It
was with some anticipation that I walked the few hundreds of metres from
Banbury Station to this pleasant canalside venue – my first experience of live
theatre in 2021 awaited. Social distancing requirements had reduced the
capacity here to about 40, all in individual “bubbles” according to the size of
the party booking and despite the competition offered by an England football
match all seats appear to have been sold. Not only was this my first live
theatre this year, the same was true for most of the audience and for our two
performers. Quite an emotional moment.
Premiered
almost a year late in December 2020 and originally set to tour from January
2021, 'These Hills Are Ours' is a collaboration between writer Daniel Bye and
former Chumbawamba lead singer Boff Whalley. Friends, united by their love of
running, Dan and Boff take us out on to the peaks and fells of the north of
England to explore in words and music what it means to be free to roam the
wilderness and commemorates those whose struggle and sacrifice against the
land-owning powers made it possible for us to do so.
The
looming presence of Roseberry Topping – which at 320m doesn’t qualify as an
actual mountain – was visible from pretty much everywhere. Dan went as a child
growing up on Teesside whilst for Boff on the other side of the Pennines in
Burnley it was Pendle Hill (higher, but still not an actual mountain) which
inspired him to get out into the hills and both men fondly recall childhood day
trips to these peaks. It’s clear from the outset that the love of wilderness
runs deep in each of them. As adults, they enjoy running from the centre of the
town they’re in to a peak overlooking it, escaping as they do so the shackles
of urban life.
Whilst
Dan takes the lead as storyteller, Boff’s folk-style songs add an extra
dimension to the performance. Contrasting the sinuous wave forms of analogue
sounds (the rolling hills) with the stepped and artificial ones produced by his
digital effects pedal (the cityscape), he weaves charming and clever lyrics with
music which is sometimes wistful, sometimes haunting, always evocative.
There
was a time, Dan reminds us, and it wasn’t that long ago, when the idea of
ordinary Working Class people being able to roam the hills of England freely
was quite unthinkable. The division of the land between 200 barons under
William The Conqueror set the scene for a situation which has endured for
almost a millennium, such that today 90% of the land is owned by 0.06% of the
population. In 1932 the Mass Trespass saw hundreds of ramblers, led by Benny
Rothman and other members of the Young Communist League, converge at the top of
Kinder Scout in the Peak District in defiance of the landowners and
gamekeepers. Rothman and five others were imprisoned but the subsequent public
outcry resulted in a law change allowing the right to roam.
As
a tribute to them, and to celebrate their bravery and their achievement, Dan
and Boff set themselves the challenge of running the 88 miles from Dan’s home
in Lancaster to the top of Kinder Scout. Unfortunately Boff broke his toe and
so was repurposed to providing support from his campervan while Dan did the
actual running. Here Dan’s storytelling skills go into overdrive as he recounts
the run and the rollercoaster of emotions he experienced without resorting to
hyperbole or falling into self-pity.
So
we feel the thrill of watching wild hares boxing in a field, amazement at the
surreal sighting of a fleeing (we can only guess from what) ostrich a bit
further on, the relief at reaching Boff’s van and the kind ministrations of
coffee and beans. We also taste something of the despair of being alone on the
peaks on a wet March night when the enormous vistas of daytime are reduced to
what can be seen from the light of a head torch. You’ll have to buy your own
ticket, of course, to find out how this pilgrimage ends.
Power
never gives up anything without a struggle and there are still vast areas that
are off-limits to ramblers. There is always a threat that the rights we do have
could be withdrawn at any time so the serious message behind this witty and
entertaining performance is clear: use it or lose it. As Boff’s final song puts
it “these hills are ours… to share”.
A
feature of the production is the offer to the audience to join Dan and Boff on
a run early in the morning following the performance. Being built more for
comfort than speed myself I didn’t, but I do hope some audience members took
them up.
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