Jingle Bells

Interview with Lucy Akhurst & Charles Thomas Oldham of MORRIS: A LIFE WITH BELLS ON

During my conversation with husband-and-wife team Lucy Akhurst and Charles Thomas Oldham (director and screenwriter / producer respectively of MORRIS: A LIFE WITH BELLS ON), it occurred to me that creating a film must have a lot in common with dancing as part of a morris troupe. An instinct for choreography – by which I mean, balancing different roles and pressures – must be essential to co-ordinate a project as multi-faceted as this. Maybe it’s even a little like marriage as well. Against the odds, however, the pair have pulled it off: they have assembled an impressive cast, captured the beauty of the English landscape, and updated the image of a rather under-appreciated English pastime. It is a film filled with gentle (and occasionally riotous) humour, that should – and hopefully will – do for morris dancing what STRICTLY BALLROOM did for another popularly-derided dance form.

If the film is to get its message across, however, it will need to reach audiences countrywide, and this is the challenge that Akhurst and Oldham are now facing. Although the Picturehouse chain of cinemas will be screening MORRIS in the coming months, the film has yet to attract a commercial distributor. There have been many informal screenings via the Moviola company (in church halls and similar venues), not to mention a highly-successful outing at the Seattle Film Festival in May of this year, when it came fourth out of 248 in audience ratings. Akhurst and Oldham were upbeat when I spoke to them by phone on the morning following the London premiere of MORRIS. It’s clearly been a labour of love, and a very personal project, for Oldham (who also plays the male lead, a radical morrisman called Derecq Twist). He explained to me that he grew up with a family of morris-dancing-devotees, and the film closes with a tribute to the man who inspired the film.

The film is anything but self-indulgent, however, and all credit must go to director Lucy Akhurst, whose crisp editing keeps the narrative moving. The plot follows the way that Derecq Twist attracts the criticism of the Morris Circle (an elite council) for his innovative approach, and how this ultimately leads him to the States, where he finds love. Lucy explained that during shooting she had concentrated on drawing out carefully-nuanced performances from the actors, something which she understood, having come from an acting background herself. Careful technical preparation before shooting ensured that she could afford to lavish her attention on the dramatic side. Although making the transition to directing was not something Lucy had planned (apparently it came about almost by chance), she and husband Oldham do feel that they have hit on a winning formula in terms of the division of roles. Future projects are anticipated. Next up will be a film on ‘guerrilla gardening’ (the unofficial appropriation of public space for growing plants), a phenomenon sweeping the country. If MORRIS is anything to go by, this should be well worth looking out for.

Does MORRIS deserve wider distribution? Definitely. It’s the performances and the script that make the film. Derek Jacobi plays the slightly scary leader of the Morris Circle, while Harriet Walter plays a Cambridge academic specialising in the history of the dance. Greg Wise plays the American philanthropist who sponsors the Californian troupe Derecq joins, a zany individual whose philosophy of life combines a belief in UNIX-based operating systems with the healing power of dance. Hilarious! For me, the film was very reminiscent of A MIGHTY WIND, the 2003 mockumentary about folk singing. However, the term ‘mockumentary’ implies satire of a potentially cutting kind, and that is not really found in this affectionate film. MORRIS is more about celebrating eclecticism and eccentricity in the best British tradition.

MORRIS: A LIFE WITH BELLS ON was screened on Saturday 26 September

LUCY LEWIS