The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #142157   Message #3275879
Posted By: Jim Carroll
18-Dec-11 - 05:30 AM
Thread Name: M. Carthy on The Critics Group - Radio 4
Subject: RE: M. Carthy on The Critics Group - Radio 4
That's the Group Will - From memory John Faulkner, Sandra Kerr, Terry Yarnell, Donal Maguire, Mike Rosen, Ron Elliot... I seem to recall that Doc Rowe and Dolores Keane were involved for a time. Some of these were never CG members but had become involved via the Festival of Fools.
By the time they broke away, the Group had ceased to exist as a singing workshop and, as far as I knew, no longer used the name.
I think I listed a total of 50 coming and going CG members of the for my symposium talk; there was always a hard core of around a dozen people.
The Festival of Fools was one of the first ventures as a performing group - it was a 'Living Newspaper' (a format used by agit-prop theatres throughout Europe) consisting of songs and sketches written by MacColl based on newspaper cuttings collected throughout the year - mainly political. The first one was in 1965 (?) - opened on Boxing Night and ran for 12 performences each year - incredibly hard work, but very satisfying.
Pat and I were regulars at the Sunday afternoon jazz at The Cave - probably heard you there (you didn't used to be Bruce Turner, did you? - if so, send an autograph - one of my jazz heroes).
Jim Carroll