Folk Theatre - Paint the Town Fred (The Curator's Review)
Helena Cox, Former Curator of the Beverley Art Gallery:
“Paint the Town Fred was commissioned by Beverley Art Gallery as part of their ongoing strategy to disseminate knowledge about Fred and Mary Elwell and engage wider audiences. The play was a brilliant reflection of both the life and art of the Elwells and did a fantastic job of incorporating visual material and meticulous research into the story, mixing these with a comedic touch and a lively way of storytelling.
Gordon undertook diligent research of both Elwells’ work and spent time at the Gallery repository as well as talking to Val Wise and Wendy Loncaster, the two experts on the Elwells. The playful and creative stage design incorporated images from the Gallery’s collection which substantially raised awareness of the collection among the visitors.
Gordon achieved a perfect balance between a light-touch narration and a thorough investigative rigour with which he interrogated the Elwells’ lives."
"The play also achieved one of the main desired goals, which was to bring Mary Elwell out of the shadows and present her as Fred’s equal. The play gave both artists equal exposure and portrayed their loving relationship in a very profound and touching way.
As a former curator of the Gallery, I was blown away with the quality of Gordon’s work. I was especially impressed with the effect the play had on the civic pride and community cohesion of the visitors. Thanks to the play, and the very successful ‘Fred Fest’, the project brought new audiences to the Gallery and introduced the Elwells to a wide array of new visitors, who only found their way to the Gallery thanks to the play.
The play proved to be a fantastic way of engaging new audiences and enhancing the knowledge about the Elwells among the residents in Beverley.
I hope that there will be many more such collaborations in the years to come.”
Play the video to see artist Gary Saunt's beautiful transition to show the painting being created before your eyes. This played during the show in the scene when Fred painted Mary's portrait