2023’s Gainsborough Literacy Project ‘Cuttlefish,’ focused on the story of The Beckwith brothers; one a veteran of the war in Afghanistan, the other a promising young artist just back from America, where he’s found success. 

What began as conversations about hatred, love, and grief then grew into the germ of an idea of two brothers meeting after a long separation at their mother’s wake, warily getting to know each other again in their childhood home.  We held a series of workshops with the young people deep-diving into their chosen themes, suggestions and ideas, and then professional writer Neil Edwards went away to weave the various strands into a story that could be told on stage.

The young people supported every element of production, getting stuck into constructing the set they’d helped to design, working with each department learning new skills and broadening their employability as they prepared the show for its Gainsborough audience.

Synopsis

The Beckwith brothers have changed a lot since they played together as kids in the garden. Adventure seeking Stevie joined the army and went on to see action in Afghanistan, whilst Chrissy, a promising young artist, moved to America and found tremendous success as a colourist for a comic book company. The trip he is taking now to attend his mother’s funeral is the first one he’s taken home for more than ten years. As the two brothers warily readjust to each other’s company in the old house they grew up in, their father, whose violent outbursts helped shape them as boys, mourns privately upstairs. He has his ghosts, and the brothers have theirs, but not all will be laid to rest peacefully. 

Another team of local young people came together with us to create a curtain raiser, and this developed into a truly heart-warming piece inspired by real stories shared with the group by those at the Gainsborough Heritage Centre. ‘Under Starry Skies’ told the story of women in 1940s Gainsborough as they navigated the demands and challenges of finding their role in the war. The piece was also made into an audio play, which can be heard here, and performed at Gainsborough Heritage Centre, where the idea began.