DreamSwarm Podcast Andy Mark Simpson

RIP Terence Davies, one of our favourite filmmakers, who died this week. No guests on this episode, just Andy talking about what he loves about Terence Davies' films. Davies' was one of the best ever at using film to explore themes of memory and the passage of time. His magic-realist style has been a big influence and one of the reasons we set up the DreamSwarm platform to begin with. This is a 15-minute chat about his autobiographical films.
Introduction to Terence Davies and his magic-realist films
Non-linear associational structures
Breaking the link between sound and images
Memories altered by the act of filmmaking narration
Where to get started with Terence Davies' films
 

'In comes I, Old Father Christmas...'
We love the pageantry of the Christmas period. For our festive Christmas special we are joined by Sem from the Wantage Mummers group.
We learn all about the traditions of English mummers plays which take place over the Christmas period.

History of Mummers plays
The Old Father Christmas character
Links with other folk art forms

You can learn more about the Wantage Mummers group and other societies here 
https://www.wantagemummers.org.uk/

Director George Popov returns to the podcast to dicuss his folklore and folk horror documentary 'Sideworld: Terrors of the Sea'. He explains how they created this mix of documentary and narrative and why there is such faascination with the folklore of the sea.

Ghost ships
Sea monsters
Why the sea is so fascinating

You can watch 'Sideworld: Terrors of the Sea' here https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B0B5PVMRM7/ref=atv_dp_share_cu_r
You can follow Sideworld on twitter here https://twitter.com/Sideworld_UK

We are joined by Maria Galizia and Caitlin Bramwell who are the hosts of the new Newcastle Witches Podcast. We delve into the history of my home city to investigate the Newcastle Witch trials and the nature of witch hunting in the 17th century.

Magic and superstition in 17th century
Plague and war
Similarities between trials in England and Scotland
Campaign to pardon convicted witches

You can learn more and listen to the Newcastle Witches Podcast here 
You can learn more about campaigns to pardon convicted witches with Witches of Scotland here

Our Midsummer Special episode celebrating William Shakespeare's play 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'. We're joined by expert Shakespeare practitioner Ben Spiller from the 1623 Theatre company to discuss the play and how Ben eplores Shakespeare with marginalised groups of people. A great episode to celebrate the magic of Midsummer.
Themes in Midsummer Night's Dream
Puck and fairy characters
Surreal imagery
The supernatural in other Shakespeare plays.
 
You can follow Ben and 1623 Theatre Company online here 1623 website
and on Twitter 1623 Twitter

This episode focuses on the character of Robin Hood. We interview Thadeus Papke, the host of Into the Greenwood podcast which is all about Robin Hood. Thadeus has amazing knowledge and love for this folklore character so we took a deep dive into the origins and depictions of the character.

What is Into the Greenwood podcast
Origins of Robin Hood
Robin's links to the supernatural and fairies
Maid Marian and other figures
Our favourite Robin Hood films and games

We highly recoomend listening to the Into the Greenwood podcast here
For further dives into the Robin Hood legend we also recommend The Bold Outlaw website
You can follow Into the Greenwood on Twitter, Instagram and facebook @IntoGreenwood