Jessica Harris sees a work in progress at Birmingham Rep.
Part of the Rep Rising programme, Lyndhurst Memories was a rehearsed reading of a work-in-progress by Birmingham-based artist CJ Lloyd Webley. The focus is CJ’s memories of the Lyndhurst estate in Erdington where he grew up. But as the Q&A that followed the reading showed, the importance of local spaces where children can play, and where neighbours can gather, is important for people everywhere.
The space which occupies CJ’s memories is the wash-yard, a scrap of concrete at the heart of the estate where washing competes with children’s games. To CJ, it is Stamford Bridge, the goalposts a couple of scaffolding poles. The football and the water fights are important, but more important is the sense of community, the kids’ sense of connection, and the security they feel within their neighbourhood.
But things are changing on the estate. Drugs, gangs and violence move in. The council moves in too with plans for regeneration, for gentrification. People are moved out. Temporarily, so that the work can be done. And many never move back. The place is changed, the connections are gone.
The seven performers moved from narrator to character and back again over the course of the reading, bringing to life the personalities that filled CJ’s childhood. There is his strict but caring mother and his best friend who is always by his side. There is his brother and sometimes rival. Because he’s a Villa fan, CJ adopts Stamford Bridge and Chelsea as his club. And there is Rob, who lives nearby, who knows what’s going on, and who keeps an eye out for people.
The characters are vivid and authentic and, although this was a reading, the performers built a sense of tension and earned the audience’s emotional engagement. Their words were backed up by recordings of the voices of some of the residents whom CJ has tracked down. There is an archive of material behind this piece, an important testimonial to people and communities.
Lyndhurst Memories prods a nerve. CJ’s ambition is to bring the play into production and to take it out to wider audiences in the hope that it will resonate with them too. And in the hope that it will encourage those responsible to think more sensitively when planning housing developments, and when delivering projects that will change people’s lives.
The play was originally commissioned by Midlands Arts Centre in 2025. It was written and presented by CJ Lloyd Webley. The Rep Rising 26 Festival showcases theatre performed by emerging talent from the Young Rep and Rep Pathways programmes.
For further information visit cjlloydwebley.com or birmingham-rep.co.uk.
