friday 27th june 2008
“surge”
goldsmiths “making performance” graduate show 2008
http://www.goldsmiths.ac.uk/surge/
Surge
A Festival of eight Final Shows from the MA in Performance Making 2008, Department of Drama, Goldsmiths
24-28 June 2008
Eight ways of moving.
Eight ways of telling.
Eight ways of testing the thresholds of performance.
Surge showcases the diverse work of emerging artists from Latin America, Asia, Africa, Europe and the UK over five days. Spanning physical theatre, live art, dance and performance installation, the pieces celebrate the immediacy and power of live performance encounter.
Performances take place in and around Goldsmiths Campus and in the Greenwich Tunnel.
The MA in Performance Making at Goldsmiths brings together talented emerging and practising artists from a wide range of artistic and geographic backgrounds. This multidisciplinary course is a laboratory and meeting point in London for artists to collaborate, develop their skills and to rethink the ways in which live performance is created. During the course of the Surge festival of 8 shows over 2 days, the public will have the opportunity to take the pulse of contemporary performance in times of limbo and crisis, from a range of international points of view and approaches.
This years projects have been supported by a team of visiting professional artists that include: Graeme Miller, Zeljko Hrs, Geraldine Pilgrim, Mischa Twitchin and Jack Klaff.
“wukong and the tiger share a moment’s repose”
Dafne Louzioti // Greece
Gary Tang // Singapore
how long do we spend waiting?
how long does a breath last?
what if time didn’t matter?
the temporal interstice of or waiting is put under the microscope in an exploration of individual and social patterns of behaviour.
Dafne Louzioti and Gary Tang are cartographers of time in a quest to define the uncharted territory, manipulating the very fabric of time in the process.
Gary Tang and Dafne Louzioti share between them work in theatre, dance and visual art. an interest in finding common ground in seemingly disparate cultures is the driving force in this collaboration and informs both the process and the resulting performance. the dynamics of yin and yang, eternally opposed but inextricably bound together are a crucial element in this work.
time. yin and yang.
projected patterns and digital countdowns in a white space – the performers in white tops and brown trousers
chairs. words about time. chaotic movement in burst of energy without a pattern alongside a slow steady sequential regimental placement of the chairs.
moments of clashing and stasis
soundtracks coming into my head like half-remembered smells
"a man stands before a wall"
the violence of ripping things apart
a return to the stillness of things as they were when we entered
evocative
wonderful
“pigeon suite”
Catalina del Castillo // Colombia
pigeon performance of pigeon life in a crazy pigeon world.
let the pigeon surge!
Catalina del Castillo is a Colombian artist born in Bogotá in 1981. in 2005 she obtained a BA in contemporary dance in Caracas, Venezuela. her performance research has its background in the languages of dance, circus and activism. she has participated in dance festivals and circus conventions in Colombia, Venezuela and Uruguay as choreographer, performer and teacher.
a clown angel.
bright green props suspended on wires - a radio that plays different music and george bush declaring war in the name of peace. a spray of perfume. a kettle and a cup-for tea and a cone of popcorn. 3 white "egg" juggling balls. a broom. a red heart-shaped purse. pink boots. white (angel) wings and a white shift tied with pink ribbon that she puts on to do her ritualised angelic sequence of posing and smiling under “peace on earth” banners in multiple languages. destroyer planes. a bomb. the white eggs lost. looking everywhere – including through the audience – with some clown-tripping and bag searching – desperate but not quite dispelling the humour. the little toy alarms and she makes her angelic peace routine again.
more charming than substantial
“and whose heart is not a hungry fish?”
Jocelyn Chua // Singapore
“a heart is a piece of muscle like any other in the human body. it is elastic. it can stretch. it can scar… it is sometimes also prone to doing stupid things.”
a journey through the forbidden territories that belie our human love affairs, this performance combines movement choreography with documentary reports and personal stories through the eyes of a singaporean woman.
Jocelyn is a published writer and theatre performer from Singapore.
