NO TIME FOR DREAMING
by Matt Wilkinson
In 2011, Charles Bradley exploded onto the US charts with his album No Time For Dreaming. A truly transcendent vocalist whose songs feature on TV shows like Ray Donovan and Big Little Lies, Charles became one of Billboard’s oldest-ever debut artists at the age of 62.
Featuring a live band, No Time For Dreaming - the stage show - is a piece of raucous gig theatre that tells the story of Charles' lonely, often terrifying itinerant life, but one in which he never relinquished his own gentle spirit, humour and extraordinary will to survive.
After years in New York working as a labourer by day and James Brown impersonator by night, Charles met 20-year-old musician Tom Brenneck. At once soul mates - bridging instantly age, race and experience - they created No Time For Dreaming in Tom's tiny apartment. The album brought Charles his first ever taste of success and with it triumph over unimaginable odds.
Workshop cast
Danny Sapani, Nina Sosanya, Clint Dyer, Ash Hunter, Akiya Henry, Alan Morissey
Supported by Wales Millennium Centre, Cusack Projects Ltd and Daptone Records.
The writing process has been informed by a series of interviews with Charles at his home in Brooklyn. We were privileged that he chose to share some experiences from his life never before recorded.