🥨 A word from Helen, editor/writer at The Knot
Welcome to another week of The Knot - and hopefully something to brighten up your Monday! There’s big news for film for Stoke, as Rachel Shenton and Chris Overton announce that they’ll begin filming their first feature film, DUST, in Stoke, on 16 November. Their production company Slick Films, has already enjoyed great success, having won an Academy Award for its film The Silent Child about a deaf girl named Libby, and a BAFTA nominee for Rocket Fuel, which tells the story of two kids who find an abandoned car and turn it into a DIY spaceship. Here in Stoke, we know Rachel best for audio/podcast drama Gladstone Girls, which, will make its stage premiere at the New Vic Theatre on 6 February, running until 27 February, 2027.
Telling the story of Lou Macari’s work supporting the homeless community in Stoke, DUST is a fictional follow-up to Sticks & Shelter, a documentary that chronicles Macari’s attempts to help former drummer, addict, and Macari Centre resident Micky Donnovan get back on stage. The film, written by Shenton, who also stars as Kelly, a woman experiencing homelessness and addicted to monkey dust, will also explore the impact of the drug on the city. The project is a co-production with Lowkey Films a studio that holds B Corp status due to its commitment to sustainable filmmaking.
The team is currently preparing for 27 days of filming thanks to support from PVFC owner Carol Shanahan and many other local businesses and individuals. We were lucky to speak with Rachel yesterday, who told The Knot that bringing a major feature film production to her home city was “a dream come true”. She also revealed that around 85% of the cast and crew are local, and that the production is still looking for volunteer background artists. If you’d like to get involved in DUST, you can register your interest here.
With Rachel and Chris at the helm, we’re excited to see DUST put Stoke on the map as a filming location and show that our city has produced some great creative talent.
Good News 🎉
💪 More power for us? With plans to create a new Mayoral Strategic Authority covering the city and the county confirmed in last week’s budget, we’re about to find out how serious Burnham is about devolution. As in Greater Manchester, the new mayor could potentially have power over issues including economic development, housing, and transport. The mayoral authority would be a separate organisation from local councils, with its own staff and budget. The new authority could be set up in autumn 2027, with the first mayoral election in May 2028.
🍸 THE KNOT’S PERSON OF THE WEEK – Dereece Gardner🍸
Piccadilly-based cocktail bar Desire has earned international recognition after becoming one of five UK venues to receive an award from a global guide celebrating the world’s best cocktail bars. It was awarded ‘1 PIN – Excellent’ by The Pinnacle Guide, which today announced 29 newly recognised bars across 11 countries. Dereece, who was also a finalist in the Best Venue Manager category at the Bar Magazine Awards 2027 last week, said the accolade was a personal milestone and an opportunity to put Stoke on the international hospitality map He added, “When you look at the calibre of bars featured within The Pinnacle Guide, it really puts this achievement into perspective. To think that our small independent cocktail bar in Stoke-on-Trent is now recognised within that same international guide is something quite extraordinary.” Cheers to that!
❤️ Poppies at the Spitfire. More than 3,000 handmade poppies have transformed the Spitfire Gallery at The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery. Each poppy has been crocheted by members and friends of the local Let’s Make Jam WI group, who have once again come together to create this moving tribute to those who served and sacrificed. You can see the display for free at the museum in the run-up to Armistice Day on 11 November.
⚽️ Pottermus and Boomer star in new children’s book. Schoolchildren at Maple Court Academy have helped launch a new book featuring Pottermus and Boomer and were among the first to hear the story, called ‘Meet the Mascots’. They also took part in a special storytelling and drawing session led by author Tom Watt (Lofty from Eastenders!) and illustrator Matt Buckingham. The book has been developed as part of Stoke-on-Trent’s Family Matters programme, which works with families to improve outcomes for children. Once printed, copies will be gifted to children, helping more families enjoy reading together at home.
