Name: Breaking the Silence; the "talkie" revolution
Start: 2025-10-08T19:30:00+01:00
End: 2025-10-08T21:30:00+01:00
Location: Friends Meeting House, 12A Queen Parade, Harrogate HG1 5PP

Breaking the Silence; the ‘talkie’ revolution
With Jonny Best, Artistic Director of Northern Silents
Supported by Harrogate Civic Society and Harrogate Film Society
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For thirty years, audiences had marvelled at moving pictures, but the arrival of synchronised sound redrew the map of filmmaking overnight. The exact synchronisation of sound to image - actors’ voices, sound effects, and music - created an almost entirely new experience, sweeping away the techniques of silent storytelling and demanding that filmmakers reinvent their art.
Using clips from across the silent and early sound era—including both the silent and sound versions of Hitchcock’s Blackmail—this lively illustrated talk explores how filmmakers imagined sound before the talkies, how audiences reacted to it, and how its arrival transformed the art of film.
Join us for an engaging journey through one of the most dramatic turning points in film history.
· Capacity is limited to 80, so book early.
· Your ticket price includes refreshments (tea/coffee)
· Access for those with mobility issues, including wheelchair access. All seating unreserved.
Jonny Best studied piano at Chetham’s School of Music and drama at University of London, a combination that led him eventually to silent film. Founder of Northern Silents, he is one of the UK’s leading improvising silent film pianists, performing nationally and internationally. His career has ranged from cabaret in London and New York to the original West End production of Les Misérables, and work with the National Theatre, RSC, Royal Opera House, Opera North and the BBC. He holds a PhD researching silent film accompaniment.
This event has been timed to run alongside an exhibition on Claude Hamilton Verity’s life and work to be held between 10th - 30th September in the Royal Hall and, separately, in the West Park Centre (the United Reformed Church on Victoria Avenue).