My Last Car

My Last Car


Exhibition 14th July – 2nd September 2012 

Live performances daily from 30thJuly – 5th August (12-2pm)


Do you remember your first car?

How about your last?
 
My Last Car is an epic road trip that looks at our relationship with the car through a series of poignant, funny and uplifting tales. It explores all that the car means to us at the end of a great transport era.

‘The performance…was incredibly touching and thought-provoking (without being in the least bit eco-preachy, if you know what I mean). I found myself veering between moments of smug pride for never having owned a car, to feeling like I’ve missed out on an awful lot of life because of that, to having tears in my eyes at the incredibly moving and personal stories that the play told.’
–     audience member, Bentham

Explore the world of the automobile in all its complexity through live performance; discover an exhibition of a Rover 316 carefully dismantled into thousands of individual parts; listen to the memories of others recorded on both video and audio.

Hundreds of people have posted their car stories online or recorded them on a dedicated phone line.

These unique stories and the journeys they involve –have been made into a production to reveal the ways the car has shaped so much of our lives.

‘We wanted to take ‘My Last Car’ to rural settings where communities acutely understand the impact of motoring on the environment. The people are totally dependent upon the car for work, school and simple everyday activities…’My Last Car’ is part homage, part celebration and part wake.’
– Artistic director, Al Dix


‘My Last Car’ meets ‘My First Tractor’

Witness a unique clash of engines and environments, rural and urban, art and life in Atom Film Company’s new piece, My First Tractor.

In their own words local men and women recall what acquiring their first tractor meant to the working day at a time when horses were an essential part of farm life; how it changed them, and their environment.

Did you know that tractors also used to be transport to and from the local Saturday night dance? Cars were widely unaffordable, so if the lady didn’t mind, she could hitch a ride home on an Aliss-Chalmer Model B, a rare tractor that could romantically seat two!

For others it was the start of a lifelong relationship between man or woman and machine, one that continues for the enthusiast to this day.

For more information and to book your place visit www.mylastcar.co.uk/ryedale-walksand www.ryedalefolkmuseum.co.uk 

‘My Last Car’ is the product of a unique collaboration between 509 Arts, Warwick Arts Centre, Pioneer Projects in Bentham North Yorkshire, Ryedale Folk Museum, and imove, the Legacy Trust UK’s celebratory programme for Yorkshire and part of the Cultural Olympiad. 

‘Imove’ has been funded by Legacy Trust UK, creating a lasting impact from the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games by funding ideas and local talent to inspire creativity across the UK.

 

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