Talking about Lawrence

A keen audience of David Lean fans gathered on Sunday, for a special matinee showing of his iconic film ‘Lawrence of Arabia’ – and although I was there to introduce the movie as guest speaker, it was soon clear from a show of hands, that I was going to be preaching to the already converted. Almost every one there had seen the film before, and so it was with the sense of sharing a passion rather than introducing one, that I began to talk about Lean, his film and its links to the current, Cycles of Radical Will, exhibition. With both Shaun Gladwell and David Lean exploring identity, the tradition of the romantic landscape and the lone figure within it – there was much to discuss, and then with the music of Maurice Jarre’s famous score, beginning to reverberate around the De La Warr auditorium, we finally l settled down to immerse ourselves in the sweeping desert landscapes of Lean’s film.