Film: The Making of Middlemarch
Our new film delves into the making of ‘The Great Middlemarch Mystery,’ an immersive retelling of George Eliot’s much-loved novel.
Our Artistic Director Josephine Burton shares some thoughts on the production process:
In summer 2019 I met Professor Ruth Livesey for a coffee in the windy courtyard of the British Library. I was in the midst of planning an event at Warwick Arts Centre on George Eliot and someone had pointed me in Ruth’s direction as a potential speaker. Ruth told me of her research into Elliot’s writing and we chatted about Middlemarch, which I’m a little ashamed to admit I’d only recently read. We talked about the world of Middlemarch which George Eliot created in her prose – not just the long unfolding drama of its key protagonists but the world of newspaper offices, the bank, the banter in the pubs, the gossip in the shops. She depicted an entire community. And it stuck a chord for me. Over that coffee we schemed, not just that one event, but a collaboration that would take us nearly 3 years to realise; bringing the world of Middemarch to life across 5 immersive locations in Central Coventry with a professional cast of 9, a non-professional cast of 20 comprising individuals from across the city, a wonderful design and production team and the audience itself.
Through lockdowns and the gaps between, Ruth and I worked together with other wonderful colleagues to make sense of the story, language, context and period. We devised scenes, improvised with actors and adapted George Eliot’s novel into a play script. Ruth brought her deep insights and wider knowledge of the Victorian world in the process, I brought an understanding of how we might immerse our cast and audiences into that experience. Thanks to funding from the Arts and Humanities Research Council and Royal Holloway, we were able forge this collaboration across academia and the arts. And thanks to our additional funders too convert it into a production as part of Coventry City of Culture.
We’re delighted to share the Making of Middlemarch, a short film about the process with you.
Special thanks to Royal Holloway, University of London, for their support with this film.
Edited by Anton Califano
The Great Middlemarch Mystery was supported by the UK Research and Innovation Arts and Humanities Research Council, Warwick Arts Centre, Coventry City Council, Coventry Cathedral, Arts Council England, The Garrick Charitable Trust, Royal Holloway, University of London, The D'Oyly Carte Charitable Trust, Three Monkies Trust, Middlemarch Giving Circle and The Thistle Trust.
With special thanks to The Very Reverend John Witcombe, Dean of Coventry Cathedral.
Production photography by Ikin Yum. Videography by Rachel Bunce
