The Yorkshire Society, under the banner of a cooperative body called the Yorkshire Heritage Guardians, has already brought together a host of voluntary and charitable organisations across the region, and is now extending an invite to those involved in its heritage care.
The summit, to be held at Pontefract Town Hall, will see key-note speakers including Rachel Bice, chief executive of Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, author and campaigner Colin Speakman and Tim Barber, owner of Real Yorkshire Tours. Other groups include The Yorkshire Regiment, Yorkshire Philosophical Society, and the Yorkshire Dialect Society.
To Mr Barber, heritage can be difficult to define. It’s as evident in the purple heathers of the North York Moors as it is in the dry stone walls of the Dales and the chalk uplands of the Yorkshire Wolds.
Then in the region’s textile mills and museums, the history of viaduct builds, wildlife and film and food and drink, alongside the literary history and landscapes of the brooding Brontë moors.
He said: “Heritage covers such a wide range. It’s history, it’s culture, traditions, it can involve nature and our landscapes. Why not bring everything together?
“There’s that element of trying to bring people together, and hopefully reaching the next generation that is coming through. We think it’s an exciting initiative, influencing conversations on a regional and national level.” (Ruby Kitchen)
An actor’s life is a conundrum. There is a lot of talk of ‘family’ and ‘community’; language beloved, and often sincerely meant, by theatre managements and employers. In some jobs, cocooned by the warm blanket of a wage, good company, and meaningful work with extraordinary people, I have felt part of that ‘family’ too. But the reality is that when the job ends, the apron strings are snapped. Loyalty might be intended, but has no meaningful expression outside the contract.
When our Jane Eyre was, thrillingly, chosen by the National to be on its new NT at Home platform, the NT’s Twitter feed touchingly referred to the ‘company’. But we were all sitting at home – terrified, unemployed and feeling unvalued by society. I wasn’t, in reality, part of the NT company anymore. Most people don’t seem to understand that – I am often asked what company I am part of by non-theatre folk; the fact that the rep model disappeared decades ago hasn’t filtered through to many people’s understanding of how precarious, isolated and lonely the life of a theatre worker can be.
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