A Simple Man

Contrary to his self-description as “a simple man,” British artist Laurence Stephen Lowry (1887-1976) was complex enough to inspire this moving dance drama, which was commissioned by his hometown of Salford to celebrate the centenary of his birth. Created for television in 1987 by Gillian Lynne (Cats, Phantom of the Opera) with a softly elegiac score by Carl Davis, A Simple Man features the Northern Ballet Theatre, with veteran actor/dancers Moira Shearer and Christopher Gable eloquently capturing the lead roles of the artist and his mother. Albert Finney, himself a Salford native, introduces the program with a thumbnail sketch of the artist's life and an overview of his works: a solitary sort--clerk by day, painter by night--Lowry captured the power and poetry of industrial England in paintings that, for instance, featured a white background with masses of people set against buildings that dwarfed and dominated them. Sadly, Lowry's mother was self-absorbed and rejected her son's work, yet she was a dominating force and her death left the artist bereft. Here, the dance unfolds--touching on Lowry's search for his subject as a painter, his relationship with his mother, and the girls (real and imagined) in his life--with settings and costumes mimicking and juxtaposed against his works, and gloriously moving performances from Gable and Shearer. Presented in Dolby Digital 2.0 and LPCM stereo, A Simple Man also includes an interview with Lynne and Davis. Highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (J. Reed)