Episode 4 The Arts Show

Hello and welcome to The Arts Show,

covering the best of arts and culture in Northern Ireland.

We've got a packed show for you tonight. Here's what's coming up.

Enniskillen actor Adrian Dunbar

talks about his long stage and screen career,

and his role in the groundbreaking BBC drama, Nick Nickleby.

Animation in Northern Ireland

has surprisingly taken off as an emerging industry,

with growing respect on the world stage.

We investigate some of our brightest prospects.

And singer-songwriter Foy Vance, who's about to embark on a US tour

with phenomenally popular Ed Sheeran,

gives The Arts Show an exclusive performance.

But first, the printed book has been around for nearly 600 years.

But the publishing world is getting to grips with a new way of reading

due to the changes electronic or e-publishing

is bringing to the industry. A staggering 1.9 million titles

are now available to download onto your e-reader.

And sales in the UK alone rose by 366% last year.

Also, a growing number of these titles are self-published.

So how does an aspiring writer break into the market?

You upload it as a file and publish, that's it.

If you follow the instructions, you're good to go.

For writers, self-publishing promises you can be master of your own destiny.

No longer at the mercy of publishers who might reject your masterpiece.

'Well, Mr Red, White and Blue was standing there with dinner made for us and all.

'Now we're not talking a bucket from KFC

'or a portion of well-done scallops from Manny's chippie.

'It was friggin' oysters. And this is him:

' "These are an aphrodisiac, Margaret."

'And this is me: "Your whatsit?"'

This time last year I was sitting in this very seat

and I just dreamed of writing a book. I started writing with this pen.

I wrote the last half of the book with it. It's my lucky pen.

I was just typing these on to Facebook and hitting 'Post'.

No editing or anything.

Just shared amongst my friends on the Friday night.

Over the weekend they shared it with their friends,

they shared it, they shared it,

and by the Monday there was a thousand people on it.

And now there's about 29,000 or something.

I'd just heard of e-publishing,

so I decided to put it all together on a document.

The next day it went live. The numbers just went up and up and up.

"He staggered towards the coop, the weight of the girl wearing him down,

"pushing his feet deeper into the sticky ground.

"It was quite a distance. Dre stood over the Caldwell boy for a moment.

"He knelt rocking in the dirt, the noise of his grinding the only thing breaking the silence."

"Oh, you can't get a publisher, so you're going to go down the e-publishing route?"

That's what most people sort of thought, without a publisher you were absolutely nothing.

Now authority and things sits with the writers a lot more.

But publishers are also keeping track of what is happening online.

It wasn't long before Lisa was approached about a print version

of "50 Shades of Red, White and Blue".

But why get a publisher if you're selling e-books on the Internet?

Well, as a writer it kind of validates it for you.

You've came on this journey, you've written a novel.

Until you actually hold a book in your hand that you have written,

and been published, I don't think you really believe

that you've achieved something and done something. That's me personally.

We bring a credibility to writers.

And then potentially building a brand for a writer,

that can take them to the next level. And often,

most times, that's the publisher who helps the writer to do that.

If you're self-publishing, being a good writer is not enough.

You have to stand out from the crowd.

In the last 90 days, 170,252 books have come out.

So my little one book that came out, what, about six weeks ago,

has disappeared beneath nearly 200,000 books.

For Rebecca, the solution is social media.

Well, I always go into my mail and see how many responses I'll have had to different things.

It's really a matter of going through all the pages

and responding to as many people as possible,

and posting things up on as many sites as possible.

Word-of-mouth is what it's all about. And all you need

is a few people to say, "Oh, have you seen this novel?" And that's it.

It's away, it's a runaway success.

In the mid-20th century, there was an earlier publishing revolution

brought by new technology.

Cheap paperbacks rolled off the presses

and suddenly new experiences and new voices were making it into print.

Is this happening again?

I just thought, I'm going to write it as she says it. That's part of the joke.

"Here's me", well that means, "What?" Only in Belfast!

The way in which we read, and potentially the way we write,

is all up for change just now.

It's a while maybe since we've had

a woman coming forward and writing in that kind of voice.

So would a new voice like Lisa have been signed

if she had just sent in a sample chapter?

She's a great entrepreneur, Lisa.