😃 Our Top Five Don’t-Miss Events this Week. Join acclaimed artist and designer Louise Adams for The Art of Wood’s Ware, an inspiring day of still life painting at the Barewall Art Gallery Studio (14/11, 11am-3pm). Featuring piano, pipe organ, voice, guitar and flute, St Giles after Dark: Cinematic is a journey through some of the world’s most atmospheric music at Cheadle’s St Giles the Abbot. There are two one-hour performances at 7pm and 9pm; tickets from £15.
Don’t miss Baby and Johnny’s sensationally sexy moves in Dirty Dancing (24/11-28/11; Tue-Thu and Sat, 19:30; Fri 5pm & 8.30pm, Sat 2:30) as they come together for a milestone summer; tickets from £33.16. With live entertainment and late-night shopping, the Trentham Christmas Street Party (12/11, 4pm-8.30pm; shops open until 9pm) will get you in the festive spirit; admission free. Theatre nights at Middleport always sell out quick, so grab your ticket for A Christmas Carol (24/11; doors 6pm, show 7pm) to see Scrooge visited by the ghosts of his past, present and future in a one-man show performed by Jonathan Goodwin; tickets £16.
New film DUST was inspired by Lou Macari’s support for Stoke-on-Trent’s homeless community
Words: Helen Dalley
When I ask Rachel Shenton what it means to bring a major feature film production to her home town, she can barely contain her excitement down the phone line. “I’m trying not to sound corny, but it’s a bit of a dream come true. From the original idea, I felt this needed to be a film about Stoke, for Stoke, with as many local people involved as possible,” she begins. “People often say to write about what you know and what you love, and I know and love the city very much,” she adds, her Stoke accent still very much evident as she speaks despite her now residing in London.
At the age of 38, Shenton is one of Stoke’s most successful exports, having starred in TV shows including Waterloo Road, Switched at Birth, White Gold and All Creatures Great and Small. Debuting in 2024, her six-part scripted podcast series, Gladstone Girls, was selected for Tribeca's 2024 audio-fiction programme as a scripted podcast and went on to went on to win the Best Podcast award at the 2024 HollyShorts Film Festival in Los Angeles.
Growing up in Stoke, her aspirations to break into film weren’t always taken seriously, she admits. “I wanted to be an actor, but it was clear that wasn’t a typical career path; people would ask what my backup plan was. I think it’s harder for children from working-class backgrounds to break into the industry.”
She and her husband, Chris, who spent over a decade working as an actor before turning to directing and producing, are passionate about supporting young people’s dreams to work in film. “Chris is from nearby Cannock and faced a similar experience. We want people to believe that film sets and the creative industries are for them.”
What better way to demonstrate that than to make a film here, right on their doorstep? “We’re hoping to involve schools and young people, giving them the opportunity to visit the set and see what we’re doing. I also run the Midlands Screen Acting School, which supports aspiring actors from Stoke and a variety of backgrounds, and they’re involved too.”
“I hope Stoke becomes a location that filmmakers consider. I don’t often see the city on screen, and I’d like to change that.”
– Rachel Shenton
Chris and Rachel were keen to get as many local people involved in the production as they could. “We’re really proud that around 85% of the cast and crew are local, and there are a number of non-actors in the film, too. We’re hoping to involve one or two residents from the Macari Centre, as well as people from the wider community. We’ve found some brilliant local people with amazing Stoke accents. One of the characters is homeless, and we’ve found an amazing actor to play that role,” she adds.
Shenton says the financial support they have received from businesses and individuals has been ‘incredible’ but so too has the wider community support. “People have offered locations, introductions and practical help. That network and sense of community is alive and well here, and it’s exactly why I wanted to write the film. It’s not the side of Stoke that gets documented, and it’s amazing to see. It genuinely wouldn’t have been possible in another city,” she believes.
Shenton tells The Knot that it had a “significant shortfall” in the filming budget, but when Port Vale owner Carol Shanahan saw the Sticks & Shelter documentary, she offered to close the funding gap. “It was overwhelming. We ended up in tears when we realised we were going to make the film.” Carol’s support has been ‘instrumental’, she adds. “We’re working from one of her buildings as a production office, and Port Vale are providing catering for the film.”
