Folio Theatre and Wiltshire Creative present World Wide Wiltshire, three short films harnessing the creative power of the region to showcase the finest work inspired by the county. Our collaborators represent a variety of artistic disciplines, periods of history, and lived experiences. What they have in common is a love for storytelling and our home, the beautiful county of Wiltshire.
Dilton Marsh Halt
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And when all the horrible roads are finally done for,
And there's no more petrol left in the world to burn,
Here to the Halt from Salisbury and from Bristol
Steam trains will return.
Dilton Marsh Halt is a poem by Sir John Betjeman, an English poet, writer, and broadcaster who was Poet Laureate from 1972 until his death in 1984. Betjeman wrote this poem as part of a successful campaign to save Dilton Marsh station when it was threatened with closure in the 1960s. Performed in BSL by David Ellington (DEF & London 2012 Paralympic Opening Ceremony) this film explores the value of a station cherished by its local inhabitants in the face of cuts to infrastructure, increasing rural isolation and carbon culture, a poem which feels as prescient today as when it was first written
Without Knowing Mr Walkley
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the spire stood motionless, and seemingly alone, among the boundless downs, and, far above the trees, it carried eternally towards the sky the superb faith of its builders.
Without Knowing Mr Walkley is an extract from Edith Olivier’s autobiographical novel of the same title. Edith was born in Wiltshire and lived in in the county for her whole life. In 1916, Olivier helped form the Women's Land Army in Wiltshire, for which she was rewarded in 1920 with an MBE. Pippa Haywood (Prisoners Wives, Scott & Bailey, Green Wing) performs the role of Edith in a contemporary exploration of her thoughts on the beauty of Wiltshire and the place she called home.
Home
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Your SATs.
Took those years ago mate. Bossed em. Kinda.
I mean your oxygen.
I was cracking a joke.
Home is an extract from Hannah Treadaway’s ‘Come To Where I’m From’ piece, commissioned and first produced by Paines Plough and Wiltshire Creative. Performed by Iona Johnson, this film glances at life as a teenager in Wiltshire when the county’s wonder seems just out of reach. Hannah’s other work includes collaborating with Diverse City, Graeae and Taking Flight.
Credits
'Without Knowing Mr Walkley' by Edith Olivier
Director: Jo Newman
Filmmaker: John Taylor Films
Performer: Pippa Haywood
Music: ‘Harperspace' by Nick Harper
'Home' by Hannah Treadaway
Director: Jo Newman
Filmmaker: John Taylor Films
Performer: Iona Johnson
'Dilton Marsh Halt' a poem by John Betjeman
Director: Jo Newman
Filmmaker: John Taylor Films
Translation Consultant: Kyra Pollitt
Performer David Ellington
Music ‘Riverside’ by Nick Harper
Supported by funding from Arts Council England
Special thanks to Simon Butteriss