Last month's event hosted at The Whitechapel Gallery is now available to listen to for free on Strange Attractor's Bandcamp page! February's special screening of Penda's Fen was followed by a discussion featuring David Rudkin, Spencer Banks, Christopher Douglas, Jennie Heslewood and Ian Hogg, and was introduced by Of Mud & Flame contributor, medievalist Beth Whalley.
“In the pastoral landscape of Three Choirs England, a clergyman’s son, in his last days of school, has his idealistic value-system and the precious tokens of his self-image all broken away – his parentage, his nationality, his sexuality, his conventional patriotism and faith… Below the slopes of the Malvern Hills he has encounters with an angel, and with a demon, with the ghost of Elgar, the crucified Jesus, and with Penda, England’s last pagan king." - David Rudkin
The recording is completely free to listen to, and listeners on Bandcamp are encouraged to name their own price in order to buy and download the talk.
Of Mud & Flame includes insightful essays by scholars across a range of disciplines including television history, literature, theatre, and medieval studies. It also contains a wealth of creative contributions from contemporary writers and poets inspired by this unique cornerstone of Britain’s uncanny archive, as well as recollections from actors Spencer Banks and Christopher Douglas, and reflections from Rudkin himself. Together with this breadth of commentary, Of Mud & Flame also includes the full revised screenplay of Penda’s Fen, its first time in print since 1975.
Of Mud & Flame is available HERE
PB 368pp
210mm x 147mm
Approx 60 images
£16.99
Additionally, Penda's Fen, the film, is available on DVD/Blu-Ray through the BFI shop HERE