A one- woman show about being a graduate singaporean woman and thus “an essential part of the gene pool who therefore should not be left on the shelf” and her experiences dating older foreign men.
it could have been trite or cute or indulgent but in fact it was none of these things. instead it was smart and sassy and funny and grown up and completely engaging
involved a combo of dance with a movement sequence which was repeated in different ways -once on her back, with and without speech.
she also manages to incorporate some harder-hitting connections with prostitution and war and invasion
her performance style is completely guileless and beguiling. her language similarly is immediate and vital and somehow delivers absolutely through the center.
riveting throughout and her immediacy with us in the audience never felt threatening in any way (even during her predatory sequence to me as an older foreign man sitting center front row)
“2 divide”
Bruno Humberto // Portugal
Borja Sagasti Inurrieta // Spain
“One, two. Are you there?”
this performance explores division and bipolarity. division within ourselves, division between me and you, between us and them. bipolarity as our contemporary syndrome, between left and right, North and South, East and West. absurd, personal and mythological narratives come together through the languages of physical theatre, sound and installation.
+ born in Portugal in 1981. performer, deviser, self-taught composer. Bruno studied media and culture research and has been doing site-sepcific performanvce since 2004. he is based in london where he is part of the collective poemstomyotherself http://www.poemstomyotherself.org.uk/
+ born in spain Borja started his theatre studies in Barcelona focusing on the methodologies in jaques lecoq’s techniques of physical theatre. he co-founded the performance theatre company ‘Fang Fastik’ in Barcelona and from 1992 – 2002 collaborated with various theatre companies including ‘la fura dels baus’, ‘els comediiants’ and ‘monty cia’. in 2006 Borja toured with ‘generating company’ for the show “hard drive”. last year he finished the advance course in ‘creating theatre’ at the london international school of performing arts.
this was the most popular show of the night and for me the most perplexing.
apparently an exploration into bipolarism – which perhaps watching it I was trying to take too literally - it involved two guys each with a kazoo and a walkie-talkie.
again a lot of use was made of the chairs 9same white as space as dafne’s + gary’s performance).
so we began standing around the edges as if in an installation and then were allowed to sit once they had been laid out in rows for us. throughout this there is much “One, two. Are you there?” and again a clear distinction between the order of one (“don’t get so emotional”) and the frenetic panicked movements and hiding under the chair of the other. but “we have to do this.” “ok so let’s do it” “let’s do it now” brought the two men together in the center under a radio mike to circle their different moments to the kazoo accompaniment from the other.
and it was then a love story and its best moments were in these simple declarations: “is there anything better than to need and be needed?"
at the end adoring house erupted.
but a lot of it was marred for me by (apparently) funny words i couldn't hear and impossible sight- lines I couldn’t see the enough of the action i couldn't see through a pity 'cos everyone else seemed to love it and the two cute performers who made it.
and in 2 years time in june 2010 one of these shows will be the one i made. as i turn 50....
Saturday, 28 June 2008
Friday, 27 June 2008
"murandak" (black arm band) - LIFT @ southbank
thursday 26th june 2008
"murandak"
black arm band
QEH, southbank
http://www.liftfest.org.uk/Southbank-Centre_1307.aspx
Featuring artists Archie Roach, Ruby Hunter, Shane Howard, Dan Sultan, Bart Willoughby, Dave Arden, Shellie Morris, Emma Donovan, Joe Geia, Kutcha Edwards, Lou Bennett, Mark Atkins, Rachel Maza Long, Stephen Pigram, Ursula Yovich and Peter Rotumah.With parallels to Cuba’s Buena Vista Social Club comes the inspirational music from Australia’s black protest movement, performed by contemporary Aboriginal musicians and their collaborators; and introduced by actor Pete Postlethwaite (In the Name of the Father, Brassed Off).
For the first time outside Australia, Murundak, a 28-piece ensemble, accompanied by a backdrop of film images, reveals a largely hidden, sometimes confronting and ultimately uplifting portrait of contemporary Aboriginal life and the heartfelt music that accompanies it.
