I loved meeting Noel Gallagher to film his thoughts on the painter L. S. Lowry.
We filmed in the upstairs of Grouchos – this living legend sunk into an armchair, wearing his black leather jacket and a big red ruby ring. I knew Noel likes Lowry, he really relates to him as a Northerner, he likes Lowry’s football crowds, he likes Lowry’s “mad eyes”, and he likes Lowry’s little dogs. In this unseen clip from our archive Noel wonders what Lowry would do with a Northern town today, the factories are all dead, textile industries closed down, there are no people. Crowds are gone…a bit like today.
Luckily they’re in Lowry’s paintings forever and in my film. Have a look…
During lockdown I’ve been painting the empty streets of London, with the sound of birdsong and sirens for company. No crowds. I remembered shooting my film about painter L.S Lowry, going out and reconstructing his paintings with my camera. I shot crowds on long lenses in train stations, skating rinks, parks, in the snow, shopping centres and rainy football stadiums. Ian McKellen responds to Lowry’s crowds in this amazing unseen clip – he totally gets the theatricality of Lowry’s work. I hope you’ll enjoy these sneak peaks from the archive which I’ll be releasing, featuring people who were inspired by L.S. Lowry, like artist Dame Paula Rego – his pupil at the Slade, Christopher Bailey’s Lowry Collection for Burberry and the one and only Noel Gallagher. Lowry marked out every character in the crowd with his paintbrush and placed them into his own unique world. You may not be able to get into the galleries right now, but his crowds are here now – enjoy!
My paintings of empty streets are on Instagram @margy_kinmonth
Art is totally uplifting when you’re at your lowest ebb NHS patient
Director Margy Kinmonth writes:
Throughout history, artists have made immensely moving work around illness, enhancing environments where patients and medical staff battle on the front line. My film (developed with the support of the Wellcome Trust) argues that culture plays a beneficial role in recovery, promoting wellness through art. And never has a health service needed the healing presence of art more urgently than now.
If you would like to donate funds to help make this film, please contact us.
Love In a Nutshell is a stage adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s selected short stories exploring love and relationships – poignant and hilarious stories.
Film Director Margy Kinmonth went to see the performance:
The intimate atmosphere and proximity of the cast reminds me of my experiences while researching my Russian films, watching performances in Moscow and St Petersburg, where music, poetry and plays are regularly staged in the small apartment museums.
One of Russia’s greatest writers, Anton Chekhov (1860 – 1904) wrote hundreds of short stories. He started out writing jokes and anecdotes for popular magazines to earn money, while studying to become a doctor. He knew how to help others.
He gives his characters boundless imagination and a sense of humour as their means of escape. And in today’s times, laughter is the best medicine.
When researching my Russian films I delved into the vast collection of Russian theatre memorabilia, at the State Theatre Museum in St Petersburg, including Checkhov’s original costumes and photos.
Irish director Margy Kinmonth’s award winning film To The Western World celebrates the heritage and culture of the Irish all over the world.
The story of the painter Jack B Yeats and playwright John Millington Synge in the West of Ireland, is narrated by John Huston, and stars Niall Toibin, Pat Laffan and Tom Hickey.
The film is being shown in New York City, USA in 2020. And story of the making of the film will be published in the United States later in the year.
