They don't make bedsit
romances like they used to. Once the preserve of kitchen-sink angry
young men and bookish young women, both of whom cling onto their
squalor and each other for comfort before falling demonstratively
apart, these days such fictional scenarios are more likely to be
carried out via Facebook updates or Twitter.
Cue The Islanders, a
reassuringly old-fashioned romance written and performed by Amy Mason
alongsideEddie Argos, frontman of arch avant-popsters Art Brut, who
provides the live soundtrack for this lo-fi musical alongside
award-winning folk singer and musician, Jim Moray. Mason's script
tells the story of a couple of teenage lovers who run away from home
and shack up in a tatty basement that gradually tears them apart.
Only when they flee their grotty one-room existence for a holiday in
the Isle of Wight do things start to change, and even though it
doesn't last, their love affair binds the pair together forever.
The thing is, Mason's
play, presented by Bristol Old Vic as part of the theatre's artists
development programme, Ferment, is a true story. Mason has based The
Islanders on her real life teenage relationship with none other than
Argos, then plain old Kevin Macklin, and the pair will be reliving
their past every night in front of an audience. To some, this might
sound both indulgent and traumatic. Both Mason and Argos, however,
sound positively chipper about the prospect.
“Eddie and I had this
very volatile and tumultuous romance,” Mason remembers. “I was
seventeen, and had a very difficult relationship with my parents, and
Eddie and moved into this awful bedsit, and we had the most miserable
time. Then last year I got this little commission that was to do with
the Olympics, in which you had to do something about islands. I
started thinking about whether I had my own island, and remembered
this holiday with Eddie. I've known him since I was thirteen, and we
went out from the ages of fifteen to twenty. I'm thirty-one now, and
we've remained friends on and off ever since that time, so I got in
touch, and everything he remembered about the holiday was completely
different from what I remembered.”
For Argos, much of
Mason's story was a revelation.
Amy sent me a
message saying, remember that time, wasn't it awful,” Argos
remembers with a schoolboyish giggle, “and I was like, no, it
wasn't. I remember going to the zoo and had a great time. I'd left
quite a strict household when I was eighteen, and I didn't really
care about having electricity. I was happy just to get drunk all the
time, but Amy was younger.”
The Islanders has
been brought to Edinburgh care of Ideas Tap, the creative initiative
which, along with Underbelly, is supporting four new theatre
companies to bring shows to Edinburgh this year.
Mason is currently
writer in residence at Spike Island in Bristol, and up until now has
concentrated on writing short stories and a novel which is currently
in the hands of an agent. Neither is she part of any spoken-word
scene. Up until The Islanders, Mason's only vaguely public
performances have been reading her work at low-key writers groups.
Argos, on the other
hand, is a flamboyant, larger than life and attention-seeking
performer, who has fronted Art Brut since 2003. Named after Jean
Dubuffet's definition of outsider art, Art Brut have presented a
knowing post-punk sound set apart by Argos' self-referential lyrics
ever since their debut single, Formed A Band, in 2004. Four albums
followed, the most recent being 2011's Brilliant! Tragic!
“Most of my songs
are quite autobiographical,” Argos admits, “so I'm quite used to
talking about myself onstage. Probably Art Brut's best known song is
Emily Kane, and that was about an ex-girlfriend, but this is
different, because it's not me that's the centre of attention. I'm
quite large, so I'm thinking about the best way to stand onstage
without intruding on what Amy's doing. Also, with Art Brut I tend to
get drunk before we go on, but I can't do that here. I'm happy to
take a back seat with this and listen to Amy talking about me. My
memory is really bad, so it's like a new story for me.”
During their time
together, Mason and Argos briefly played together in an outfit called
The Art Goblin. As with their relationship, it was destined not to
last. Which is why Argos' ascent to alternative pop stardom came as
such a surprise to Mason.
“After we split up
I went off to a kibbutz and shaved my head,” Mason remembers, “and
then when I got back Eddie was in the NME, which was really
annoying. When you've just split up with someone, something like that
becomes a bit of a sore point, but now I think it's great. We both
work in similar ways, and are both kind of quite wonky, I guess.”
To
coincide with the Edinburgh run of The Islanders following dates at
Battersea Arts Centre and the Latitude festival, a
graphic novel of the play's story is being published. For Art Brut
fans familiar with Argos' obsession with comic books, this should
come as no surprise. Brilliant! Tragic! also featured a comic book to
accompany its release. Bringing things full circle, The Islanders
graphic novel will come with a code to enable recordings of the show's
songs to be downloaded.
All of
which is an elaborately creative way for Mason and Argos to draw a
line under their turbulent past.
“There are things in
the show that you don't usually talk about with someone you've gone
out with,” Mason points out, “ and I think by doing it we've
actually become much better friends, because maybe it was something
we needed to work out.”
Argos too admits that
“It's
quite emotional, but that's alright. I was doing
quite a good job of pretending it wasn't about me, but then Amy's
parents came to see it, and that reminded me that it actually was
about me. That was quite raw, because there were people in the
audience who were in the show. On the whole, though, I think I came
out of it surprisingly well. I wasn't a shit or anything, but I think
Amy's been very kind.”
While
raking over their shared past may be raw enough,there is also the
prospect of Mason and Argos staying under the same roof for the first
time in thirteen years.
“It's going to be
weird in Edinburgh sharing a flat with him for a month,” Mason
admits. “It could be a bit of a trauma.”
Who knows? It may even
spark off some fresh material for the pair to mull over, although
it's doubtful whether either party is keen to expose their emotional selves
in public again.
“I'd like to write
with Amy again,” Argos says somewhat cautiously, “but maybe
something not so raw next time.”
The Islanders,
Underbelly until August 25th, 4pm. Art Brut play Electric
Circus, August 10th.
The Herald, August 2013
ends
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