"murandak"
black arm band
QEH, southbank
http://www.liftfest.org.uk/Southbank-Centre_1307.aspx
'An astonishing array of Australian musical talent telling the story of Aboriginal resistance' - The Age
Featuring artists Archie Roach, Ruby Hunter, Shane Howard, Dan Sultan, Bart Willoughby, Dave Arden, Shellie Morris, Emma Donovan, Joe Geia, Kutcha Edwards, Lou Bennett, Mark Atkins, Rachel Maza Long, Stephen Pigram, Ursula Yovich and Peter Rotumah.With parallels to Cuba’s Buena Vista Social Club comes the inspirational music from Australia’s black protest movement, performed by contemporary Aboriginal musicians and their collaborators; and introduced by actor Pete Postlethwaite (In the Name of the Father, Brassed Off).
For the first time outside Australia, Murundak, a 28-piece ensemble, accompanied by a backdrop of film images, reveals a largely hidden, sometimes confronting and ultimately uplifting portrait of contemporary Aboriginal life and the heartfelt music that accompanies it.
‘It’s like a condensed history as well as a contemporary journey into the
Australian landscape: cultural, political and spiritual‘ – Times
Thursday, 26 June 2008
*** "black watch" (national theatre of scotland)
friday 20th june 2008
http://picasaweb.google.com/marktrezona/BlackWatch
"black watch"
national theatre of scotland
By Gregory Burke
Directed by John Tiffany
barbican
http://www.barbican.org.uk/theatre/event-detail.asp?ID=5418
We were on our feet at the end of this- brilliantly realised, brilliantly performed - powerful compelling theatre at its very very best
Barbican Theatre again in traverse
We walk into swirling lights and the pipes - the atmosphere of a military tattoo
At each end are a pair of TV screens showing a billowing Scottish flag
The lights sweep over the stage (parade ground?) and us on each bank of seats facing across from each other.
“Ladies and gentlemen please welcome the Black Watch…”
And out comes Stewarty in civvies talking to us
This show was exceptional in many different aspects- and the combination of all these together:
1- it was told with great care and truthfulness. you felt it really mattered to them to get these guy's stories right, to tell it as it really was for them. And it always felt true and honest all the way thru
2. The performers were all totally believable as soldiers -so much so that i never once found myself thinking ‘who is playing which other roles?’ (the same actor -Michael Nardone - plays both the writer and the sergeant but i didn’t think about this until the curtain call. the men are all completely recognisable from my brief time in the army and this is all the more impressive given that they are required to dance and perform some very theatrical sequences including dance. it all feels completely right- the swearing-every-second-word, the endless waiting around inventing games to stay amused, the constant talk about sex (in the absence of any other way to talk about feelings and share intimacy with each other), the picking on the 'stupid' one who always seems out of sync with the conversation
3 . And then this story is performed with a rich blend of different styles - physical theatre / dance to show the battle drills, the fighting between each other and in the last spectacular sequence of parade ground marching-falling-dying-getting up-marching. We also get singing and one soldier plays the pipes to accompany the removal of their killed buddies after the suicide bomb. We even get the history of the Black Watch and its different uniforms and masters through the ages
The screens are used to show bombing action surveillance camera views (which creates a strong sense of place outside), and football in the bar scenes back home in Scotland. oh and a brief bit of porn.
The traverse works well this time especially with the use of different heights
Also memorable and effective
The red billiard table which is cut through to release the soldiers on watch immediately after the first bar scene; which is then later used as a ‘wagon’ on which five soldiers are contained together forced too close to each other and stuck waiting for backup in transit; the two soldiers sunbathing with their pants around their ankles so they are technically still battle-ready; and the slow-mo on wires death through the explosion of the three soldiers killed by the suicide bomber
Powerful
Compelling
Superbly performed
Everything in this show is got absolutely right
Time Out ****** The Guardian***** The Sunday Times***** Metro***** Evening Standard***** Sunday Telegraph*****
'One of the few shows anywhere in the UK that could be described as perfect; it was a vision of how theatre could be.’ The Daily Telegraph
Multi-award-winning Black Watch received unanimous critical acclaim at the 2006 Edinburgh Festival and on its subsequent Scottish and international tours. Hurtling from a pool room in Fife to an armoured wagon in a war zone, the play is based on interviews conducted by Gregory Burke with former soldiers who served in Iraq. Viewed through the eyes of those on the ground, Black Watch reveals what it means to be part of the legendary Scottish regiment, what it means to be part of the war on terror, and what it means to make the journey home again. A visceral, complex and urgent piece of theatre.
