Albion: BILLY BRAGG
What does Englishness sound like?
In this episode of OffScript, Dash Arts' Artistic Director Josephine Burton is joined by musician, songwriter, and activist Billy Bragg for an electric conversation about England - its flags, its contradictions, and its capacity for protest.
Billy and Josephine dig into what it means to love a country and argue with it at the same time. They explore the politics of the English flag, the radical traditions buried in folk music, and whether a song can actually change the world. Billy even sings.
The conversation spills into Our Public House, Dash Arts' new touring theatre production, a state-of-the-nation play set in a pub, born out of four years of travelling England and listening to over 700 people talk about the country they want to live in. It's the kind of England Billy Bragg has been singing about for decades, and it turns out he has a lot to say about it.
Because if anyone has spent a lifetime making the case for a different kind of Englishness, one rooted in solidarity, humour, and dissent, it's Billy Bragg.
Our Public House is touring England, opening at Leeds Playhouse from May 15th before touring to Prescot, Coventry, Sheffield, Cornwall and London. Find out more at https://www.dasharts.org.uk/our-public-house
This episode is part of Dash Arts' Albion series — an ongoing exploration of what it means to be English today.
Our intro music is Fakiiritanssi by Marouf Majidi
Billy Bragg photo by Murdo MacLeod
