Speaking From the Heart

In 2009 Clean Break’s writer in residence Zawe Ashton and director Lucy Richardson worked with a group of former Clean Break Theatre Company students to devise a collaborative piece drawing on their personal and creative responses to ‘it felt empty when the heart went at first but it is alright now', Lucy Kirkwood’s award-winning play about women sex-trafficked to London. Commissioned to film the devising process, the rehearsals and the final performance, Nicola Lane created 'Speaking From the Heart', a narrative exploring the process of transforming challenging experiences into art.

The project began with a series of workshops in Clean Break's studios, where the graduates worked in collaboration with Zawe Ashton and Lucy Richardson, with Imogen Ashby as project manager.

From this process Zawe Ashton created Heart Speak, the final performance piece. Rehearsals for Heart Speak took place in the surreal installation sets for it felt empty's promenade production at the Arcola Theatre. Minimal camera movement and 2 halogen lamps created the visual atmosphere of the shots, to accommodate the restrictions of filming in a cramped theatre set with only 2 electrical sockets.

Heart Speak was performed as a curtain raiser to the main production at Arcola Theatre, on 30 and 31 October 2009.

SPEAKING FROM THE HEART was presented by Clean Break as part of the 2011 Kilburn International Film Festival at the Tricycle Cinema.

SPEAKING FROM THE HEART

Colour / DVcam

Runtime: 28 mins

Director & editor: Nicola Lane

Camera operators: Marga Doek & Holly Triggs

Sound mix: Louis Morand

All images screengrabs from SPEAKING FROM THE HEART

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