cityofculture

Eraserhead

| Quentin Budworth

When Kate Macdonald asked me if she could be The Lady in the Radiator from the cult David Lynch film Eraserhead I thought blimey that’s a bit out there but what the hell let’s give it a whirl.
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Kate explained that she had scene the film whilst a living in a flat which resembled the kitchen in Withnail and she was about 18 the first time she watched it and under the influence of various things and remembers the jacket potato she was trying to eat resembled the baby in the film. She was determined to watch it when ‘straight’ but said it was still as weird! The meaning attributed to the mysterious Lady in the Radiator (Laurel Near) was that she represents the Grim Reaper and sings to Henry an eerie song of heaven and of how “everything is fine” there. It can be stated that the radiator itself is representative of Henry’s thoughts of self-destruction and that he sees death as a source of freedom from his living Hell.

This view seems to be confirmed at the film’s shocking climax when Henry kills his baby in act of release and mercy. He is then met by the Lady in the Radiator in a brilliant flash of light and dies in her arms. In this act, Henry has finally embraced Death and accepted it into his life, giving him admittance to his own personal heaven and freedom.

Many thanks to Paul Jackson at the Adelphi for letting us use the stage there for the shoot.

The Invisible Man

| Quentin Budworth

David Osgerby approached me about playing Dr Jack Griffin  to recreate the classic 1933 B movie The Invisible Man. A science fiction horror film based on H. G. Wells’ science fiction novel of the same name, published in 1897, as adapted by R.C. Sheriff, Philip Wylie and Preston Sturges. Produced by Universal Studios, the film was directed by James Whale and stars Claude Rains, in his first American screen appearance, and Gloria Stuart. It spawned a number of sequels, plus many spinoffs using the idea of an “invisible man” that were largely unrelated to Wells’ original story.

Rains portrayed the Invisible Man (Dr. Jack Griffin) mostly only as a disembodied voice. Rains is only shown clearly for a brief time at the end of the film, spending most of his on-screen time covered by bandages.

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George was so taken by his role that he is planning some performances as ‘The Invisible Poet’ at the Union Mashup in 2017.

 

 

Planning projections

| Quentin Budworth

A great technical meeting in a very cold barn deep in the wilds of East Yorkshire with Chris and Tim who are working with me on the Hullywood Icons projections for the opening event of City of Culture in January 2017. We will be using two 5.5 projectors with wide and long throw lenses mounted on a Land Rover with sound system. Here’s a glimpse of the icons in the barn.