Shenton says it has also received support from an “incredibly diverse mix” of people who have reached out and wanted to help, including JCB and Lord Bamford, Craig and Amanda Gwilt from Hednesford Town FC, local animators Carse & Waterman, which accommodated investor screenings, and SG Fleet, which supplied vehicles.
While specific filming locations haven’t been revealed yet, Shenton can confirm that production will take place in and around the city. “We want Stoke to feel like a character in its own right and to reflect the truth of the city. There are areas that need urgent attention, but there are also some absolute beauty spots, and we’ll be showing those too.” Around £1.2 million will be spent on production in the area, she says, adding, “I hope Stoke becomes a location that filmmakers consider. I don’t often see the city on screen, and I’d like to change that.”
Having worked with Lou Macari over a six-year stretch on Sticks & Shelter, Shenton says that what he’s done to support homeless people, and challenge perceptions around it, is ‘extraordinary.’ “The Macari Centre has always had an open-door policy. Anyone can go in and have a chat. I think how Lou runs the centre has allowed people to look behind the curtain and perhaps understand homelessness better. Lou does a fantastic job of humanising people and preventing them from being reduced to statistics or treated as something separate from the rest of society. Bringing people together is his superpower.”
The film is a comedy-drama, Shenton says, with “lots of colourful characters and plenty of humour, particularly at the Macari Centre. At times, though, the reality is desperately sad. The truth dictated that balance because that's real life – things can be both at the same time.”
At this point, Chris explains that DUST is a personal story for both him and Rachel. “My brother has struggled with addiction and is one of those colourful characters who can be in desperate situations but is also full of life. He’s inspired a lot of what Rach has written. There’s often a lack of understanding, even within my own family, of what people in these situations are going through.”
The couple hope the film will ultimately challenge perceptions around homelessness. “We need to remember that homelessness doesn’t discriminate. Any of us could be just two or three decisions or situations away from finding ourselves in that position. We've met bright, talented and intelligent people who've simply had a run of bad luck.”
The pair have big ambitions for DUST, Shenton says. “We want to create something entertaining and engaging that also educates people. If we achieve that, we’ll feel we’ve done our job.”
“We’d love the film to have a successful festival run, a cinema release and potentially find a home on streaming platforms. We want as many people as possible to see it, while also making a positive social contribution and changing perceptions,” she adds.
Once production wraps up on DUST, Shenton says she and Chris are already working on another film that’s set in Stoke, The Ruffians. Chris interjects at this point to explain the inspiration behind it. “It’s a coming-of-age story based on my own experience of trying to break into the industry and get into drama school. It explores the culture shock of how my family had to take in a foreign exchange student to help afford the fees. It’s a bit like Billy Elliot, a young man from a working-class background trying to make it into the industry against the odds.”
For now, though, they are focused on DUST and the production of Gladstone Girls at the New Vic. “We'd love Gladstone Girls to become a film, and we've had interest from a couple of producers who are coming to see the play,” reveals Shenton.
Could we be watching Maud and the gang face off against floor manager Steve as he attempts to ban their Curl Friday in cinemas? Let’s hope so…
🥨 Most popular stories from the last week on The Knot
🚑 Stoke’s ambulance handover delays: Local MP Allison Gardner has raised the issue in parliament after no improvement. Could there be an independent inquiry?
🧓 Shaping the future of adult social care: The council has launched the Big City Conversation around this important topic: share your views here
🤵🏾♀️Celebrating Black History Month: There’s an event on 06/11 at the Potteries Museum that Knotters have been eyeing up…
Weekly Weather (Stoke-on-Trent):
Mon ⛅️ 11° (4°) Tue ⛅️ 11° (6°) Wed ⛅️ 11° (6°) Thu ⛅️ 11° (6°) Fri ☁️ 11° (7°)
Sat ☁️ 10° (6°) Sun ☁️ 10° (6°).
Sunrise 02/11: 07.08 ☀️ Sunset 02/11: 16.36 🌅