Company
The National Theatre of Scotland exists to build a new generation of theatre-goers as well as reinvigorating the existing ones; to create theatre on a national and international scale that exceeds expectations of what and where theatre can be. The National Theatre of Scotland has no building, so the entire focus is on creating work. Performance is created in great theatre spaces, but also in site specific locations, community halls and drill halls, car parks and forests. The company has won a clutch of awards including a South Bank Show award for Black Watch and a Critics' Circle Award for director John Tiffany.
Gregory Burke also recently won the Best Play Writers' Guild Award for Black Watch.
http://www.nationaltheatrescotland.com/content/default.asp
Reviews
‘… rich, exciting, humane and moving, and staged with dazzling virtuosity by John Tiffany.’ Evening Standard
'...a glowing ensemble production… worked even better in a reconfigured Barbican...’ The Guardian
'John Tiffany's stunning production....confirms its place as the modern theatre's best piece about British soldiering...' Whatsonstage.com
Reviews from 2006 Edinburgh Fringe Festival
‘A magnificent piece of social and political theatre. A high point not just of the festival but of the theatrical year.’ The Observer
‘No film could ever match the power and immediacy of this portrait of war; it’s a triumph for the National Theatre of Scotland.’ Time Out ******
‘One of the most exhilarating pieces of theatre seen for years.’ The Guardian*****
‘This wasn’t simply the sensation of the Edinburgh Fringe, but one of the few shows anywhere in the UK that could be described as perfect; it was a vision of how theatre could be.’ The Telegraph*****
‘Not just the hit of the Edinburgh Festival, it was also the most viscerally exciting thing I’d seen there for a decade.’ Sunday Times*****
http://picasaweb.google.com/marktrezona/BlackWatch
"black watch"
national theatre of scotland
By Gregory Burke
Directed by John Tiffany
barbican
http://www.barbican.org.uk/theatre/event-detail.asp?ID=5418
We were on our feet at the end of this- brilliantly realised, brilliantly performed - powerful compelling theatre at its very very best
Barbican Theatre again in traverse
We walk into swirling lights and the pipes - the atmosphere of a military tattoo
At each end are a pair of TV screens showing a billowing Scottish flag
The lights sweep over the stage (parade ground?) and us on each bank of seats facing across from each other.
“Ladies and gentlemen please welcome the Black Watch…”
And out comes Stewarty in civvies talking to us
This show was exceptional in many different aspects- and the combination of all these together:
1- it was told with great care and truthfulness. you felt it really mattered to them to get these guy's stories right, to tell it as it really was for them. And it always felt true and honest all the way thru
2. The performers were all totally believable as soldiers -so much so that i never once found myself thinking ‘who is playing which other roles?’ (the same actor -Michael Nardone - plays both the writer and the sergeant but i didn’t think about this until the curtain call. the men are all completely recognisable from my brief time in the army and this is all the more impressive given that they are required to dance and perform some very theatrical sequences including dance. it all feels completely right- the swearing-every-second-word, the endless waiting around inventing games to stay amused, the constant talk about sex (in the absence of any other way to talk about feelings and share intimacy with each other), the picking on the 'stupid' one who always seems out of sync with the conversation
3 . And then this story is performed with a rich blend of different styles - physical theatre / dance to show the battle drills, the fighting between each other and in the last spectacular sequence of parade ground marching-falling-dying-getting up-marching. We also get singing and one soldier plays the pipes to accompany the removal of their killed buddies after the suicide bomb. We even get the history of the Black Watch and its different uniforms and masters through the ages
The screens are used to show bombing action surveillance camera views (which creates a strong sense of place outside), and football in the bar scenes back home in Scotland. oh and a brief bit of porn.
