The Mill - City of Dreams

Synopsis

Against a backdrop of huge political, demographic, economic and social change affecting Western Europe and global societies collectively, Freedom Studios, Bradford, are keen to create a site-specific production within an iconic Mill of the industrial revolution. The Mill Project will seek to explore the historical impetus behind the stories of those that migrated to work in these Mills and had to fight for a place in this country to call their own and the current inhabitants of these spaces who are also fighting to make their voices heard.

Our Review:

Ron Simpson - 1 April 2011

A site-specific piece in a former Bradford mill that looks back at the working life there over the past 60 or so years is always likely to come off well. The buildings themselves are supremely evocative, their vastness hugely impressive and inviting all kinds of light and sound installations, while the nostalgia for a time so recent, but so distant, is very potent.

So, when Freedom Studios add in an ingenious and beautifully integrated approach that gives a context to the typical stories we overhear, the result is an outstanding piece of theatre. The detail is perfectly handled. Outside the entrance a colourful poster proclaims luxury apartments available at The Mill – City of Dreams. Inside a film about the regeneration of Bradford runs on a loop and a model shows the future glory of Drummond’s Mill while we enjoy our wine and nibbles. After a while an unpleasantly bumptious man is seen to be gladhanding the guests and bullying his underlings – this proves to...

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