Beneath This Ground | Sounds of the Underground

Name: Beneath This Ground | Sounds of the Underground
Start: 2025-08-22T19:30:00+01:00
Location: Victoria Tunnel, NE1 2PF

Schedule

Fri, 22 Aug, 2025 at 07:30 pm

UTC+01:00

Location

Victoria Tunnel, NE1 2PF | Newcastle Upon Tyne, EN

In Newcastle’s Ouseburn Valley, tucked between modern housing and old industrial units, sits an open green space. There is nothing unusual until a closer inspection reveals that the paths are made of old gravestones. This is the Ballast Hills Burial Ground.
There were periods during the 18th and 19th centuries when more people were buried at Ballast Hills than in all of the other Newcastle burial grounds combined. When it was closed in 1853, an estimated 40,000 people had been laid to rest there. Using poetry and fiddle tunes, this collection of words and music, created and performed by Marina Dodgson, Maurice Condie and Harry Gallagher, begins to tell their story.
Come underground with them to the Victoria Tunnel for an unforgettable musical evening exploring a handful of tales from Ballast Hills. We will also be showcasing new audio-visual work by Sound Artist Rachael Hales inspired by the burial ground and stories.
Buy the book and album here: https://phoenixfolk.co.uk/product-category/book/
Website: www.beneaththisground.co.uk
Promo videos:

"In a score of new melodies, and almost as many poems, the uncovered story of the lower strata of Tyneside society is recreated and retold - vivid, moving, full of pain and horror. Marina Dodgson, Maurice Condie and Harry Gallagher craft a striking image of a very different time, yet one which resonates strongly with the sufferings and injustices of today."
Alex Monaghan

"They have been able to take factual fragments and transform them into something remarkable, which can be heard, read, and felt. This collection does more than recount history; it breathes life into it. Their words and music do more than interpret history—they breathe it. They take what was lost and give it shape again, turning silence into song, absence into presence. Through poetry and tune, Ballat Hills Burial Ground speaks."
Myra Giesen