The traverse works well this time especially with the use of different heights
Also memorable and effective
The red billiard table which is cut through to release the soldiers on watch immediately after the first bar scene; which is then later used as a ‘wagon’ on which five soldiers are contained together forced too close to each other and stuck waiting for backup in transit; the two soldiers sunbathing with their pants around their ankles so they are technically still battle-ready; and the slow-mo on wires death through the explosion of the three soldiers killed by the suicide bomber
Powerful
Compelling
Superbly performed
Everything in this show is got absolutely right
Time Out ****** The Guardian***** The Sunday Times***** Metro***** Evening Standard***** Sunday Telegraph*****
'One of the few shows anywhere in the UK that could be described as perfect; it was a vision of how theatre could be.’ The Daily Telegraph
Multi-award-winning Black Watch received unanimous critical acclaim at the 2006 Edinburgh Festival and on its subsequent Scottish and international tours. Hurtling from a pool room in Fife to an armoured wagon in a war zone, the play is based on interviews conducted by Gregory Burke with former soldiers who served in Iraq. Viewed through the eyes of those on the ground, Black Watch reveals what it means to be part of the legendary Scottish regiment, what it means to be part of the war on terror, and what it means to make the journey home again. A visceral, complex and urgent piece of theatre.
Company
The National Theatre of Scotland exists to build a new generation of theatre-goers as well as reinvigorating the existing ones; to create theatre on a national and international scale that exceeds expectations of what and where theatre can be. The National Theatre of Scotland has no building, so the entire focus is on creating work. Performance is created in great theatre spaces, but also in site specific locations, community halls and drill halls, car parks and forests. The company has won a clutch of awards including a South Bank Show award for Black Watch and a Critics' Circle Award for director John Tiffany.
Gregory Burke also recently won the Best Play Writers' Guild Award for Black Watch.
http://www.nationaltheatrescotland.com/content/default.asp
Reviews
‘… rich, exciting, humane and moving, and staged with dazzling virtuosity by John Tiffany.’ Evening Standard
'...a glowing ensemble production… worked even better in a reconfigured Barbican...’ The Guardian
'John Tiffany's stunning production....confirms its place as the modern theatre's best piece about British soldiering...' Whatsonstage.com
Reviews from 2006 Edinburgh Fringe Festival
‘A magnificent piece of social and political theatre. A high point not just of the festival but of the theatrical year.’ The Observer
‘No film could ever match the power and immediacy of this portrait of war; it’s a triumph for the National Theatre of Scotland.’ Time Out ******
‘One of the most exhilarating pieces of theatre seen for years.’ The Guardian*****
‘This wasn’t simply the sensation of the Edinburgh Fringe, but one of the few shows anywhere in the UK that could be described as perfect; it was a vision of how theatre could be.’ The Telegraph*****
‘Not just the hit of the Edinburgh Festival, it was also the most viscerally exciting thing I’d seen there for a decade.’ Sunday Times*****
Wednesday, 25 June 2008
*** "running the silk road" (yellow earth theatre) @ barbican
wednesday 25th June 2008
"running the silk road"
yellow earth theatre
at the pit, barbican
Wonderful special show that held me gripped thru every moment
A story told with such honesty and care and belief and humour - tackling the big issues of our times (global warming, china’s exploitation of planet + people, the difficulties of carrying a secular sensibility into fundamentally religious lands, living out multi-cultural relationships) in- ways that were recognisable and true without ever falling into stereotype or platitude or preaching
And unlike last night's “marguerite” this show gave us the personal story alongside he big story - played out as a battle between the gods for domination of the earth using Peking Opera forms. this was coupled this with the book Ken carries with him that lists the strange monsters and creatures - locusts, snakes, dragons, tiger-striped beasts - and what each of these bring with their appearance -deceit, drought, flood locusts -all presented as nightmares emanating out of Ken's fever.
And inside these global battles (which culminate in the earth’s near incineration under a sky of 10 suns that have to be systematically shot down by the archer god to bring us another chance for renewed survival) the personal story of 5 friends from very different backgrounds, all very recognisable as 21st century Londoners, is played out through the journey of Ken's sponsored run along the Silk Road and through the very different difficulties each new land brings
Very special and wonderful on very many levels.
