In A Room of Our Own, Jude Adams takes us on a deeply personal journey, revisiting and reimagining songs from her past albums through acoustic arrangements, storytelling, and the vibrant inclusion of dance. This project is not just a revisitation but an evolution, blending her life story with the collective history of the LGBTQ+ community, particularly the struggles faced in the 1980s. Inspired by Virginia Woolf’s concept of personal space and artistic freedom, she brings to life a room where memories, social challenges, and personal growth converge. In this interview, she delves into the profound themes that shape her work, the artistic choices that define it, and the enduring message she hopes to share with audiences everywhere.
Patrick Roy, UniversalCinema Magazine (UM): What inspired you to create A Room of Our Own, and how does it draw from your personal experiences?
Jude Adams (JA): Having released 3 albums of my own songs over 6 years, I wanted to take stock and revisit some of that work. Someone suggested I do this by going back to the bones of the music and explore how they would work as acoustic versions. I chose 13 initially from across the 3 albums I commissioned a talented young Brighton-based musical director, Chris Vince. In October 2022 when he started sending the new arrangements through I was blown away-they had so much atmosphere and depth (dramatic, dynamic, beautiful) that I immediately wanted to link them to tell a longer story. This was a natural development given how I use storytelling in my creative practice, but I also wanted to do it in a way that was new and different for me by using dance, narrative and film.
Often it is best to draw on personal experience to create a story-many of my songs tell a story themselves, but when put together, the songs (I had selected 9 from the original 13) form a clear narrative arc that is more powerful. And personal. Being largely closeted in the 80’s (professionally and in many areas of society) that felt like an important story to tell. It is also a personal piece of social history.
(UM): The title references Virginia Woolf. What does “a room of our own” signify in your story, particularly for the LGBTQ+ community?
(JA): Virginia Woolf was highlighting the importance of freedom of expression for women. She argued that to truly write, women needed a space where they could be themselves, unencumbered by the pressures and distractions of confirming to societal norms.
A Room of Our Own relates to spaces where gay women in the 80’s could feel safe, unencumbered and free to be themselves. However my room is also about the contemporary world where gay people and the LGBTQ community can feel safe, allowing for freedom of expression sadly still necessary today.
(UM): You chose to tell this story through music, narration, and dance. How do these elements enhance the emotional and thematic depth of the piece?
(JA): Since I have been writing and recording music, I have always liked to expand into other creative fields-I have played with photography, with collage and other visual art forms and have written a “memoir of sorts”. Just as I express myself in a range of media, so I believe the audience absorbs more and moved more deeply of stimulated in a range of ways.
When putting it together, the songs I chose were key, and having written before, it was very natural to develop the narrative element to connect the messages in the songs and create more flow.
I had studied Contemporary Dance as part of my University Degree and had always maintained an interest as a spectator. Incorporating dance, providing creative direction and occasionally participating myself, was a wonderful stretch for me. I realised that for this project, dance was a very natural fit.
(UM): Why is it important for you to share this story, set in the early 1980s, and how does it reflect the LGBTQ+ experience of that time?
(JA): In the 80’s being gay was a huge issue. It was risky – if outed, their work and livelihood was often at risk, and they were targets of violence and attack. As a result, many gay men and women led double lives, and lived under great stress to keep their “unacceptable” secret hidden. Even in areas of society where you were out you would often feel “other”, “different”, uncomfortable. It is important to tell the story, as it is something that should not be forgotten, so it will not be repeated. In that sense, the story is an important legacy for the next generation.
(UM): How does A Room of Our Own connect your personal journey with the broader LGBTQ+ movement of the 1980s?
(JA): In the 1980s, I was a gay woman in her 20s. Out to many friends and family but still very much feeling an outsider, feeling shame often. In many respects I was not out – professionally, in most public arenas. That was the experience of so many of us. We stayed in the closet to protect ourselves.
Whilst society in general is far more accepting of gay people and other minorities today, it is still a challenging world for many. Even thinking twice before walking hand in hand with a partner in public is a common occurrence, However you identify, I think there will often be many pressures resulting often in health issues, most obviously mental health problems, when trying to fit into a world that still has clear “norms”. We are only now beginning to acknowledge many things that perhaps have gone under the radar. The issue of identity which AROOO explores is a huge one still.
For me personally there were repercussions, some regarding career, others regarding friendships, but mostly regarding health, and some of which I live with today.
(UM): Can you share more about your process of composing the music for the show and what emotions you aimed to capture?
(JA): All of the songs had already been written and appeared on my 3 albums, released in 2016, 2019 and 2022. Each of those albums had a distinctive style. What the acoustic arrangements did was to pull out the core composition of each of the 9 very diverse songs, and bring them together in a cabaret / musical theatre style. This allows for an extensive bag of tempos, ranges and colour, and so the whole gamut of emotions are provoked and touched. Ultimately I am satisfied that each song shares the right sentiments for the different stages of the story I was trying to tell.
(UM): How do movement and dance contribute to telling the story and conveying the emotions behind the narrative?
(JA): Movement and dance are an art form that express emotions visually, reach out to people in a different way. My idea was to include dance to make the story, the emotions as powerful as possible. Some of the dance is fun and humorous, some very moving, some reflective. The dance element completely enhances the sentiment of the song lyrics, melodies and story overall.
(UM): What motivated you to adapt the show into a short film, and what can audiences expect from this version?
(JA): We were due to perform the show live in October 2023 but I was very poorly. I have lived with M.E. (CFS) since 2011 and it was through convalescence that I came to start song writing. Whether or not my 2023 illness was related to that chronic illness we don’t know. But after the setback of cancelling the show, I started a conversation with my musical mentor, Georgia Train, about alternative ways to share the project and digital came up as an option. As is so often the case going down the film route was unexpected but something that initially evolved partly out of necessity.
In early 2024 we filmed the pilot. I was really excited with the result and am delighted to be able to show it as a short at film festivals. Although it is just 7 minutes long, I hope it is the first step to filming the whole project. At the time of writing we are exploring options – if funds can be found I would love to make a film of it all but equally I would like to create a mixed media version.
(UM): With plans to perform the full story live and create a complete film version, what are your hopes for these upcoming projects?
(JA): There are so many possibilities!
I do want to make a stand alone film – having come this far, and from the reception to the pilot, I know it can be fantastic. I am on the hunt for funding!
I also hope to perform it live, and will think carefully about how to plan that, to accommodate when my health is a little unpredictable – I will need an understudy, for example. I would like the live version to be mixed with some of the film background, with sound being part live part pre-recorded as well, creating a fully rounded and dramatic impact.
My big ambition is to take the show viral! By which I mean, I want to give it away to be performed by anyone anywhere in the world – much like Vagina Monologues or White Rabbit, Red Rabbit. The message is so important; to ensure that we harness the best of all of us; to allow us to progress and grow as a society and as a human race; not to suffocate or constrain human potential by disparaging something simply for being outside of societal norms.
With the digital basis providing a structure, the show can be both consistent globally and yet also unique to the performers in that time and place. Each audience will have their own unique experience, while also knowing they are part of a wider, viral phenomenon.
(UM): What message do you want audiences and future generations to take away from A Room of Our Own, and how do you hope it resonates today?
(JA): Ultimately that with respect, curiosity and love, if we embrace difference and are open to new ideas, we will be enriched as individuals, as society and as a human race.
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