Walker and Styles – a workshop where we dug deep to reveal our own concerns

Posted on 7th September 2022

It’s been a long 18 months since the People’s Cabaret last came to the Corn Hall but back in 2021 (as part of the Norfolk & Norwich Festival), Jessica Walker came to Diss accompanied only by Ian Watson on accordion, performing a stripped back set of protest songs to a socially distanced audience. Ironically, it was this summer’s punishing heat, rather than the pandemic, that pushed back her return for Tuesday’s workshop even further, but finally the day arrived.

The first iteration of the People’s Cabaret was always intended as a work in progress – seed corn from which a bigger, bolder event would emerge through community involvement. With the assistance of composer Luke Styles, Walker juxtaposed seminal works from composers such as Kurt Vile with her own compositions, most tellingly Monumental, a work that neatly side steps the complexity of cultural appropriation by speaking from the perspective a slave trader’s statue.

Thereafter, the group was gently encouraged to create their own work and it was a real pleasure to witness how, once encouraged, folk are minded to take the plunge and dig deep into their own concerns to produce material they seemed very surprised to find was there. Invited to take their handiwork away with them and tinker with it for next time, it will be fascinating to see what comes out of this community project when Walker and Styles return in November to mark our homework.

By David Vass