A FILM BY EMILY
ANDERSEN
“ W h e n I ’ m n o t w r i t i n g p o e t r y
e v e r y t h i n g i s o k a y , l i f e ’ s f i n e , b u t i t i s
n o t e n t i r e . S o m e t h i n g i s m i s s i n g . ”
R u t h Fa i n l i g h t
RUTH FAINLIGHT: SOMEWHERE ELSE ENTIRELY
A rare evening offering an intimate insight into the life and work of one of Britain’s most distinguished poets – Ruth Fainlight – in a film created by acclaimed photographer Emily Andersen.The screening will be followed by an exclusive Q&A with Emily Andersen and Ruth Fainlight
Andersen’s film is a touching portrait of Fainlight, now aged 94, delicately drawing out different fragments of the poet’s life. Fainlight is captured by Andersen at her home in London, making notes, on her walks, and in the seaside town of Brighton Each image is carefully framed, quietly paying tribute to her poetry, and to her extraordinary life and career
Ruth’s intensely visual poetry and fiction are rich with themes of time, memory, and loss In the film, she movingly recites her work Somewhere Else Entirely composed after the death of her husband Alan Sillitoe Written during her 80s, the book also includes several short pieces of prose, and memoirs of her childhood years spent in the USA.
RUTH FAINLIGHT
Ruth Fainlight was born in New York City in 1931 and moved to England when she was 15 During a lifetime dedicated to writing she has produced numerous collections of poetry and short stories and translations. In 1959 she married the writer, Alan Sillitoe, and her many literary friendships included Sylvia Plath, Jane and Paul Bowles, and Robert Graves
Her first poetry collection, Cages, was published in 1966. She was Poet in Residence at Vanderbilt University, Nashville,Tennessee, in 1985 and 1990 She was Writing Tutor (for libretti) at the Performing Arts Labs, International Opera and Music Theatre Labs in the UK in 1997-99.
Her New & Collected Poems (Bloodaxe Books, 2010) covers work written over 50 years, drawing on over a dozen books as well as a whole new collection and a selection of her translations of Sophia Mello de Breyner and Victor Manuel Mendiola
EMILY ANDERSEN
Emily Andersen is a London-based artist and graduate of the Royal College of Art. Her work has been exhibited in galleries including: The Photographers’ Gallery, London; The Institute of Contemporary Art, London; The Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography, National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa; The Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Edinburgh; The Barber Institute of Fine Arts, University of Birmingham; Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art; Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai; China Arts Museum, Shanghai; BOOKMARC Gallery,Tokyo; and LOWW Gallery,Tokyo, Japan
Andersen has been a photographer for four decades. Her work includes interiors, architecture, and landscape but she is best known for her award-winning portraiture, capturing well-known faces including Nico, Peter Blake, and Helen Mirren. Somewhere Else Entirely is Andersen’s first completed film portrait and is inspired by her decadelong friendship with Fainlight The exhibition also shares its title with Fainlight’s 2018 poetry collection which features Andersen’s photographs on the cover.
DEAD POETS LIVE: THE DEATH OF ARTHUR
Audience Experience Manager
Giudi Di Gesaro
Theatre Administrator / PA to the Artistic Director
Vihaan Chandy
Duty Managers
Producing & Marketing Assistant
Esme Bishop
Francesca Battinieri, Joanna Papanastassiou, Hazel Townsend, Aylin Rodoplu
Box Office Assistant
Ivana Dieli
Front of House Staff
Maria Lisberg-Jonasson, Andreane
Rellou, Thea Gavanski, Eugénie Bakker, Emma Laird-Craig, Scarlett Stitt, Dominika Jarečná, Hamza Mullick, Stefanie Bruckner, Juliet Dempsey, Katrina Foster, Stephanie Christodoulidou, Annabelle Gardner, Aidan Bose-Rosling, Li Ikoku-Smith, Merilee Ettia, Matilda Badziak, Francesca Slater, Trey Francis
Trustees
Linda Bernhardt, Mike Fisher, Mimi Gilligan, Jane Quinn, Anda Winters, Bill Winters (Chair)
