Penny Woolcock

Penny Woolcock: ‘The rise in knife crime? It’s simple: massive inequality’

The film-maker on the state of Britain, working with non-professional actors and the similarities between grime and opera

Interview by Holly Williams

22, Jun, 2019 @1:00 PM

'I had guns pulled on me' – Penny Woolcock on filming with gangs

Her experiences as a single mum, factory worker and revolutionary gave the artist and film-maker an affinity with the underdog. So she headed right into the heart of British gang culture

Claire Armitstead

15, Nov, 2018 @6:00 AM

‘It’s about race and class, but it’s funny, not grim’: Channel 4’s new take on school drama

Director of C4’s Ackley Bridge hopes to show a rarely seen slice of multicultural education

Sarah Hughes

03, Jun, 2017 @11:05 PM

Blood, Met and tears: the homeless singers who discovered a Passion

Streetwise Opera are to perform the Matthew Passion, one of the most demanding works in the choral repertoire. In her diary, director Penny Woolcock records how the musicians, many of them living on the street, conquered the dark side of Bach

Penny Woolcock

25, Mar, 2016 @3:00 PM

Being European: what does it mean?

It’s the question that lies at the heart of the EU referendum. Seven Brits tell us what makes them feel part of a larger continent

Nick Fraser

20, Mar, 2016 @9:00 AM

Les Pêcheurs de Perles review – inconsistently ravishing

With some superlative singing and an intelligent production, this Bizet opera should fly – but unfortunately the flaws in the work itself drag it back to earth

Seth Colter Walls

05, Jan, 2016 @10:06 PM

Young Londoners talk inequality

Gentrification, class, housing, violence … in these excerpts from documentary interviews by film-maker and playwright Penny Woolcock, young men and women reveal what it’s like to be on the frontline of the inequality struggle on north London’s streets

19, Aug, 2015 @6:30 AM

Penny Woolcock: ‘March towards the sound of gunfire'

The 65-year-old filmmaker, artist and director on Russell Brand, being outside her comfort zone, and growing up in a conservative expat community

Sarah Donaldson

25, Jul, 2015 @1:00 PM

The Pearl Fishers review – ENO's large-scale, but hit-and-miss production

A young cast struggle to bring Bizet's cardboard characters to life, writes Erica Jeal

Erica Jeal

17, Jun, 2014 @11:49 AM

One Mile Away – review

Penny Woolcock's documentary about two Birmingham gangs trying to forge a truce is revealing and often disturbing, writes Philip French

Philip French

31, Mar, 2013 @12:04 AM

One Mile Away – review

A documentary that helped spark a reconciliation between rival gangs in Birmingham is a little short on context, but inspiring none the less, writes Henry Barnes

Henry Barnes

28, Mar, 2013 @10:45 PM

How two Birmingham gangs became allies

A social enterprise founded by former gang members has helped to end a 20-year turf war in Birmingham

Laura Smith

26, Mar, 2013 @3:00 PM

1 / 3 pages

Penny Woolcock

Penny Woolcock: ‘The rise in knife crime? It’s simple: massive inequality’

'I had guns pulled on me' – Penny Woolcock on filming with gangs

‘It’s about race and class, but it’s funny, not grim’: Channel 4’s new take on school drama

Blood, Met and tears: the homeless singers who discovered a Passion

Being European: what does it mean?

Les Pêcheurs de Perles review – inconsistently ravishing

Young Londoners talk inequality

Penny Woolcock: ‘March towards the sound of gunfire'

The Pearl Fishers review – ENO's large-scale, but hit-and-miss production

One Mile Away – review

One Mile Away – review

How two Birmingham gangs became allies

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