"Memory" Video

Hi all... a good friend of mine, the actor/presenter Jon Monie, has recently launched this rather beautiful little video. He's rewritten Andrew Lloyd Weber's classic "Memory" (from the musical Cats), using his own lyrics, specially recorded vocals from the extraordinary Kerry Ellis (West End/Broadway leading lady), and also happily using my pics from the #TheatresInDanger project (all taken on Pentax cameras). It's almost a year to the day (March 16th 2020) that the theatres went dark.

https://youtu.be/SwGAZVYMDP4

It's now been viewed more than 10,000 times via various media outlets around the world. Do drop by and have a look/share if you're interested...

Also, the #TheatresInDanger book has been reprinted! Brand new copies hot off the presses and ready to ship from www.billwardphotography.co.uk/theatresindanger - all proceeds go direct to the Theatres Trust charity...

Thanks again and best

Ooooh, that's good! I have gone all goose-pimply.

Memories indeed.

When we are allowed to return, Mrs LTL and I will be dancing along with the rest of you.

Thank you Bill.

Despite having world class venues nearby we haven’t been to the theatre for years, you never know what you have until it’s gone. This lockdown we made a promise to ourselves to get out more when we can so bring it on!

Very moving Bill. Can you get it released as a fund-raiser ?


I bet when you took these pictures you never thought the empty seats would be the norm for over a year now.

That's really moving. Excellent vocals and the images are great too.
Agree this type of content would serve well for fundraising purposes too.

Is hard to watch aspects of the video, as we're living relatively unchanged here in NZ after a serious 7 week lockdown early in 2020.
We lock down now and again as new cases are found in the community, but outside of those it's often business as usual.

Took the kids to their first major concert last month, with over 32,000 in the Wellington stadium, so we're locked in down here in another world at the moment.
Have family in central London and Vietnam, and the conversations between the two are quite different these days.

Thanks all for thoughts thus far with this... much appreciated as ever...

Interesting thoughts re releasing the track as a fundraiser... that's come up a couple of times, but not sure what the outcome has been... will have a word with Jon (the writer and originator of the project) and see where we are with it...

Re NZ Rich, that's great news... 32,000 in a stadium... that gives us all a bit of hope I think, that that might be on the horizon, if still somewhat out of reach over here (although the music festivals are certainly looking to have a go later in the summer)...

Rob, yes, interesting... before I was an actor I worked in advertising for 10 years, and every now and then we used to do "deprivation" research... do focus groups amongst regular buyers/readers of something (I remember doing it on The Independent newspaper), but ask them not to read the paper for a month, and see what it was they missed... often surprising, and always instructive...

Peter, yes, when the show I was touring was shut down last March, all the talk was that the pandemic would blow through and we'd be able to get back out with it again in the autumn... little did we know... fingers crossed things start to pick up in the summer... there's one or two West End shows that will try and re-open from the first available date (May 17th ish with social distancing)... the rest will try and have a go bit by bit from June onwards...

Thanks again all... do keep the thoughts coming...

Best

I have deprived myself of reading the Independent for much longer than a month and feel all the better for it!

😉👍

What a beautiful (and melancholy) piece with a touch of hope for the future. Thanks for sharing Bill. And as above - agree about putting out as a fund-raiser, although there is already the opportunity at the end of the video to donate