The Butcher Boy

Merle Keegan writes:
In The Butcher Boy, Neil Jordan

Eamonn Owens as Francie Brady

gives us the story of twelve year-old Irish boy Francie Brady, who loses both of his parents and goes mad. There is no warm lyricism in this film. Instead, there is horror and what you might call gallows humour. Ages ago, it seems, I read the original novel by Patrick McCabe, and I can tell you that this adaptation is very respectful - and studded with good actors like Stephen Rea and Aisling O'Sullivan (Francie's unfortunate parents) and Eamonn Owens, brilliant as Francie, who is as you might imagine considering that his dad is the principal village drunk and his mother is to say the least a hopeless organiser - mentally unstable. The local busybody, Mrs Nugent (Fiona Shaw) classifies the dysfunctional family as "pigs".

Francie copes by embracing fantasy, living a life based on old TV programmes (this is set in the Sixties) like The Lone Ranger and The Fugitive. With his pal Joe (Alan Boyle), he turns the village and its surrounding woodland into a law-free playground. As the family's fortunes decline, Francie becomes more reckless and violent. It is all dark comedy, but also really horrible. Fortunately, Neil Jordan steers clear of the sanctimonious and the sentimental, and the result is disturbing. He also avoids Irish stereotypes - the characters in this film are of the sort of you find in many cultures.

It's a great novel which has been compared with Salinger's Catcher in the Rye, and a great film too, the journey of a preadolescent rebellious boy. I am grateful to Headingley LitFest for giving us a chance to see it.


Beth Anderson writes:

After reading the short introduction to Neil Jordan’s The Butcher Boy, featured in the Headingly Litfest programme, I was unsure what to expect when sitting down to watch it. Set in the 1960s, in a small town in Ireland, the film begins with the voice of our narrator, Francie Brady, who is also the protagonist. Retrospectively, he tells us the story of his troubled childhood as it plays out on screen. Our first introduction to young Francie sets him up as a mischievous, but ultimately lovable character who brings humour to what seems to be a somewhat tragic plot. 

As the film progresses, you soon learn not to try to predict what is about to come next, but instead prepare yourself for what may occur in the next scene. We soon learn that the film is less comedic and more tragic as Francie loses his dysfunctional mother and father to suicide and alcoholism, adding to the deterioration of his own sanity, which leads him to commit acts of increasingly brutality. The film ends with Francie having one last conversation with Our Lady, who has been part of his imaginative conversations throughout the film, trying to tell him it’s time to move on from his past life. 

The Butcher Boy, is definitely a film within its own right and one that isn’t for the faint hearted! However, it is fantastically thought provoking with its underlying theme of deep compassion – a truly outstanding piece of film all in all.

Double Bill: Launch of Valley Press Anthology of Yorkshire Poetry plus Blue Moose Author Anna Chilvers

A murmuring of poets

Jamie McGarry - founder of Valley Press  Photo Richard Wilcocks

Anna Chilvers   Photo Richard Wilcocks

Sally Bavage adds:
Megan Fitzpatrick and Beth  Anderson, both students from  Leeds University, were brilliant at setting up the evening event in the lounge of the New Headingley Club, involving much moving of furniture to accommodate a packed event.  Thank you girls.

Audience Comments

Lovely cosy venue (bar of New Headingley Club) and super rich variety of readings. Lovely to hear so many creative voices, all ages and ranges of experience. Encore!

Excellent, fun and fresh event with good variety, well hosted and organised. Good poetry to boot!

The reading by the poets was excellent, informative and inspiring. Please do more of this.

Well organised, well publicised - quality poems, well read.

Great to see so many local poets, really great! :))

Great to hear so many new voices and a focus on Yorkshire. 

Good to be in a community venue. £3 a round is an added bonus! 

Excellent.

A really fantastic event. Good range of readers. Anna was great.

Lovely readings and talk and very well organised.

x and Anna Chilvers - really enjoyed her especially the Q and A session - inspiring and enlightening (as a fellow writer!)

Pitch and Pen

Tricia Ramsey writes:
What does it take to become a successful or published poet or novelist? It might take a meaty, nuanced and developed voice. It certainly does not hurt if one can get unfettered access to a willing publisher, editor and author.

The Headingley LitFest brought just such an opportunity to life for those brave souls who desired to have their work scrutinised. The Pitch and Pen event, staged at the New Headingley Club, gave aspiring poets and novelists the opportunity to sell their hopes and dreams to a panel of professionals, with the most celebrated pitch earning the coveted chance of bending the ear of the publisher.

--> The event is now a staple on the Headingley LitFest calendar and ought not to be missed. One ought to be forgiven if one assumed that attending a Literature Festival event which has a pitch and a panel, might need a pint. Pitch and Pen is not such an event, it provided its own intoxication. This event brought together a range of stories, including that of a serial compulsive funeral goer, haunting poetry which eulogised the plight of three hundred ants brutally murdered by a dozy housewife. It shone a spotlight on questions of adoption and identity and also the horrors of war. The event was better than billed. The poets and novelists made the room hum with excitement as they spun their tales.
Sally Bavage adds:
Pitch and Pen - Thankyou to Leeds University student Tricia Ramsey, who helped us set up a really busy event in the lounge area of the New Headingley Club and turn it into an intimate and welcoming venue for some nervous 'pitchers'.

Audience Comments

Found event extremely interesting with contrasting pitches, poetry and novels. Also, will be informative should I decide to pitch sometime in the future.

Well organised. Comfy. A joy. Obviously enjoyed by all. Thank you.

Impressive variety of pitches - a lot of talent to be discovered - thanks to H. LitFest.

The event was varied, diverse and a very useful and interesting way to spend a Saturday afternoon. I hope it continues next year.

Really interesting to hear other authors reading and speaking of their work. The informal setting worked wonderfully.

This event was a lot of fun. Some fantastic talent on show. The range of styles and content was wide ensuring an attentive audience throughout.

Really insightful. Like the premise. Lot to learn from other writers. Should keep it up. Would be keen to attempt in future. Great opportunity to practise for less experienced folk.

I loved the variety of works and the friendly atmosphere. I'll attend more if more happen.

Interesting to learn how aspiring writers/poets submit a pitch and their different reasons for their work.

Really helpful and well organised.

Very worth attending - a good relaxed atmosphere and standard of writing v.v. good. Venue not ideal … interruptions from bar, etc. Does the event need a bar?

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The event was well organised. Great to listen to writers.

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