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Tom Hanks, artists and risk, Brexit dance piece Brink

Tom Hanks on his latest film, are artists taking more or fewer risks now than 20 years ago? Eileen McClory on creating a dance piece to reflect on Brexit.

Tom Hanks talks about his new film, A Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood, which is based on the true story of the popular American children's TV presenter Fred Rogers. For more than three decades Fred Rogers presented Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood , imparting words of wisdom tenderly, without condescension or skirting around difficult subjects, to very young viewers. This film charts the relationship between Rogers and Lloyd Vogel, a cynical investigative journliast looking to dig up and dish the dirt where there is none.

Prescriptive funders, cautious gatekeepers, social media scrutiny, cancel culture – are we living in an especially risky moment for artists? As part of Front Row’s Risk Season John is joined by playwright Roy Williams, critic Louis Wise and editor of Arts Professional Magazine Amanda Parker to consider how attitudes towards creative risk have changed over the past 20 years. How have the arrival of the internet, more than a decade of austerity and the increasing imperative to represent marginalised voices impacted the choices artists can make?

The Brexit negotiations may have inspired endless newspaper articles and documentaries but in Northern Ireland, choreographer Eileen McClory decided that she wanted to reflect on the negotiations with a new contemporary dance. The result – Brink – features two dancers on a small 1.5 metres high table. Eileen discusses why this non-verbal artform was the perfect medium for that most verbose of subjects – Brexit.

Presenter: John Wilson
Producer: Simon Richardson

Available now

28 minutes

A Beautiful Day

A Beautiful Day

is out now, certificate PG.

Images: Main image above and image to the left: Tom Hanks (Right) with Front Row's John Wilson.

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Brink

Brink

Brink by Maiden Voyage Dance is part of a double bill at The Mac, Belfast on 07Ìýand 08 February 2020, and at The Market Place Theatre, Armagh on 12 February 2020.

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Image: Ryan O'Neill and Vasiliki StasinakiÌý in

Image credit: Luca Truffarelli

Broadcast

  • Mon 3 Feb 2020 19:15

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