Shirley Collins is an English folk singer, born in 1935. She played a key role in the English Folk Revival of the 60s and 70s and her most recent album, released in 2016, received critical acclaim. The Ballad of Shirley Collins is a 2017 documentary directed by Tim Plester and Rob Curry which sheds light on the singer’s fruitful career, her tragic loss of voice and eventual re-entrance into the world of music with her album, Lodestar.
On the surface, The Ballad of Shirley Collins is everything you want from a documentary: it’s informative, engaging and comprehensive. But underneath, the documentary reveals an emotional and personal core that is reflective of everything Shirley Collins stands for – authenticity without ‘any personal vanity behind it’.
From the very beginning, the documentary is a stunning visual tribute to a musical career that has spanned decades and continents. Collins’ trip to America in 1959 provides a brilliant contextual background to the social and cultural happenings of that time. Along with the recreated footage and field trip recordings, the readings from Collins’ letters home provide a touchingly personal element. The documentary respectfully explores the causes and effects of the singer losing her voice without ever crossing the line into discomfort.
The physical construction of The Ballad of Shirley Collins is beautiful and gentle. The use of sound-bridges between interviews, cutaways and observational footage really gives the documentary a sense of flow and intertextuality. The reconstructed scenes are astonishingly well executed and highly convincing which I think is something very difficult to achieve. The level of care and attention applied to each aspect of the documentary is evident and it really pays off. A particularly poignant moment of the documentary is the unveiling of Dolly’s portative organ and the rendition of the last song that she arranged. Similarly, seeing Shirley find her voice again and record her new album is brilliantly uplifting and a wonderful achievement on her part.
Plester and Curry have captured moments in history with the same artistic finesse as the vocals of the great Shirley Collins. With a highly successful festival run in the UK and America, I hope to see more from the directing pair in the future.
The Ballad of Shirley Collins is now available to buy or rent on Vimeo!