Whether that would have persuaded us, I'm not sure.

But as it was, we knew she had 28,000 followers on Facebook.

So if you ever wanted a kind of demonstration of an audience,

that's it there for you, laid on a plate.

Fewer books are going to be printed on paper.

But can e-publishing alone be enough for writers?

I think, for me, I'm going to stay with the e-book publishing.

And my main aim would definitely be to have an e-publisher

probably take my books, and then I would literally get time to write!

And they could do the hard bit for me!

This is the advance chromalin proof of the cover for Lisa's new book.

We just wanted it to have a really fun, kind of party feel. Lots of glitz.

I was over the moon at the people buying online, on the Kindle and everything.

But to actually have it and to flick through it

and to feel it, you know, it just brings it all home.

Like, "Oh my God, look what I've done", you know.

It definitely is a massive difference for me.

And good luck to them.

Now, Enniskillen's Adrian Dunbar

is one of our best-known actors in film, television and stage.

He's also carved out a career as a screenwriter, singer and director.

His movie credits include 'Hear My Song', 'My Left Foot', 'The Crying Game' and 'The General'.

While on TV he has been in popular dramas from 'A Touch of Frost' to 'Line of Duty'.

He's known for playing tough characters, and just last week

saw him play the villainous Uncle Ralph in 'Nick Nickleby',

BBC Northern Ireland's modern-day adaptation of the Dickens classic.

Nick Nickleby.

-Here.

-There is some spell about that boy.

What usually happens when you do Dickens is that all the comedy gets stripped out.

-Just the cruelty is left.

-And just the cruelty's left.

So this is both cruel and funny.

-Good evening, Miss Nickleby.

-Still Missus, if you don't mind, Ralph. It's early days yet.

What was very, very difficult about it was knowing where it was pitched.

Whether we're going for the humour, whether we're going for the tragedy,

you know, where is the balance to go from real intense drama to slapstick, you know, all in the one piece?

Do you like playing horrible characters?

Well, it's great fun, yeah! There's a lot of them!

In his early 30s, Adrian co-wrote and starred in 'Hear My Song',

playing a club impresario wooing his true love

in this BAFTA-nominated film.

-Nancy here?

-Yeah.

-Champagne?

-Yeah.

Give that to her halfway through the second verse.

When you walk out in that scene and you start to sing to Nancy,

how much do you improvise in a role?

'That's very interesting, that particular scene.

'It makes you like the central character.

'You start to like this guy despite the fact that he's kind of'

so cheeky and abrasive and kind of obviously trying to put one over on so many people.

So, you know, but somebody who's brave enough

to do something like that, you kind of like, you know.

APPLAUSE

It was a real fabulous moment in my career,

just to see something that you created go all the way through.

Let's move on then to a completely different kind of film.

We're fast-forwarding seven years as well. 1998 and 'The General'.

Why don't you go after them instead of harassing ordinary decent criminals?

Does that kind of swagger and strut come easily to you? Some actors just don't have it.

No, I don't think it comes easily to you.

There's a certain amount of responsibility

to get the character right, that you hit the right pitch.

There's a bit of fear involved. Also, a kind of brio and bravado that's kind of unfounded,

because you know that you're connected to a criminal gang.

But ultimately it's a collaborative thing,

so you're looking to see what's coming off the crowd.

You're looking to see what Seamus Deasy's doing with the camera.

You're aware, even as you're acting, you're aware of the crew and the camera and all of that?

Yes, you have to be aware of environment.

I mean, environment is crucial to all these things.

While some roles need a high degree of technical know-how,

others require a personal response.

In Mickybo & Me, Adrian played the father of a young boy

in 1970s Belfast.

The scene we're going to look at

is where Micky meets his dead father - your part.

You have been killed in a pub shooting,

and it is an unbelievably tender interaction

between a father and son.

I have to tell him!

Are you dead, Da?

I am that, son.

Every square inch of me.

Why, Da?

It all happened dead quick.

Just sitting having a wee pint.

Thinking about the world...

Where did that incredible performance come from?

My own father died quite young, when he was 50.

We didn't have a very close relationship.

So I kind of thought about...

some of those aspects, of those lost aspects of relationships.

It is strange, sometimes, if you just work off...

-Yeah.

