About Callaghanium
Image By Michael Shelford
In the throes of an inauspicious upbringing, in Wiltshire - where the working assumption was that I should consider myself lucky to embark upon a career at the local bank or car factory - my ambitions were recalibrated somewhat by a singularly, wonderful school drama teacher who made me realise that a fulfilling career in the arts was not totally unattainable for someone ‘like me’.
Mr. Sanderson, if you are still out there, I owe you a debt of gratitude.
However, were it not for successfully auditioning for and being awarded one of only two discretionary grants (remember those?) across the entirety of Wiltshire, for students who had beaten off stiff competition to be accepted into a leading dance or drama school, it would have been an entirely different story…
And it is for the telling of stories that Callaghanium was conjured into being.
Not simply London-centric yarns, using London based talent to tell tales that many do not recognise or see their lived experiences represented in, no…
After years of increasing inequality and cuts to arts funding and creative access - for those heralding from the length and breadth of this sceptered isle - in an attempt to nurture the aspirations of both the audience and the talent of tomorrow; for whom a life working in or simply enjoying the arts is not an entitlement.
And so, now residing on the south coast with my quietly, brilliant wife and profoundly Deaf (and equally, profoundly glorious), son - the fates decreed that Callaghanium’s first production would be set in and utilise a cast and crew from that very same locale.
The follow up to 2023’s, “A Dark Mind”, that I served as Executive Producer on, led to a wonderfully happy reunion with the hugely talented Owen Wood at CreativePilot, to bring you:
“Hunting for Alice”
A taut psychological thriller that - with one notable exception - the leads of which are in their entirety, strong, complex, driven female characters, all of whom having their own agency and all of whom managing to pass the ‘Bechdel test’ (Yes, this is somehow still an issue today).
And that… That’s just the start of it…
In these troubled and divisive times, Callaghanium is the element of choice for the less privileged and differently-abled creatives of all ages.
Mr. Sanderson, this one’s for you.
Andrew
