The Portico Podcast’s brand new series Rewriting the North explores place and writing in the North of England.
In association with the 2022 Portico Prize, Rewriting the North commissions five writers from or based in the North of England to write and present an episode on a place of personal significance, recorded on-site.
Episodes include broadside ballad singer Jennifer Reid singing and improvising in Rochdale; writer and editor Adam Farrer exploring the eroding coastline of Withernsea, East Yorkshire; theatre maker and MC Testament retracing historical footsteps from Salford to Manchester; poet and activist Amina Atiq in her home city of Liverpool, reflecting on her Yemeni-Scouse heritage; and BBC Five Live Football Commentator John Murray touring three great bastions of North East football. Episodes will be released and posted here every three weeks.
The series is hosted by Joe Fenn and produced by Nija Dalal-Small. Concept and programming by Sarah Hill. Rewriting the North is supported using public funding by Arts Council England. Our theme tune is The Kavari Water by Arizona Pope.
Episode Five: John Murray
Touring three great bastions of North East football
John Murray is a sports broadcaster, senior commentator and Football Correspondent for BBC Radio 5 Live. For the final episode of our inaugural Rewriting the North series, John takes us on an odyssey of the North East of England, from a remote farm straddling Hadrian's Wall, where he grew up, to three iconic football grounds that have influenced his career: St James's Park (Newcastle FC), The Stadium of Light (Sunderland FC) and Riverside Stadium (Middlesbrough FC), crossing the Tyne, Wear and Tees rivers along the way.
Special thanks to BBC Tees for granting us permission to use Ali Brownlee’s commentary of Middlesbrough's 2006 UEFA Cup semi-final victory over Steau Bucharest.
Episode Four: Amina Atiq
On dual heritage and Liverpool's migrant communities
Amina Atiq is a Yemeni-Scouse poet, community activist and performance artist. Reflecting on her dual identity, Amina meets us in her home city of Liverpool and takes us to the alleyways and corner shops of her childhood. She performs her poem “L8 Streets Die With Me” along the way, and touches on moments in Liverpool's recent history including the Toxteth riots.
Episode Three: Testament
Retracing the steps of poet Robert Rose, The Bard of Colour, from Salford to Manchester
Hip-Hop MC, writer and theatre-maker Testament takes us on a historical journey from Salford to Manchester to explore the life of 19th-century poet Robert Rose, known as The Bard of Colour, one of the first famous people of colour in Manchester's history. Along the way, Testament performs his own raps alongside poems by Rose including Reform, a rallying cry to end slavery all over the world.
Episode Two: Adam Farrer
Exploring the coastline of Withernsea, one of the fastest eroding places in the UK
How do we make sense of a place that's disappearing? Writer and editor Adam Farrer reflects on the corroding coastline of Withernsea, East Yorkshire, taking us to the spot where seven whales washed up on the beach last year. His new story The Californian is a darkly humorous meditation on survival in one of the fastest eroding places in the UK.
Episode One: Jennifer Reid
Broadside ballads in Rochdale and an A-Z of the Lancashire dialect
Jennifer Reid is a performer of 19th-century Lancashire dialect, broadside ballads and clog dances. In this very first episode of The Portico Podcast's Rewriting the North series, Jenn takes us on a trip to Broadfield Park in Rochdale where she performs an A to Z of the Lancashire dialect and talks us through what Lancashire means to her.
Music Credits
Music used throughout Episode One is Deep Relaxation Preview by Kevin MacLeod (license).
Music used throughout Episode Two is Music for Manatees, Sneaky Snitch and Heartbreaking by Kevin MacLeod (license).
Music used in Episode Three is Sankofa by Ariya Astrobeat Arkestra (ft. Testament of Homecut) and Bring It All Together (Instrumental) by Homecut (compoer A. Brooks, S. Jones). Used with permission from the artists. This episode also features Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in E Minor and String Quarter in E Flat Major, both public domain recordings. Source.
Music used in Episode Four is Truth in the Stones by Kevin MacLeod (license).
Music used in Episode Five is Too Cool, Ice Flow and Basic Implosion by Kevin MacLeod (license).
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