"...open and thought-provoking... emotive, intimate, and visually pleasing."
The Nettle Dress is an intimate and poetic documentary about textile artist Allan Brown and his seven year quest to create a dress out of stinging nettles.
Nettles are a familiar fiend to everyone, stinging us at unsuspecting times from childhood to later life. But its resilience must be credited; despite our efforts to flatten natural landscapes, they cling to the edges of fields and roads in defiance. And perhaps it is this strength that is recognisable in The Nettle Dress as Brown's life becomes difficult and drastically changed, yet his determination clings on.
While dealing with grief and loss, Brown found joy in the act of foraging and spinning nettles from a prickly plant to the finest thread. Unravelling and enforcing order to something so wild and damaging reflects Brown’s ability to transform his difficult emotions into something more manageable, and the thread was a continuous feature of his life even when difficult events were occurring elsewhere in his life. Although the thread was so fragile, once he had undergone the seven-year process of weaving and sewing and threading, he designed something strong and protective, a kind of shroud or manifestation of his grief turned beautiful.
Upon entering Ledbury Theatre to watch this film, I did not know what to expect and kept an open mind – I knew it wasn’t a fiction film, but it didn’t seem like a documentary either. I would say that it was an art piece, a reflection on both memories and morals.
By the end of it, I certainly was educated on the process of turning wild nettles into a dress, but that is not what I predominantly took from it. What struck me the most, was how open and thought-provoking this film was. It was emotive, intimate, and even visually pleasing. Each scene was a work of art, colours of green and gold that, along with the calming music, brought the audience to a state of serenity and mindfulness. There was a feeling of companionship when watching this film, both between us and Brown, but also the audience with each other as we all came together to watch this sadness sewn to security.
My perspective of nettles and loss has been fashioned into something far more beautiful after seeing this film, and it was truly enlightening to remember the positive impact the natural world can have on our natural, but painful, experiences.
About the reviewer
Alice Drury
Alice Drury is a student of English Literature, Medieval History, and Classical Civilisations at Hereford Sixth Form College. Based in Ledbury, Alice has volunteered in the Poetry House and currently takes part in writing for her college newspaper. In her free time, she enjoys reading and comparing Ancient Greek theatre to modern plays, inspiring her to write her own performances.
