Putting the Band Back Together

Every show has a history – a moment of inspiration or motivation, followed by years of work, before it continues to evolve as new performers join and former members bow out. Rare, however, is it possible to understand the scale of that evolution solely by witnessing the final performance. Yet in Putting the Band Back Together, a life is joyously celebrated and honoured.

In 2014, Mark Lloyd—a talented artist, collaborator, father and good friend to everyone connected to this show—was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer. His ambition was to reunite his old bands before his tragic passing earlier this year. Over the past two years, co-creators Unfolding Theatre have supported workshops with ex-players across the North East of England, repopulating countless house bands and performing intimate memories of why we stash our instruments in the cupboard to begin with.

Musicians Maria Crocker, Alex Elliott and Ross Millard—joined by Unfolding artistic director Annie Rigby and a nightly house band of volunteers from the audience—connect Mark’s story to the wider implications of putting something back together. What’s involved in this process? Sometimes the artefact is reformed with greater strength and purpose; other times it remains fragile and cracked. The band perform an array of original Geordie folk, pop and rock numbers, prompted by Mark’s first involvement.

Theatrically, the show is a little disjointed and trips over itself in the stitching together of personal stories with broader themes of memory, identity and friendship. But its rich legacy, already established in Newcastle, feeds into and completely uplifts this fiercely honest show.