On Sunday April 18th, friend, treasured reader and patron to the flicker club Mark Rylance hosted an event at the Apollo Theatre, to coincide with the publication of a new book, 'We Are One' and the flicker club were thrilled support him.
The event was a benefit to raise awareness and funds for the work of Survival International, an organization that supports the rights of tribal people across the world. It took place on the magnificent set of Jez Butterworth’s play ‘Jerusalem’ in which Mark played the Wiltshire shaman Jonny ‘Rooster’ Byron, poised on the brink of the final week of its impressive London life. On the stage in front of a tree-surrounded caravan in rural England , Mark and his special guests who included Gillian Anderson, Julie Christie, Mackenzie Crook, Sinead Cusack, Emilia Fox, Derek Jacobi, Danny Sapani, John Sessions, Sarah Moyles, Juliet Stevenson, Zoe Wanamaker , Bruce Dickinson, Jon Lord and Ian Paice gathered for a celebration of indigenous poetry and prose.
© Marc Cowan/Survival
The show begins with a chorus of folk from the Factory Theatre Company exhibiting the inhumane attitudes that exist towards to the ancient peoples of the world. From the tangle of these voices come the Caledonian tones of John Sessions reading the chilling report of the Spanish priest Bartolome de la Casas in 1542, who dared to question the ethics of slaughtering native people in the cause of building a New World.
This prologue generates a concentrated atmosphere into which Mark makes his entrance escorting Julie Christie to reverent silence rather than celebratory applause.
Wearing a T-shirt featuring Native Americans framed by the slogan ‘Homeland Security Fighting Terrorism Since 1492’, Mark lights a furnace centre stage with a blue gas flame lighter then places himself stage left to oversee proceedings. Ms Christie then takes us delicately through the poem ‘Change’ by Kathleen Raine as if carrying a night-light in a breeze.
Mark welcomes the gathering to the afternoon and explains how he has supported the work of Survival International for ten years now. ”As a child, I was enriched and inspired by the lives and stories of the world's tribal peoples. As an adult, I have also been inspired by the ceaseless work of the organization Survival International, and their movement to protect these tribes - from the rainforest of the Amazon to the icy reaches of the Arctic...To celebrate 40 years of Survival's work and enjoy the beauty of the spoken word from such rich oral cultures, I am gathering my friends from the theatre on the set of Jerusalem for a wonderful spring afternoon of eloquent recitals and stunning images”
The baton is passed to his Jerusalem side-kick Mackenzie Crook who shares the words of Davi Yanomami Kopenawa from a piece entitled ‘My home is the Amazon’.
© Marc Cowan/Survival
Of the contributions that followed, those of the elegant, anthropologist and poet, Hugh Brody have a particularly consciousness raising effect. He pronounces Inuit words, which are then followed by a conceptual explanation given by members of the Factory Gang. The myth about Eskimos having 91 words for snow becomes dispelled; they have no single word for snow. They use specific words for precise states of its transition.
Footage of women from a tribe of Kalahari Bushmen is played on the screen suspended above the stage and Mr. Brody highlights that they use nearly 145 different sounds in their speech compared to the 55 or so used in English. It becomes clear that the three key issues facing indigenous peoples today are to do with land rights, the trauma suffered through enforced relocation and the loss of language.
After a few more readings, the first half draws to close with Mark filling in for Kevin Spacey, by reading Laurens Van Der Post’s account of the Gana Bushman’s Fire Dance. This extraordinary ritual account ends with its participants collapsing in exhaustion just as the rains start to fall. It put me in mind of Jonny Byron’s raising of a Romany gypsy curse to invoke a tribe of ancient vengeful giants of Albion. Elemental stuff!
The lights fade leaving the gas flames flickering. In the half darkness, after a few moments silence, Mark raises some laughs when he says “I forgot about the fire when I asked for a blackout"
© Marc Cowan/Survival
During the interval under the quiet air traffic free skies of Shaftesbury avenue, we celebrate Juliet Stevenson’s impassioned reading of “What we went away for” by George Gosnell of the Nisga’a tribe from what is now Canada.
