Middlesbrough Town Hall's restored courtroom will be the venue for a music, poetry and sound recordings performance inspired by Teesside's links to the 1930s Spanish Civil War.
Guitarist Mark Boden, poet Bob Beagrie and composer Stewart Forth will perform at the Middlesbrough venue on Sunday, June 23, at 5pm. The concert is free, non-ticketed and part of Teesside's Sonic Arts Week festival, running from June 22 to 29.
Mark Boden will perform a flamenco guitar set to open the performance then accompany Bob Beagrie, a poet and Teesside University creative writing lecturer behind a new book, Romanceros. The poems reflect upon Teesside people who fought for democracy and against fascism as volunteers with the International Brigade in the Spanish Civil War. The new book is published by Drunk Muse Press.
Middlesbrough Town Hall is home to a memorial commemorating Teesside men who travelled to Spain and fought against fascism with the International Brigade during the Spanish Civil War.
Musician Mark Boden has over 30 years' experience playing the guitar across different musical genres. He has studied in Seville, Spain, and combines his interest in flamenco music with other genres including Latin American, jazz, Indian, Cuban, classical, blues and rock music.
Bob Beagrie is part of an experimental music-and-sound group called Project Lono which uses music, sound effects, voices and field recordings. He has performed his poetry at British and international festivals and also been involved with visual arts projects.
Bob Beagrie also supports the North-East Volunteers for Liberty group, which raised awareness of the men and women from the region who as volunteers supported the International Brigade during the Spanish Civil War. The group holds a range of commemorative, history, education and arts activities across the region including museum, theatre and school activities in Middlesbrough, Stockton and Billingham.
It also backed the fundraising campaign for the new Stockton International Brigade memorial in Wasp's Nest Yard, which included key support from Stockton's Golden Smog pub and the Golden Smog Warriors basketball team.
Sonic Arts Week takes place in locations across the Middlesbrough area. It is organised by the Auxiliary Project art gallery and studio space at Station Street, Middlesbrough. This year's programme includes sound systems, electronic, reggae, folk and classical music, physical performance and visual art works combined with sound. Past sonic festivals have included music and sound-based cruises on the River Tees, lunchtime concerts and street dance shows in Middlesbrough town centre.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here