Folk Radio UK

The 'Navvy's Wife' is the latest folk musical creation by Mick Ryan. Mick is now well versed in folk musicals having already written several: 'A Tollpuddle Man' (with Graham Moore); 'A Day's Work'; 'The Voyage' and 'Tanks for the Memory'. This latest venture which can still be seen live (dates below) is an exceptional and moving musical set against the background of the Industrial Revolution and the great drive to carve out Britain’s canals, railways and roads. 'Written to reflect the musical styles of those times, you will hear echoes of traditional and popular song mingled with Music Hall comedy and contemporary folk'. Mick has put together a folk musical masterpiece so if you can get to see it, make every effort! A very taleneted small cast has been out together to bring it all to life.

Read the full review at: www.folkradio.co.uk

fROOTS June 2009 no. 312
MICK RYAN & CO.
The Navvy’s Wife

This ‘ musical drama’, the latest of Mick Ryan’s ‘folk-operas’, is arguably the finest, for in this instance Mick has a special, and profound, degree of empathy with his subject. Several of the songs were originally written to accompany Ultan Cowley’s lecture The Men Who Built Britain, later forming the basis of a show on that theme commissioned for 2006’s Chester Folk Festival. For the present revival, and this recording, Mick has gathered together a superb little company comprising Heather Bradford, Judy Dunlop, and Jackie Oates (to portray the all-important women’s roles), together with Paul Downes and Roger Watson (for instrumental backing and supporting male roles). Mick is in commanding and glorious voice as Paddy himself, but though his is a key role he doesn’t hog centre stage and the show’s most poignant moments are (entirely fittingly) the province of the women, for whom Mick writes with true compassion, understanding and dignity.

The songs’ timeless styling enables the creative interweaving of a linking commentary and poems; it’s all Mick’s own work, although a few of the songs are set to traditional melodies. The show takes a loosely historical-chronological approach (the role of the navvy through the industrial ages), through which runs the common thread of the navvy’s life, emotions, work and loves, with the tragedies in both the workplace and the personal arena leavened by episodes of broader humour. The impact on the women in the navvies’ lives occupies the sharpest focus, however, powerfully examining issues such as poverty, rootlessness, racism and attitudes to death. The ladies’ idealism and realism are brilliantly conveyed in The Women’s Song and Judy’s matchless performance of the show’s title-song, while particularly tender moments of personal heartbreak occur with Heather’s Farewell My Son and Jackie’s I Miss Him. Some archetypal lilting-patter is cleverly built into Don’t Forget, while Roger’s railway contractor (Brassey) and retired navvy (Just Like You), and Paul’s priest make for convincing individual character-portraits.

Great virtue is made of the small instrumental complement through some excellent musicianship, with Paul’s expert, nifty guitar (occasionally augmented with banjo or mandolin) providing the principal undercurrent, subtly enhanced by Roger’s melodeon or concertina and Jackies’ five-string fiddle-viola.
Mick’s supreme achievement in this compelling new show is to give a voice to the men and women whose lives were shaped by the great drive to build through the ages; it’s a triumph, and proves the worthiest of companions to Mick’s previous work in this format.

DAVID KIDMAN

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R2 Rock ‘n’ Reel May/June 2009 2/15

THE NAVVY’S WIFE CAST
THE NAVVY’S WIFE

Mick Ryan has the gift for writing songs that feel traditional even when expounding modern ideas. He’s used that skill to produce a number of musical shows, folk operas if you will, performed by his company, Fieldwork Productions. The Navvy’s Wife, which tours festivals this summer is, as far as I know, the first to be committed to record. The present cast consists of Ryan himself, Jackie Oates, Roger Watson, Judy Dunlop, Paul Downes and Heather Bradford, and this show, telling the story of the navvies who built the canals and railways from the viewpoint of their womenfolk, was originally commissioned by Chester Folk Festival.

So much for the history. Having not seen the show, I’m unable to say if any linking narrative has been cut yet it doesn’t matter. Mick’s songs and poetry are augmented by contemporary testimonies and the story flows easily, from the introductory ‘Men From Limerick’ through stories of mothers who saw their sons leave for a supposedly better life, the girls they left behind, the long-suffering wives and the ‘Women Not Their Wives’ the men took up with.

There is danger and tragedy but also comedy. ‘They All Hate’ and ‘The Eyes Have It’ tell of the antipathy between the Scots and the Irish and the hatred of the English navvies for everyone. It’s a harsh story dressed in black humour.
The Navvy’s Wife is an excellent double-CD at a bargain price. Hear the record and you will want to see the show.