-..an understanding of something like that -

that it will read entirely to an audience.

I found a place

where I felt the scene could exist

in projecting what the future might be.

I knew that the audience would be understanding that this child...

was suddenly going to be unprotected in the world, if you like.

Christina would sally forth to weddings and wakes,

taking me by the hand with her,

cos I was her Benji.

Her golden boy.

One of Adrian's most high-profile stage roles

has been Irish playwright Brendan Behan.

This was informed by a very different kind of personal insight.

I threw him the whole way down the stairs...

-Physically, you're not like him in any way, shape or form.

-No.

But you inhabited him so powerfully.

Did your own struggle with alcohol help you get into the mind

of what it must have been like to be Brendan?

I think it probably did.

I don't consider myself an alcoholic -

I just consider myself someone who is very lucky to stop drinking when he did.

HE LAUGHS

Just put it that way.

Maybe I should take a drink of it,

just to prove to meself that I'm no longer in its thrall.

That I'd just as soon have a cup of coffee,

and at the same time, you don't want to cause offence, do ya?

And I see this... hand...

..reaching out...

for the brandy.

'When I came to dealing with Brendan,'

I had a lot of compassion and understanding

for where he was at, I think.

I didn't let it colour my performance to the extent

where I was trying to get that across.

I think I would try to show Brendan

and his alcoholism for what it is,

and it's not a very nice thing.

If you can try and understand it as a disease,

then you can have a better understanding

of the madness and the problems he was facing.

DS Cottan, is it all right if I call you Matthew?

Fine by me, sir.

In the recent Line Of Duty,

Adrian played a cop whose job is to police the police.

It's a role that demands the right presence on screen.

'You have the benefit of uniform.'

That helps, does it?

It tends to give you a sort of moral authority, doesn't it?

There's also a thing that goes across

both the North of Ireland and Scotland

that there is a kind of moral authority

that comes with...the accent.

HE LAUGHS

I think, you know,

we're big on finding the truth,

and wanting to know what the truth is.

And the subtlety is only really actually in

how your eyes slowly lose their twinkle.

Very much so. I was doing a lot

of distracting things that you don't actually see.

"We decided, we decided." Who decided, Matthew?

Getting him kind of comfortable, and then just gradually

slightly unnerving him...

I do remember, after the scene,

he said, "What the hell was all that about?"

But that comes across so powerfully...

That comes across, yeah.

These are just things you kind of learn

as you're going along.

Interview terminated.

You've played a lot of very big, masculine characters,

who really dominate the screen or stage.

How much of this comes from within you?

I've never thought about that, to tell you the truth,

it's just the characters I play.

You don't bring anything of yourself? You have to surely

bring some part of yourself?

Oh, no...

it's mostly myself.

I mean, that's where you start.

Mm.

Then you lay character and all the rest on the top,

but you try and use as much of your self as you can - of course you do.

And, after nearly 40 years as an actor,

there's a new challenge -

directing for the theatre.

I have a vocabulary, and I understand the process

that actors go through,

so I'm able to communicate with them.

So, yes... of THAT bit of directing, I understand.

There are other bits which I'm still learning about.

Coming up, I've got two plays that are going to be...

aired in Derry,

for the UK Capital Of Culture

next year.

Translations is one of those amazing plays,

and it's a huge responsibility.

So...

HE SIGHS

Got to get that right - you know?! Heh!

Animation has become something of a surprising emerging industry in Northern Ireland.

Local designers and studios are beginning to garner respect on the world stage

through film and TV work, and a University of Ulster graduate

recently won a worldwide award in the genre.

We sent reporter Sarah Brett to investigate

some of our brightest prospects.

Before 24-hour cartoon channels,

there were Saturday morning marathon cartoon sessions -

Tom & Jerry, Scooby-Doo, the Flintstones, anyone?

These, for the most part, were animated productions,

made by the big US studios.

Since then, computer technology has transformed the animation industry...

and the transition from children's entertainment

to feature film is now complete.

Three years ago, James Cameron's Avatar

became the highest-grossing film of all time,

clearing 2.8 billion at the box office.

The appetite for animated movies is continuing to grow,

and here, in Northern Ireland,

creative industries are making their mark.

