Gwyneth Herbert on Southwold pier

Gwyneth Herbert Hometown Gig

Gwyneth Herbert plays the Kino-Teatr, Norman Rd on Friday May 13, her first proper gig in St Leonards since moving down here two years ago. She will be accompanied by multi-instrumentalist Ned Cartwright in a performance incorporating vocals, ukulele, french horn, piano, saxophone, percussion, melodica and cheese-grater. There will be tales of sea-drenched sirens, jaded seaside hotels, East End vagrants, loves and losses, drinks and whores and, of course, a touch of Swahili singalong. Who said Variety was dead? Simon Charterton examines the evidence.

For those unfamiliar with her work, Gwyneth has toured across the world and shared stages with Boy George, Amy Winehouse and John Cooper Clarke, released six critically-acclaimed albums and presented for BBC Radios 3 and 4. She has also co-created three musicals and a feature-length art film, opened the London and Montreal Jazz Festivals, performed on BBC’s The Great American Songbook and had her own film score at the British Film Institute. Fairly busy then, perhaps no wonder she hasn’t played here before.

“I moved down to St Leonard’s two years ago’’, says Gwyneth, “and within the first week it felt like home. People came up to me in the street offering to help with my charity-shop furniture, asked me to parties and gigs and exhibitions, invited me into their homes and their bars and their lives. Having lived in London for so long, it knocks you sideways at first, and you kind of eye them suspiciously, expecting a demand for money at the end of the pleasantries, and instead someone buys you a pint. There’s a real buzz about this town, people making things everywhere, skiffle and poetry and metal in the pubs, parades through the streets.’’

How does she enjoy life on the edge?

‘’I’ve always loved the sea, and it’s the sea that first drew me here. It’s the one thing that stops the relentless noise in my head. We live right on the front and from our living room windows all you can see is an expanse of ocean – it’s like living in a  lighthouse. Even after two years, every time I walk into that room my tummy flips over. It’s also a bit like having the weather as a flatmate, you walk in every morning and wonder what kind of mood they’ll be in.’’

And how is life these days?

“As an artist, I feel that I have a kind of miraculous life. I spend all my time finding and animating hidden stories, working in collaboration with playwrights and artists and young people and clowns and communities and immersing myself in the language of each world – the language of hidden histories, of myths and legends, of people who’ve fallen through the pavement cracks of society. And through this active dialogue I’m constantly learning – as a performer, as a writer, and as a general human being stumbling through the world.’’

Gwyneth Herbert will be appearing at Kino-Teatr on Friday 13 May. 7.30pm
Tickets £8.00

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