An unusual final request
Good Grief by Ugly Bucket | The Car Man returns | A festival wassail
This year, I’m trying to work out what I love about Christmas - because the last few festive seasons, despite some lovely moments, have lacked some of their usual sparkle for me. I know that some of this is because my Dad is no longer here to play carols on his guitar/melodion/fiddle/musical saw or whatever other instrument he fancied that day. But I also think that I’ve been overwhelmed by the sheer overwhelmingness of it all these days - the extreme levels of consumption pushed on us from all directions.
I sat down with my daughter and we talked about what we important to us at this time of year and how we can make sure we all get what we want or need. For her: The return of the inflatable snowman outside the front door, the National Lampoon Moose eggnog bowl - a gift from my in-laws that we fill with non-alcoholic punch so the kids can sip it from matching moose-shaped shot glasses, and of course presents. For me: Long walks in the cold air, lighting candles, reading The Dark is Rising, lots of baking. For both of us: Decorating the Christmas tree as a family, time spent with loved ones, festive music.
I’ll soon be writing the Things to do in December edition of Stored Honey, and as well as the fun, brash side of Christmas, I would like it to include some gentler suggestions too. Let me know what you’re looking forward to and I’ll share it with everyone here. That will be for paid subscribers only, so if you would like to sign up in time, you can use this little button below. There will also be a Meet the Creator feature going out to paid subscribers this week.
If you also have loved-ones you’ll be missing this Christmas, then here’s a heads-up that the main piece in this week’s edition is about grief - and a theatre show that takes people’s experiences of loss and turns it into something that brings joy and comfort.
Real voices and clowning combine to deal with grief
It all started with awful news followed by an unusual final request. Members of Ugly Bucket Theatre’s former university lecturer, Dr Tim Miles, had been given a diagnosis of terminal cancer - and he wanted to them to perform at his funeral.
Dr Miles had been a huge inspiration to them. He had introduced the group to clowning, which continues to be an important part of their performance style. They wanted to fulfil his wish.
“Tim invited us to his hospice and asked us would we be willing to make a 10-minute piece about death for his own memorial service,” says Grace Gallagher, Ugly Bucket’s co-artistic director.
“He was like, ‘Well, I’m not going to see it, I’ll be dead, so I want you to do whatever you want. I want it to be your style. He wanted it to be funny.”
Ugly Bucket often uses a verbatim framework, with conversations as the starting point for their performances. They spent time interviewing Dr Miles, which they built into “a 10-minute strange little piece about death”.
Grace continues: “We discovered, in our own grief and in the conversations we were having, that there was so much more that we wanted to talk about. We decided to go bigger and bigger.
“We did a call out to talk to more people about grief, and spoke to our own friends, family, but also worked with Care Merseyside and some of their social prescribers. Once people knew that it was happening, a lot of them reached out to us to talk about it. I think that’s probably because a lot of them were waiting to be asked.”
This formed the basis of the show Good Grief, which is being brought back this month thanks to a commission by Merseyside-based community arts organisation Heart of Glass. It combines real voices and true stories with an electronic musical score and clowning, to create a performance set in an abstract world.
“You come in a little bit not sure what to expect,” says Grace.
“Because the show is so abstract and we dive deep into emotion in quite a bold way, I think people are surprised at the things that they resonate with. People can find themselves in the little stories and moments that they see.”
One of the voices in Good Grief belongs to Rida Rennoldson, who was interviewed by Ugly Bucket about the death of her parents in 2019. When she died in early-2024, donations were made in her memory to produce a special edition of a graphic novel created to depict Good Grief in place of a playscript due to its lack of dialogue. Containing more of her story, they are being distributed to charities, organisations and bereavement groups around the UK.
“Her wisdom and her light and her words can go on to further her legacy,” says Grace.
“That’s why this particular revival of Good Grief definitely has more of a weight to it, a bitter sweetness. And it feels strange to be taking Rida’s own advice in this moment for the grief that we feel for her as well.”
Good Grief is at Chester Lane Library in St Helens on Saturday, November 22. The performance is now sold out but you could try calling the venue in case of a waiting list. Keep an eye on Ugly Bucket’s website for details of future productions.
See your work featured in Stored Honey
If you’re an artist, actor, theatre maker, curator, director or producer, I’d love to hear more about your work. You can submit details of an exhibition, performance or cultural event via this short form or send me an email to tostoredhoney@gmail.com. If you would like to take part in Stored Honey’s regular Meet the Artist feature, please answer the questions in this Q&A - or if you don’t like forms, hit reply and I’ll send you them on email.
Latest arts news
🚗 Matthew Bourne’s award-winning dance thriller The Car Man will return for a 2026 UK tour including dates at Lowry, Salford from Tuesday, June 23 to Saturday, June 27, 2026. Tickets go on sale on Friday (November 21).
🌱 Little Shop of Horrors will be making its home at Liverpool Playhouse for a special Christmas season in 2026. This production of the cult musical comedy is directed and choreographed by Tony and Olivier Award-nominated Carrie-Anne Ingrouille (Six The Musical). Tickets available now.
🌕 A brand-new staging of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, based on Mark Haddon’s multi-million-selling novel, is touring to Manchester Opera House from Tuesday, March 2 to Saturday, March 6, 2027 and to Storyhouse in Chester from Tuesday, March 16 to Saturday, March 20, 2027. Tickets are already on sale for the Chester tour and go on general sale for Manchester on Friday (November 21). As previously announced, the show will also tour to the Liverpool Empire from Tuesday, November 3 to Saturday, November 7, 2026.
In case you missed it
A bit of festive cheer
Eliza Carthy and Jon Boden are bringing their nationwide wassail to Liverpool’s The Tung Auditorium, presenting seasonal, traditional material on a stage decorated for the occasion. They will take audiences back to some of the oldest songs in the English canon, telling Christmas tales, spreading good cheer and lighting up the darkest days of the year. Sunday, November 30.
Last chance to see
Helen Anna Flanagan & Gavin Gayagoy, FACT, Liverpool: Two new works created during artist residencies at FACT’s Studio/Lab, the centre’s space for nurturing and supporting artistic practice. In her video work Burnt Toast, Helen Anna Flanaghan resurrects legendary British comedian Tommy Cooper, who famously died mid-performance in 1984. Combining machine learning, analogue technologies, archival materials and a trained impersonator, the film follows a failed magician trapped in his decaying home. Gavin Gayagoy’s Doomscroll_1 explores our relationship with smartphones, focusing on the sensation of compulsively consuming digital content, often to the detriment of mental health. Ends Sunday, November 23.
Thank you for reading the 155th edition of Stored Honey. If you enjoyed what you read then please hit the ❤️ button as it helps to get it shown more widely.
I’m off now to count the floats for the school Christmas fayre. In the meantime, you can submit details of an exhibition, performance or cultural event via this short form or send me an email to tostoredhoney@gmail.com. If you would like to take part in Stored Honey’s regular Meet the Artist feature, answer the questions in this Q&A form.
Have a great week,
Laura
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