tickets (£7/5) (or reserve and pick up on the door) from News from Nowhere bookshop, 96 Bold Street, Liverpool L1 4HY Tel. 0151 708 7270
The Ballad of Juniper Davy and Sonny Lumiere
11 May 2010 – 15 May 2010
at Metal at Edge Hill Station
