Victoria Wood, 10 Years On
It doesn’t seem quite possible that it’s been ten years since we lost Victoria Wood. And yet here we are, with exhibitions, new productions, and musical tributes all cropping up across the country, each one, in its own way, trying to capture a little of what made her so special.
Up in Bury Art Museum, there’s a new exhibition drawn from Victoria Wood’s Literary Estate, featuring original scripts, handwritten notes, and all the bits and pieces that sit behind the finished work. It’s the sort of thing that reminds you just how precise she was, every line earned, every word doing its job. You’ll find references to Victoria Wood’s All Day Breakfast, and of course The Ballad of Barry and Freda, which still manages to get a laugh however many times you hear it.
There’s new work too. The musical Fourteen Again, with music and lyrics by Victoria, is being brought to life by Ria Jones and Sally Ann Triplett, giving those songs another outing, and reminding audiences just how sharp, and how musical, her writing really was.
And then there’s the music. A collaboration between The National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain and The Victoria Wood Foundation has led to a new composition inspired by her work, a fitting tribute, given her own love of brass bands (and the fact she could more than hold her own on the trumpet).
What’s striking, looking across all of this, is how wide her reach still is. From Mrs Overall to Acorn Antiques, from stand-up to songs, from television to theatre, the work holds. Not in a nostalgic way, but because it was built properly in the first place.
Ten years on, people are still watching, still listening, still quoting lines back at each other. Which is probably as good a measure of a legacy as you can get.
Looking for Me Friend: The Music of Victoria Wood is currently touring the UK, get tickets here.
Our newst offering ‘What Wood Victoria Do?’ Starts touring in July, with tickets available now! find your closest venue and get tickets here.
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