DAI JEFFRIES

END OF PRESS RELEASE

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EDS Magazine Summer 2009

The Navvy’s Wife: A Musical Drama; Mick Ryan.

The origins of folk opera go a long way back, well before Peter Bellamy’s The Transports (the definitive one, in many minds) or the 1950s radio ballads of MacColl, Seeger, and Parker; to at least John Gay’s The Beggar’s Opera, wherein that writer took popular melodies of the time and put his own lyrics to them. Where Mick Ryan steals a pace on John Gay, in this eagerly awaited and pleasantly surprising work, is that much of the music is newly written, yet maintains the feel of being traditional. I’d swear I’d heard some of those tunes before – yet apparently not.

The navvy (short for navigator, and the source of the sweated labour which built our canal and rail systems) is stereotypically Irish in the public imagination, but it’s far from the truth. According to the sleeve notes of this album, which derives from and accompanies a stage version (watch out for it on the festival circuit this year), most navvies were English. Now there’s a myth exploded. Ryan’s forebears were involved in the industry, which gives him empathy for the subject and makes this very much a labour of love; and he has obviously inspired and infected with his enthusiasm the cast of five musicians and singers.

The CD takes its inspiration from a learned tome by the exotically named Ultan Cowley (there’s a name to conjure with). The live version owes its genesis to a commission from the 2006 Chester Folk Festival; and all congratulations to them for doing so, Ryan gives a voice to the forgotten womenfolk: wives, mothers, lovers, widows; who they were, their emotional life, the hardships suffered, why they stayed and put up with intolerable conditions. This however is not some nineteenth century version of ‘Stand by your Man’. The songs are lyrical, tuneful, evocative; and the programme is punctuated by freely-adapted prose readings from The Men Who Built Britain by the aforementioned Cowley, The Railway Navvies by Terry Freeman, and some wonderful verse by Mick Ryan himself ... no mean poet.

Ryan’s previous record of dramatised musical work is an honourable one: Tolpuddle Man, The Voyage, and even the appallingly punnish  Tanks for the Memory. This is a worthy addition to the canon and I look forward to seeing it on tour during the summer. So should you.

DAVID WARWICK

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The Living Tradition

This double CD is the soundtrack of the show The Navvy's Wife. It provides an insightful, incisive and highly entertaining tribute to the Kilroys of the pick and shovel. These were 'The Men Who Built Britain' to quote the title of the excellent book by Ultan Cowley (Wolfhound Press, Dublin, 2001) which was the springboard for this creation by Mick Ryan. The focus here on the Irish Navvy mirrors the book and reflects their mighty contribution as a large minority within this itinerant workforce. The title might suggest a narrow perspective, however, it is a fully rounded sound picture of the trials and tribulations, dreams and aspirations of these men as well as the wives, mothers and sweethearts who were left behind and not forgetting those women who campfollowed...

Mick Ryan is an outstanding singer, songsmith and musical playwright. He has assembled an impressive cast of singer/musicians to deliver this important piece of work. The cast consists of: Mick, Judy Dunlop, Roger Watson, Jackie Oates, Heather Bradford and Paul Downes. They all do justice to the themes and facets covered. There are 19 tracks on CD1, ie ACT 1, and 11 tracks on CD2, ACT2. The songs are linked sparingly with appropriate commentary and poetry creating an exciting and coherent whole.
Given the sheer volume of eminently singable songs, exemplary accompaniments and memorable tunes, regretfully, I can only give a sample here. The CD opens and closes with the robust and apposite 'The Land Around You' from Mick. Then there is the poignant 'Navvy's Wife' from Judy which highlights the relentless grind and dangers of the job ?'Same Old Labour For the Same Old Pay'. Songs of wit and humour, black and otherwise, abound. Some are done in rollicking musichall style, which fits the bill both musically and emotionally eg 'We get Allsorts' sung by Heather which gives a landladies viewpoint. Then again 'Here Comes Mick' from Paul which bowls along with this chorus `And it's lift it and shift it Here comes Mick and here comes Paddy Here comes Sean and here comes Tim They're the boys to move your mountains They're the boys who won't give in'.

Highlights include Roger Watson singing 'Just Like You' where an old navvy reflects on his working life. Mick's haunting 'Something to show' is another cracker illustrating loneliness and longing. This production stands up well as a vivid listening experience and I have no doubt that as a visual performance its qualities can only be compounded.

