Belfast 1979 ....you had to be in a gang, a tribe, you had to pick a side ...to be in the crowd, to be cool, or dangerous or just good looking ....and if you weren’t, well .....good luck. 

'This Modern Life' is the story of the other kids, desperate to fit in, hungry for the love and adulation, the company of cool but ultimately out of rhythm with the beat that’s being played out in a city ripped apart by conflict on the streets, terraces and playgrounds .....little battles at every street corner or peace line and then, the dark lonely world of home without love .....

The film 'A Modern Life' deals with a realty that’s familiar to that generation but the stage show plays out the fears and fantasy inside this child’s mind and their escape .....not from their environment, but themselves.........

 

(Words by Paul Stafford)

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This was such an interesting project. The first time Paul Stafford (Stafford Hair) had really introduced film into one of his shows. The film as a standalone piece is entitled 'A Modern Life' and the live show that overlaid it entitled 'This Modern Life'. The film see in the background was designed to show a reality, based in Belfast during the troubles (and loosely based on Paul's own background), the cultural backdrop was one of catalysts for the lead characters development through the storyline. The stage show was designed to exist as the lucid dream of the real events (still with me?) so, something more exaggerated and vivid in order to work for stage, a bit like the black and white reality of Dorothy's existence in The Wizard of Oz versus the glorious technicolour adventure we are taken along. 

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I loved the music for this show, it allowed for so many changes in movement style, mood and attitude, all with the backdrop and context of modernism. Something I had to really learn a lot about. The performers brought great commitment and performance, helping in the task of elevating the piece to more than 'just' a catwalk show. 

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'If you know, you know'

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