Interview: Tim Arnold and Lisa Dillon on their Concert at The Almeida

Interview: Tim Arnold and Lisa Dillon on their Concert at The Almeida

06 April, 2010
by: Naima Khan

Lisa Dillon and Tim Arnold talk to Naima Khan about getting Richard Briers on stage with the drummer from Primal Scream for Sonnet 155.

In January 2007 indie musician Tim Arnold wrote to some of the worlds best Shakespearean actors including Ian McKellan, Emma Thompson, Richard Briers and Janet Suzman in the hope of gleaning their varying takes on Shakespeare and the human condition. By March, he had the bulk of his replies and the inspiration for his next album. Not about Shakespeare, but about people. This May, Sonnet 155 will be performed to sell out crowds at Almeida Theatre alongside readings by Richard Briers, Benedict Cumberbatch, Paul McGann, Hattie Morahan and others.

I met with Tim and actress Lisa Dillon, the other half of the creative partnership behind the Sonnet 155 concerts, to find out how on earth they got the likes of Richard Briers and Michael Attenborough on board. Tim explained, "Lisa was the person who frowned when I said I was going to put this album out on iTunes. She introduced me to Michael Attenborough who became a big fan of the album which has still not been released and he suggested I launch it at the Almeida and as soon as he said that I thought 'Well!' I mean I wouldn't have invited these great actors who inspired me down to some pub in Camden to do a show but at the Almeida they might be interested."

The title could be interpreted as a little audacious, but rest assured, in no way does Tim claim to have written the 155th Sonnet. He explained "Sonnet 155 makes a comment on the notion of Shakespeare feeding into everything and continuing to grow. The title of the whole project just means it continues. It's spurious to say this is about Shakespeare, it's not. It says something about Shakespeare. It says that Shakespeare can inspire beyond theatre and film, beyond the media we expect. But that's as far as it goes. 

I'll give you an example, one of the songs is called 'Shadow Walking'. The actress Frances Tomelty wrote to me and included the 'tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow' speech from Macbeth. There's one little phrase to me as a person very much outside Shakespeare that really provoked something in me: 'life is but a walking shadow'-  because I immediately think NO! You're joking! It's got to be more than that. The song Shadow Walking is an argument with that particular theme."

Having grown up in a family of Thespians and being the renegade that went into music, Arnold turned back to a familiar art form as a basis for Sonnet 155.  “I love what actors do and the choices they make. Often a great actor will make a single choice out of many and it's always the right one. All the things they wrote back to me are inspiring. Some of them wrote long passages about what they thought about Shakespeare. Ian McKellan wrote a lovely page, some only had time to scribble a few lines like Janet Suzman who wrote 'truth being revealed through disguise'- it was like 'wow!' erm yes, I think I can use that.”  

Tim proclaims Sonnet 155 is his 'heavy content' album, a response provoked by Shakespeare rather than an homage to him. "Shakespeare didn't answer any of my questions. He gave me a wider perspective on the subtext I was already looking at. Certainly with the love songs on the album there's a great sense of okay, this is enough, I want to fall in love now and stay in love. There are a few songs that are very vociferous declarations in that regard.”

You'd be forgiven for being slightly dubious about a concert, featuring classical music, opera and a rock band that takes its cues from The Bard but Lisa and Tim explained this has to be seen to be believed: "The performance is so vibrant, the energy coming off them is tangible. The string section is so incredible and the opera singers. It really is incredibly dynamic. The parts that are spoken are quite honoured. Although they weave into the music at times, there's only a subtle underscoring. It's Richard Briers and a rock band, what more do you want? And the drummer is the drummer from Primal Scream- that's ludicrous. It's Richard Briers at 76 on stage with the drummer from Primal Scream."

Sonnet 155 takes place at Almeida Theatre on May 2nd, 9th and 16th

Photo Credit: Eric Ceccarini

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Naima Khan