Young Vic Honors Clio Barnard and Andrea Dunbar, 10/20

Coinciding with the cinema release of filmmaker Clio Barnard's award-winning The Arbor, Artangel Interaction commission AS IT GOES celebrates the unique power of one of the UK's most distinctive and sorely missed playwrights. For four nights only, this series of readings, performed at the Young Vic, remembers Andrea Dunbar's inimitable voice, at once controversial and hilarious, brutally honest and deeply personal. Each reading will be accompanied by one of four new short plays inspired by Andrea's work by teenagers from east London, followed by the screening of scenes from The Arbor. The young playwrights will be mentored by Lorne Campbell (Greyscale, Traverse), Gbolahan Obisesan (Royal Court, National Theatre, Young Vic), Jo Carter (Artistic Director, Immediate Theatre) and Rob Watt (Soho Theatre, Stratford Circus, Royal Court). On the final day of readings a panel discussion will take place with Max Stafford Clark, Clio Barnard, Jo Carter and actors from The Arbor, with a reading of Robin Soans' play, A State Affair (2000) which looked at life on a Bradford estate.

The Arbor tells the powerful true story of Bradford playwright Andrea Dunbar (The Arbor, Rita, Sue and Bob Too) and her daughter Lorraine. Andrea Dunbar died tragically at the age of 29 in 1990, leaving her ten year old daughter, Lorraine, with bitter childhood memories. The Arbor catches up with Lorraine in the present day, also aged 29, ostracised from her mother's family and in prison undergoing rehab. Re-introduced to her mother's plays and letters, the film follows Lorraine's personal journey as she reflects on her own life and begins to understand the struggles her mother faced. Through interviews with other members of the Dunbar family, we see a contrasting view of Andrea. The interviews were edited to form an audio ‘screenplay,' which forms the basis of the film as actors lip-synch to the voices of the interviewees.

To raise awareness of the issues raised in the film, Artangel is screening The Arbor for invited Members of the House of Lords in partnership with the pioneering and influential organisation Kids Company in October. The special screening aims to highlight the urgency of the film's themes to the Parliamentary establishment, individuals with constitutional power to debate and veto government legislation.

Clio Barnard won the Best New Documentary Film Maker at the Tribeca Film Festival for The Arbor in April 2010.

Listings information:

As It Goes, 20 - 23 October 2010
Tickets and information 020 7922 2922 www.youngvic.org

Wednesday - Saturday 7pm
Tickets £6 in advance
£8 on the door
Buy 4 tickets and get 25% off

Wednesday 20th October
The Arbor by Andrea Dunbar

Thursday 21st October
Rita, Sue and Bob Too by Andrea Dunbar

Friday 22nd October
Shirley by Andrea Dunbar

Saturday 23rd October
Panel Discussion, 4pm
With Clio Barnard, Max Stafford Clark, Natalie Gavin and Jo Carter, chaired by Gary Whitaker.

AND, at 7pm A State Affair by Robin Soans

The Arbor premieres at the London Film Festival on 15 October and opens in cinemas nationwide from 22 October.

As it Goes has been developed with the support of Janice and David Blackburn and Gilberto Pozzi. THE ARBOR is produced by Artangel and UK Film Council in association with Jerwood Charitable Foundation, Arts Council England and More4.

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