'In 1988, University of Ulster design graduate Greg Maguire

'left Northern Ireland

'for the US, to pursue his dreams in animation.

'Since then, he's put together a pretty impressive CV.

'Working with Disney and George Lucas,

'he went on to be a key player in the Oscar-winning Happy Feet,

'and, more recently, creature director on Avatar.

'Despite all the accolades,

'Greg recently returned home to the university,

'to teach and inspire a new generation of local talent.'

I was working on Harry Potter & The Prisoner of Azkaban.

I went, "Woah! That's Daniel Radcliffe."

And it dawned on me, "I'm working on a Harry Potter film."

And I thought of my friends and I thought of my family,

and I thought of everyone back home who would saw off their right arm

to be doing what I'm doing right now.

Nobody really wanted to work on Avatar when it came in,

because it was an emergency job.

You're trying to do something someone else has taken two years over,

and you're given a crunch time of six months to complete.

James is a very demanding director, and he'll keep asking for more.

He's looking at my shot...

and his eyes got wide.

He was like, "Wow, this is freaking AWESOME!"

And I was like, "Yes!"

HE LAUGHS

"James Cameron likes my work!"

One of my recent graduates, Gerard Dunleavy,

was voted CGI Student, 2012, award.

The judges were from Pixar, from DreamWorks,

from Double Negative, and from Animal Logic.

So, he won the top prize, the top award in the world.

You could say he's the best CGI student in the world, but I won't...

HE LAUGHS But I will.

The animation industry was not as far along as I thought it could be, or should be.

Erm... I was determined to change that.

Avatar was not made by one person in their bedroom -

it was made by a group of people that came together to create something bigger than themselves.

That was not going to happen in Northern Ireland,

unless people were actually talking to each other.

'Greg left sunny California, taking a chance that he could make it work at home.

'And he's not the only one taking business risk based on drive and belief.'

Belfast-based based animation studio Black North

got off the ground in the middle of the recession,

trying to show that staying local can still attract international work.

And it's a gamble that's paid off,

with work on big projects like the Bruce Willis epic Looper

and Good Vibrations.

It was a really interesting time

to set up when we stepped out in 2009,

because of the financial difficulties

a lot of larger studios found themselves in.

It was an opportunity for us.

The other thing that happened was,

people were starting to stay around,

so, rather than leaving university and heading to London or the States,

they were staying and looking for opportunities here.

Here To Fall is an Irish Film Board-funded project.

We wanted to use people that were Belfast-based, primarily...

and employed a number of people from the University of Ulster,

studying an MA at the time.

Because it was a slightly abstract and experimental animation,

they had room to experiment, themselves,

but ultimately still had a brief and still had a project that was live.

Insiders say the industry is in a state of hope, rather than glory,

but, with continued committed funding,

companies HAVE been able to stay at home and compete on the international stage.

Dog Ears, based here, in Derry, resisted relocation offers,

and now they're on the verge of launching their first children's animated TV series.

Hello! I'm Rosie - Miss Rosie Red!

We're going to make the Rosie Red cartoon in Derry.

Scriptwriting has begun,

storyboarding for the cartoon has begun on the back of that,

and we're casting for the different voices for the animation.

Hello, Cooper!

Some of the progress we've had in the last couple of months

is just such vindication.

When there's a small team of four people,

and you're working really hard,

and people are sometimes saying,

"You're doing it in Derry.

"Do you have a chance, cos you're not in London,

"or one of the major centres?"

But we really feel like

our hard work is paying off. and it's exciting in that respect.

Dog Ears is making a TV show

about me...

all the funny things that happen to me...

A huge amount of work goes into making something simple.

I think that's true in any kind of discipline.

We're also in fairly advanced talks

with major national broadcasters, as well,

who've shown a fair degree of interest,

so we can't say any more than that at the minute,

but things are going extremely well in that respect.

We are in a three-way partnership now

with Penguin and Cartoon Saloon,

and we'll be rolling out Puffin Rock globally in TV, apps

and a cartoon series,

all being well, next year.

You've had offers to leave but you haven't left.

Why have you stayed in Derry?

We're really keen about growing local talent,

about fostering things that are happening here.

And in collaboration with, be it a cartoonist in Kilkenny

or studios further a-field...

but very much based here.

That's the point.