The show was commissioned by and first performed at Chester Folk Festival 2006 and later with the present cast at Topsham Folk Club and Chippenham Folk Festival in 2008. For future performances see www. thenavvyswife.co.uk

Geordie McIntyre

The Living Tradition (01 July 2009)

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THE NAVVY’S WIFE – A FOLK MUSICAL BY MICK RYAN – Parish Centre, Stonegravels, Chesterfield, 2nd November 2008 (THE DAVID KIDMAN REVIEWS)

One of this country’s very finest singers, and a songwriter of great standing too, Mick Ryan is no stranger to the concept of the folk musical, having made several nigh unrivalled contributions thus far to that genre: his previous ventures have all been major undertakings, invariably being well received and lastingly well regarded, and have proved both highly influential and an inspiration to other creative minds as well as providing source material for many singers.

Only a few years after Tanks For The Memory comes A Navvy’s Wife, which “gives a voice to the men and women whose lives were shaped by the drive, over the course of three centuries, to build our canals, railways, roads etc …”, positing that “the land we know couldn’t have been built without the navvy and The Navvy’s Wife”.

Mick has assembled the finest possible small cast to help him realise his vision: Judy Dunlop, Jackie Oates, Heather Bradford, Paul Downes and Roger Watson.

The production was semi-staged, with a sensible use of costumes for role-playing, and the small stage area was well filled with singers and props; a measure of sympathetic amplification was used, but this proved no distraction to the intimate power of the experience.

The venue was jam-packed, with a keen buzz of anticipation amongst folks, many of whom had travelled some distance for this important event. It all ran smoothly, like a well-oiled machine (the very occasional fluff or missed cue was taken up for comic effect), and it was obvious too from the empathetic writing and choice of material that Mick had done much careful research into his subject and was intent on presenting his characters with both sympathy and realism.

Social issues such as poverty, rootlessness, racism and attitudes to death were examined within the narrative and commentary too, and resonances, links and parallels were drawn throughout to bind the whole together satisfyingly.

The production was conveniently divided into three temporal phases (the Canal Era, the Railway Era and the Modern Era), but Mick was also keen to maintain the common human thread – the songs and their timeless styling were a key factor in this.

Each of the participants played a number of characters, and these were without exception entirely suited to their roles and believably managed.

Singing and playing were of the highest standard, with musical arrangements lithe and economic and fully supportive, pulling back to give the sumptuous voices full rein where needed. And what abundantly fine singing from everyone!

The really special moments came with the simpler and more intimate personal observations perhaps: Jackie’s heartfelt acappella I Miss Him, Judy’s matchless rendition of The Navvy’s Wife, Heather’s tender Farewell My Son and – perhaps finest of all – the reflection of Old Tim (the retired navvy, played by Roger), Just Like You. The “lighter” numbers were convincingly done too, particularly Roger’s forthright portrayal of railway contractor Thomas Brassey on the darkly comic patter-song So Many Ways To Die and Paul’s chummy Here Comes Mick.

There’s a small but inevitable amount of judicious recycling of songs (no complaint is intended!): the universally powerful Poppies gets another airing, in the perfect context, and The Journey has been a Ryan set staple for some time. The three songs on which the trio of women combined forces (one in each “phase”) formed another useful connection between the eras, while the closing anthem The Land Around You bound it all together in tellingly praising the permanence of the navvies’ creations as monuments unforgotten by the land and the people.

Musicality has always been a hallmark of Mick Ryan’s songs and performance style (it’s been said that Mick can even make abject nonsense sound musical!), and these attributes didn’t desert him on this occasion.

The Navvy’s Wife proved to be another triumph for Mick; it’s an unmissable show – so I’d recommend you make every effort to catch it when it begins touring next festival season.

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THE NAVVY’S WIFE
WGS360CD
A Musical Drama by Mick Ryan

‘The Navvy’s Wife  is a benchmark against which all other Folk musical dramas will be measured.’
I have always maintained the opinion that Mick Ryan’s musical outpourings are of the highest quality and reliability. The Navvy’s Wife has unquestionably endorsed that belief. The Navvy’s Wife is a mammoth work. An outstanding piece of musical creation.

Quite clearly Mick Ryan, through the writings of Ultan Cowley and Terry Coleman, has thoroughly acquainted himself with the subject matter. Some years ago, I too read ‘The Railway Navvies’ by Coleman and can seriously recommend reading the book in conjunction with  The Navvy’s Wife.

The Irish navvies (navigators) came to England for many reasons. Not least of which was the Irish potato famine (1845-51). Or they were simply encouraged to make the journey, purely as a source of cheap and expendable labour. Whatever their reasons, I’m sure that they all hoped for a better life. The hardships, misery and uncertainty experienced by them are well documented but we know relatively little about their womenfolk; the misery and unimaginable hardships which they suffered.

