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Comics author Mary Talbot’s new poetry set to dance

By John Freeman on October 14, 2023

Company Carpi - When You Light A Candle, You Also Cast A Shadow

Award-winning comic writer Mary M. Talbot has written a new poetry piece for dance Company Carpi’s current tour of the North West of England.

Gary Lloyd and hybrid dance company Company Carpi are hosting free performances of When You Light A Candle, You Also Cast A Shadow, on Thursday 19th October, at 4.00pm, 6.00pm and 7.30pm in Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral. Further dates follow across the North West.

When You Light A Candle, You Also Cast A Shadow is a celebration of nature and our climate, and is also a warning about the precarious state of our beautiful planet and habitat.

The piece is performed by a trio of dancers – Lauren Tucker, Paige Lyon, and Daisy Belle Howell, with Jess Bennett joining the performance at on the Arts Centre at Edge Hill University on Thursday 2nd November.

Music will be performed live by the specially assembled Candle String Quintet, who are drawn from the best orchestras in the North West (including The Hallé, BBC Symphony Orchestra & Manchester Camerata) with the help of ‘fixer’ and cellist Lucy Arch.

The piece crucially also features a specially commissioned poetry cycle by the Costa Award winning writer Mary Talbot.

“Mary has written a gorgeous poetry cycle for it, says Carpi’s Gary Lloyd. “My Quintet for the piece are fabulous, four of them from The Hallé Orchestra, as are all the dancers.”

Company Carpi make hybrid dance theatre, and opera, always featuring strong societal topics, and with texts based on the work of, or written originally by, outstanding writers, poets and novelists. They always perform with live music, always working with emerging young artists and involve community groups. Their previous productions include an opera based on the award-winning graphic novel Dotter of her Father’s Eyes, by Mary and Bryan Talbot.

“We’re always trying to reach audiences that may not be familiar with the kinds of work we make and the work of the many artists with whom we collaborate,” the founders stated last year.

Mary M. Talbot is an academic turned graphic novelist. Her first graphic novel, Dotter of her Father’s Eyes won the 2012 Costa Biography Award.

Her work includes the powerful climate change commentary, Rain, with Bryan Talbot), a rallying cry to protect the planet, and the recently-released Armed with Madness, the Surreal Leonora Carrington.

Bryan and Mary Talbot are both founding patrons of The Lakes International Comic Art Festival.

• Reserve your free tickets now at companycarpi.com

John Freeman

The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.

He’s the writer of “Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies” for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.