© Marc Cowan/Survival
It was something of a privilege to experience established figures of the British theatre donating their time and voices to the quiet but desperate plight of indigenous people. I was particularly taken by Edward Fox lending his artistry and mastery of the spoken word to the account of The Bushmen Relocated by the Kgagagadi Bushman, Mogetese Kaboikanyo. When the initial impact of a familiar figure made way for the simplicity of hearing words in a room, he became a channel for the intelligence and sensitivity of a human being living in threatened conditions whose situation might otherwise go unheard.
© Lewis Davids/Survival
As I report this I am aware of being a bit name-droppy but I think part of Mark’s achievement that afternoon was to use perceived celebrity to raise awareness of a cause that he has a deep commitment to. I think there is sometimes a suspicion of actors when they come out from behind their masks of comedy or tragedy. When popular artists adopt an extra-personal cause, they are often accused of being flakey ill-informed goody goodies. However the gesture of Marlon Brando sending Sacheen Littlefeather to collect his Oscar in protest of how Native Americans are treated by the film industry or Sting appearing with the leader of a tribe from the Amazonian Rain Forest on Wogan has the effect of raising consciousness. If it irritates, that is interesting and if it inspires, how wonderful to be inspired! The tradition of the actor as political activist is much stronger in America than in the UK. Maybe the frustration at politicised actors is an aspect of that disease, which particularly afflicts the English, of expecting people to know their place. Actors are subjects of their patrons who should not step out of line. But when someone who has a respect for tradition is given a popular platform in a democracy, why shouldn’t they raise questions that preoccupy their hearts and consciences? Mark’s calling as an artist is a far cry from that of the careerist who does not wish to upset the status quo. He has a love of words and a profound connection to the imaginative life of the human spirit that is nothing short of miraculous. He also has a talent for bringing communities together and throwing a great do.
After the Factory’s opening rendition of The Bastards by Barbara Nicholson of the Aboriginal Wadi Wadi tribe, the mood shifts to that of the village hall for a raffle draw. Imelda Staunton becomes an impromptu auctioneer when the man who is in possession of both winning tickets suggests raising more money by auctioning off the prizes.
© Marc Cowan/Survival
There is a feeling of folk sitting around the camp-fire sharing intimate stories and revelations when a quartet of Emilia Fox, Juliet Stevenson, Gillian Anderson, Imelda Staunton continue the second half with the words of Orlando of the Makuxi tribe;
‘One day we saw a beetle flying over the top of our house. It was a very big beetle carrying a lot of people. But they were not like us, they were a different people. It was a very big beetle which had arrived to dominate us’
© Lewis Davids/Survival
Derek Jacobi’s reading of that account of the ritual initiation in which Lame Deer becomes a man, prompts a round of applause which seems to mark a shift in the nature of the audience’s appreciation. This carries through the rest of the afternoon in the reaction to the wonderful vitality of James Wilby embodiment of the Gana Bushman !Ngate, inviting two cast members to complete his hunting party and celebrating how Tracking is like dancing and the audible humanity expressed at Zoe Wanamaker’s admission to losing her place whilst reading Arrivals by David Whyte, a beautiful reading…
As proceedings draw to their conclusion, Mark expresses gratitude to the audience for their attention, thanks the donor of the raffle prizes for his good nature and welcomes Mackenzie Crook back as ‘Davi’. After the reading of “In my Yanomami Land’ the stage is clear for a musical finale.
A group of musicians sporting acoustic instruments strike up a Celtic sounding refrain and are joined by a capering figure who comes bouncing on banging his ring finger on an elaborately carved log. This turns out to be Iron Maiden front man and commercial pilot Bruce Dickinson. His scorching arrangement of William Blake’s Jerusalem leads to a few audience members shooting to their feet, key amongst them are Daisy and Juliette, unwilling to restrain their inner rock chicks. As we make our way out on we all agree that the last number and indeed the whole afternoon has been a reflection of what theatre is all about; the finding of an expression of pure joy despite the human struggle with opposing forces. Sunday evening life on the streets of London seemed more vivid and more alive than it had earlier that day. And it felt good !
Alan Cox for the flicker club, thank you Alan x