To give life to his considerable creative talent Mick Ryan has assembled for the making of this double CD, a company of musicians and singers all highly respected on the Folk circuit. The company being ; Jackie Oates, Paul Downes, Judy Dunlop, Heather Bradford and Roger Watson. The entire recording of two CDs, comprises 30 tracks, some of them spoken word but mostly of song. Every track brilliantly written and perfectly performed!

I found the songs and spoken word, very emotive and meaningful. But because of and thanks to each artist’s quality performance, never morose. After all, it is supposed to be a musical drama not a melodrama.

It is so obvious from the vibrant performance of [the] entire company, that they all felt a personal affinity with the song lyrics and the spoken word. We must at the same time be mindful of Mick Ryan’s perceptive casting of the company. Casting is an often unacknowledged skill. And certainly for The Navvy’s Wife, his casting is intuitively correct.

It would be quite inappropriate for  me to talk in terms of my favourite song, poem artist etc. The performance, the presentation of The Navvy’s Wife is a whole. It is whole because, from the first note to the last, the story of this period of our social history flows with perfect continuity.

The Navvy’s Wife  is a benchmark against which all other Folk musical dramas will be measured.
Ken Hinchliffe.

What’s Afoot: Devon’s Folk Magazine, No. 90., Autumn 2009.

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The Navvy's Wife - North Devon Journal Review of Bideford Folk Festival

MICK Ryan's folk opera about the mothers, lovers, wives and widows of the Irish navvies had a fine cast of professional folk entertainers who showed great understanding of the characters they were playing. The song lyrics were cleverly written and the music immediately appealing to the audience. A quality performance, which I am glad to see, is also available on a double CD from Wildgoose.

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The Navvy’s Wife by Mick Ryan Review by Rosie Upton

The definitive folk opera is without doubt Peter Bellamy’s The Transports and for me it is the yardstick by which all subsequent folk musicals compare. Yet in The Navvy’s Wife Mick Ryan has produced a show from which comparisons can be easily drawn.

Not only does it tell the stories of those who their contemporaries would have regarded as the dregs of humanity, and it tells it from their own perspective, but Mick has brought together some particularly fine singers and musicians whose names are well known on the folk circuit and beyond.

Mick’s collaboration with Graham Moore produced the hugely successful folk musical A Tolpuddle Man and he has since gone on to compose other musicals in his own right; A Days Work about the First World War, The Voyage about emigration to America in the mid 19th century, and the eviction of the villagers of Tyneham in Dorset during the second world war in Tanks for the Memory.  The Navvy’s Wife is the culmination of all this hard work and it is a masterpiece.

Mick is a fine singer, his voice is rich and eloquent, and he knows instinctively how to tell a story.  His voice is always authoritative but especially so in this production because members of his own family had worked on the canals and railways.  His love of this subject and empathy with these men and the unfortunate, forgotten women and their kin who had no choice but to follow them, despite their own strength of character, was obvious from the start. 

The result is songs that are both lyrical and elegant but also measured without any trace of that maudlin emotion that could so easily have made this a melodrama rather than a moving glimpse of harsher times.

It provides a clear picture of a world where deprivation, poverty, drunkenness, love, sexual adventure, cruelty, death, inequality and above all prejudice and bigotry were the norm.  It is all too easy to think of navvies simply as a group of men and to forget that they had wives, lovers, mothers and children. Also easy to assume a racial stereotype that exposes our prejudices that they were all Irish when in fact we learn that the majority were English.
It was a time when even well-to-do women had little power and the navvies wives and women no power of their own.  Throughout history it has been the voices of women especially those who have suffered injustice, oppression, exploitation, isolation and social exclusion that are forgotten. Mick has given this group of women, many who suffered abuse and abandonment, forced to move from one partner to another just to survive, an enduring voice beyond their own lifetime. This is powerful song writing and it allows the performers to speak for themselves.

Easy then to assume that this might have been a gloomy production but that is not the case.  Paul Downes as a sometime priest, parson and missionary as the story progresses through different ages brings great humour to his performance. Jackie Oates, Judy Dunlop and Heather Bradford as the navvies’ women each give moving and well-sung performances. Roger Watson was as accomplished as the enterprising railway contractor as he was the old retired navvy.  It was Roger’s musicianship, Jackie’s fiddle playing and more especially Paul’s expert guitar work that underpinned the show throughout and lifted the emotions. But it was Mick’s words that make this a masterwork, his music and skill as a writer, as well as that unmistakeably commanding and silky smooth voice as Paddy or Sean, the Irish Navvies, that continued in my head long after the performance had ended.   

The album will be released soon, buy it, but also if you get the chance go out of your way to see this remarkable show.

Rosie Upton of the Bath Chronicle

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