Viv Albertine
Now, I am not devout in my attendance of NNF but the festival is guaranteed to throw up something that utterly captivates my interest every year. This year, it is Viv Albertine’s Q&A with Molly Naylor.
For those that don’t know, Viv is something of a legend (although she will no doubt baulk at being described as such). She was a member of Flowers of Romance, along with a pre-Pistols Sid Vicious. As a member of the Slits, she wrote and played on two of the most uncompromising LPs of the punk and post-punk era, albums that remain challenging but enthralling to this day. There has been work in film and television, both behind and in front of the camera. Debut solo album The Vermilion Border was released in 2012. It may not match the visceral thrills of the Slits but is still a damned fine listen. More recently, there have been two autobiographical books in Clothes Clothes Clothes Music Music Music Boys Boys Boys and To Throw Away Unopened. The former is funny, sharp, entertaining but also, at times, harrowing. It would not be an exaggeration to say that this book forced me to rethink my attitude and approach to my relationship. In all honesty, this book should be required reading for pretty much every man, it has had far more of an impact on me than any self help guide ever could. I have yet to read …Throw Away… but it is next up on my reading list (once I finish Thom Eagle’s excellent First, Catch).
I know rather less about Molly Naylor other than that she is a scriptwriter, poet, performer and, in the words of her own website, a theatre maker (nope, I am not sure what that means either). Molly steers the conversation with a light and deft touch, allowing Viv the freedom to head off on tangents but ensuring that the discussion comes back to the question in hand.
Viv is as inspiring and thought-provoking in this setting as she is in any of her other ventures. Difficult and potentially upsetting subjects - the passing of parents, relationships both familial and romantic, the class system, sexism, discrimination and the endless battle against unwanted body hair - are discussed with humour, passion, quiet anger and an honesty that is both refreshing and unusual. The fact that it is 2018 and this very honesty and anger from a woman will be seen in some (small c) conservative quarters to be shocking shows that the battle for equality is sadly far from over. And that is perhaps the most shocking thing.
Before the audience Q&A session, Molly Naylor made the inspired request that audience members ask questions rather than make statements. Too often in these circumstances I have seen proceedings derailed by lengthy observations delivered from the floor that do not invite a response from the stage. Not this time. The questions are, for the most part, to the point and the answers are considered, informative and even throw up a surprise or two. Sham 69’s Jimmy Pursey attends ballet performances? Who would have thought it?
