The Healing Properties of the Sea
Patrick Kealey is here in conversation with Bev Lee Harling about the latest staging of her one-woman show, Ploughing the Salt Sea, at The Stables.
Why should people come and see this show?
People who come and see it now will enter into a realm of storytelling which is based on Hastings, the town where we live. But it is also based on us as human beings and asks the questions, who am I, where am I from? Whoever we are and wherever we are from these fundamental questions colour our lives. The play is about my experiences and my ancestors, but it speaks to everybody who may not be part of a fishing community but is part of something else. It’s a personal story but it’s universal.
Have you been surprised by the impact the show has had on audiences?
Well I realised how powerful it was when people came up to me having seen the show, and had been reflecting on themselves. Getting to make theatre which can change a feeling, or get people to look at themselves in a different way, or look at women in a different way, that’s powerful.
What’s the most surprising response you’ve had?
I had a woman come up to me and say ‘Me and my mum have been estranged for years, but I’m going home tonight, I’m going to book a flight and see her – That kind of response, not just ‘Well done. I really enjoyed your singing’
Isn’t that always what we want to do as artists? As you say it’s also a show about the men but they’re always seen through the eyes of the women. So how do men in particular react to the show?
I’ve had men come up to me and say ‘I have a completely different perspective on my mum now, I wish I could talk to her about it because I really didn’t understand how much she was up against. It’s changed my perspective.’ And I thought ‘Ha! Job done’
Also the show made me reflect on the price of fish. Not ‘Two quid for a bit of pollock, or the Instagram version of fishermen’s huts’ but the true cost. It’s about a life, a lifetime, a tradition, a community, the craft associated with it, the lives risked, the lives lost… that’s what the show did for me.
And you don’t stop having a relationship with someone just because they died. The last time I did it, it was emotional because my dad had passed away … My dad was involved in that show. I recorded him talking about his early life with my mum but I realised ’Oh my God, I can bring him on stage now. Oh he’s here now as well’ Before I go on stage now I actually spend a small amount of time calling my ancestors… and they come on stage with me, they really are there on stage.
Ploughing The Salt Sea is truly original, born and bred in Hastings. It speaks to all of us at a time when identity has become a subject fraught with conflict and complexity. It’s a beautiful reminder that going back to our roots can be a gentle, healing process, full of surprise and wonder.
Ploughing the Salt Sea plays at the White Rock Studio Theatre on Saturday 12 September at 7.30, possibly for the last time in Hastings. Don’t miss it!
We hope you have enjoyed reading this article. The future of our volunteer led, non-profit publication would be far more secure with the aid of a small donation. You can also support local journalism by becoming a friend of HIP. It only takes a minute and we would be very grateful.
Leave a Reply