Victoria Wood looks to MMU

School of Art students have helped make the showpiece of the Manchester International Festival a roaring success amongst theatre critics and audience members alike.

Daniel Hutchings – currently studying MA Filmmaking at MMU – had a key creative role in Victoria Wood’s new production That Day We Sang, commissioned exclusively for the Festival.

Coursemate Khieng Ly and part-time student Clare Neylon also contributed work to the production.

The nostalgic play tells of the Manchester School Children’s Choir recording of Purcell’s Nymphs and Shepherds at the Free Trade Hall in 1929, which sold more than a million copies and became a radio favourite for decades.

Integral to the performance are photo and video backdrops, and Daniel created everything that appears on screen.

Creative freedom

MMU has great links with the Manchester International Festival and the School of Art was contacted directly by organisers looking for a local talent to create the audio-visual content for the play.

Tutor Johnny Magee, Route Leader for MA Filmmaking, thought Daniel’s skills and passion for comedy would fit perfectly and put him forward for the project.

Daniel says: “I’m a huge Victoria Wood fan and it was a dream come true to work with her. When I was offered the job I found myself re-watching episodes of Dinner Ladies to familiarise myself with her style!

“The script is fantastic so it was easy for me to visualise background shots to work alongside the acting. I devised story boards of ideas and Victoria gave me a lot of creative freedom. It was a really encouraging environment and she kept the energy up.”

Standing ovations and fantastic reviews

The talented film-maker scoured local archives for images of bygone Manchester – many supplied by MMU’s Visual Resources Centre – and planned, filmed and edited footage that includes a news clip set in 1969 and a sequence featuring a child running from his home to the Free Trade Hall in 1929.

Interactive Arts graduate Daniel has lived in Manchester for over a decade and his knowledge of the city served him well, especially with only four hours available to film scenes.

Needing to avoid modern details, Daniel used terraced housing with sash windows, cobbled streets and spotless alleyways around Victoria Baths, areas of the Manchester Ship Canal near Deansgate, landmarks such as the Friends Meeting House and the columns of the former Free Trade Hall, now the Radisson Edwardian Hotel.

Daniel, who is currently working on a film script about an amateur film-maker, adds: “The play looks great, and on both an artistic and personal level I feel in a much stronger place. Working with such a range of people from the industry was a great experience and has built my confidence, as have the great reviews and standing ovations. I really hope the opportunity opens doors for me.”

That Day We Sang runs at the Manchester Opera House until 17th July 2011.