Now, with his tips on what's not to miss

in the music world over the next few weeks,

here's Ralph McLean.

Thanks, Marie-Louise.

We'll start with the first appearance on these shores

of a true cult legend.

Anyone who's seen the multi-award-winning documentary Searching For Sugarman

will know what an amazing talent Sixto Rodriguez is.

It's a mad story, as well.

Donovan-flavoured Detroit singer-songwriter releases

a couple of phenomenal albums in the early '70s,

and then just disappears off the face of the Earth.

Down the decades, his reputation has grown and grown,

and now he's back sounding as wise and wonderful as ever.

Rodriguez plays the Empire Music Hall on the 28th of this month.

Support comes from local hero David Holmes.

Trust me, this is one gig you will not want to miss.

Current flavour of the month, folk-rock trio The Staves,

will be playing the Limelight in Belfast on Saturday night,

When they come through town next time, it'll be in a considerably bigger venue,

as they're really on the up at the minute.

So it's the perfect time to see them.

For my money, The Undertones are the greatest singles band in Irish rock history.

Think Teenage Kicks, Here Comes The Summer, Jimmy Jimmy -

the examples of pure pop perfection

just keep on coming.

Paul McLoone may have replaced Feargal Sharkey as the lead singer,

and the old hair may be getting a bit thinner on top for some of them,

but they're still an electrifying live prospect.

Where better to see them than in a home-town gig?

The play the Nerve Centre in their native Derry/Londonderry

tomorrow night.

Peter Wilson, AKA Duke Special,

has been a stalwart of the live local music scene for years now.

The dreadlocked Duke will be out on the road again in December.

He plays An Creagan Centre in Omagh on the ninth,

the Atlantic Lounge in Portrush on the 14th,

and the Arts Centre in Newry on the 15th of December.

Irish duo The Lost Brothers have been described as a kind of cosmic Everly Brothers,

and that makes sense because their harmonies are beautiful,

but, most importantly, they write great songs.

I've seen them a lot and I can tell you they're brilliant live, as well,

and they play the Errigle in Belfast on the fifth of December,

then go up to Sandino's Bar in Derry on the sixth.

Sheffield crooner Richard Hawley will be promoting his Mercury-nominated album,

the defiantly psychedelic and, let's be honest, fairly noisy album,

Standing At The Sky's Edge,

with a couple of gigs in Northern Ireland.

He plays the Nerve Centre in Derry on the first,

and then plays the Mandela Hall in Belfast on the second.

Finally, a big shout out to one of my favourite singer-songwriters,

the phenomenally-talented Gareth Dunlop.

He'll be playing tunes from his brand-new EP

in the Empire Music Hall on the fifth of December.

Get your tickets, and I'll see you there.

Thank you, Ralph.

That's almost it for tonight. The Arts Show will be back

on the 13th of December with actor James Nesbitt

talking about his latest role in the Christmas blockbuster The Hobbit.

You can keep up to date with what's happening every weeknight

at half-past six on BBC Radio Ulster's Arts Extra.

You can also join our guest Tweeter-In-Residence,

critic Hugh Odling-Smee,

who'll be curating our Twitter account tomorrow.

We leave you with some music.

Local singer-songwriter Foy Vance has a growing international reputation.

His songs have featured in hit US TV series Grey's Anatomy,

and he begins a US Tour with Ed Sheeran in January.

Foy's recent EP, Melrose, produced by David Holmes,

formed the soundtrack to the Oscar-winning short film The Shore.

Taken from it, this is Be The Song.

GUITAR PICKING

# When nightmares come

# Keep you awake

# Baby, close your eyes

# I'll take the weight

# But I won't speak

# I will refrain

# And be the song

# Just be the song

# When inner scars

# Show on your face

# And darkness hides

# Your sense of place

# Well, I won't speak

# I will refrain

# And be the song

# Just be the song

# Flow down all my mountains

# Darling, fill my valleys

# Flow down all my mountains

# Darling, fill my valleys

# Flow down all my mountains

# Darling, fill my valleys

# And when you run

# Far from my eyes

# Then I will come

# In dead of night

# But I won't speak

# Till morning light

# I'll be the song

# Just be the song

# Flow down all my mountains

# Darling

# Flow down all my mountains

# Darling. #

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd