Shane Meadows’ view of England – or at least the view of England the 50-year-old director portrays – couldn’t be further away from the quaint country that films such as Mary Poppins, Notting Hill and Paddington so often show.
Most have been based some way on Meadow’s own experiences, growing up in Uttoxeter in Staffordshire, then moving to Nottingham in his 20s where a bread roll is called a cob and people affectionately call you duck.
His most iconic work is the 2006 film This Is England, featuring Stephen Graham, Thomas Turgoose and Vicky McClure in early career roles, and centered on a group of young skinheads in 1983. This was followed in the 2010s by three TV mini series – This Is England ‘86, ‘88 and ‘90.
Before that came 2004 psychological thriller Dead Man’s Shoes, featuring Paddy Considine, who Meadows met at college and sang in a band with. In the film, Considine’s character vows to take revenge on a group of drug dealers who abused his younger brother, and it was described at the time by the Guardian as “a very confident piece of work”.
Nearly 20 years later, Dead Man’s Shoes is getting a national rerelease, starting with a showing on Tuesday 12 September at BFI Southbank as part of its Acting Hard season, where Meadows will also be on hand to give a live Q&A.
But, luckily, we’ve got in there first, with Meadows kindly agreeing to sit down in the reader interview hot seat (better remember to take it with us) shortly before the screening.
There’s a million things to ask him, surely? Maybe you have questions about his most recent project, the three-part BBC TV series, The Gallows Pole, based on the novel by Benjamin Myers. Or are you curious about the enthusiasm and passion with which he directed 2013’s The Stone Roses: Made Of Stone, after he was handpicked by the band to document their third coming. (Especially the bit when drummer Reni walks off stage during a warmup gig and Meadows thinks the reformation, and his job, is over.)
So, as This Is England ‘90’s Woody (played by Joseph Gilgun) sings to the tune of Fools Gold: “Dah, dah, dah, ding, diggy diggy ding, a flunky flonk, a dinka flong, ding dong.”
Pop your questions in the comments below by noon on Tuesday 12 September and we’ll print his answers on Friday 15 September.