A story told with such honesty and care and belief and humour - tackling the big issues of our times (global warming, china’s exploitation of planet + people, the difficulties of carrying a secular sensibility into fundamentally religious lands, living out multi-cultural relationships) in- ways that were recognisable and true without ever falling into stereotype or platitude or preaching
And unlike last night's “marguerite” this show gave us the personal story alongside he big story - played out as a battle between the gods for domination of the earth using Peking Opera forms. this was coupled this with the book Ken carries with him that lists the strange monsters and creatures - locusts, snakes, dragons, tiger-striped beasts - and what each of these bring with their appearance -deceit, drought, flood locusts -all presented as nightmares emanating out of Ken's fever.
And inside these global battles (which culminate in the earth’s near incineration under a sky of 10 suns that have to be systematically shot down by the archer god to bring us another chance for renewed survival) the personal story of 5 friends from very different backgrounds, all very recognisable as 21st century Londoners, is played out through the journey of Ken's sponsored run along the Silk Road and through the very different difficulties each new land brings
Very special and wonderful on very many levels.
And with a vastly smaller budget leaving “Marguerite” a long way behind
A cast of UK and Chinese performers weave together two theatrical traditions in this enthralling collaboration. In 2008, the year of the Beijing Olympics, a group of friends from London set off on an epic journey along the ancient Silk Road trading route to China. Armed only with good humour, they cross the isolated terrain of central Asia, carrying with them an alternative Olympic flame to represent the dangers of global warming. The story of their journey is interwoven with tales from Chinese mythology. Classical actors from Beijing Opera draw on the zaju theatre of the Jin Dynasty, using dance, acrobatics, comic patter and music.
Yellow Earth is an award-winning East Asian theatre company based in the UK. It produces intercultural work that crosses art forms, boundaries and languages. Recent productions have been presented in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Chongqing, Northern Ireland, and as part of the RSC's Complete Works series in Stratford. Writer Paul Sirett works extensively for television, radio and film. His most recent production was the Olivier Award-nominated musical The Big Life, which premiered at Theatre Royal Stratford East and transferred to the West End.
Performance time: 19:45
Running time: 90 mins/no interval
In English and Mandarin with English subtitles
Reviews
‘Visually sparkling, morally robust and imaginatively adventurous.’ The Times on Play to Win
"The running battle between Shen Feng's God of Thunder and Yanzhong Huang's Queller of the Flood is an epic tussle of incredible agility, while the cast demonstrate sinuous expertise in the manipulation of various dragons, serpents and giant insects.” The Guardian
“An unusual and ambitious play… an exciting prospect for the audience” Liverpool Daily Post
‘…a show that lacks nothing in its inventiveness in blending East and West.’ Independent
'...delivered with such a touching sincerity...' Independent
Tuesday, 24 June 2008
"maguerite" (w ruthie henshall) @ haymarket
tuesday 24th june 2008
"marguerite"
music by michel legrand
book by alain boublil and claude-michel schonberg and jonathan kent
lyrics by herbert ktretzmer
designer ~ paul brown
directed by jonathan kent
with ruthie henshall
julian ovenden
alexander hanson
simon thomas as lucien
annalene beechey as annette
matt cross as pierrot
andrew c wadsworth as georges
gay soper as chanteuse
kieron crook as hermann
ok. good to see a west end musical again. and this is a pretty worthy one. directed with great truth and trust in the actors by jonathan kent - letting them stand still to sing their biggest moments and often letting them play into the scene rather than out front to us. and the leads are all pretty good.
problem is the music i think - it just never quite lifts you in the air.
or perhaps it is the problem that it is very difficult to like and feel for these characters in a world where jews are being branded and hauled away to prison camps.
or perhaps it is that it falls between two stools - not a ra ra ra broadway spectacular and not really an epic journey of les miserables or a sondheim.
still - a nice birthday treat.
Friday, 20 June 2008
*** "the pitmen painters" (lee hall)
thursday 19th june 2008
Mixed reviews for this. S and C not totally convinced m and i really loved it.
There is so much in this play:
The nature of art and art appreciation
The difficulty men have talking about feelings and intimacy
The pressure to stay in your group and with what you know. Even if this is less than what you could have by going outside your group
Questions about exploitation and patronage
The very critical attacks the men make on each other’s work
The vulnerability of making work and the almost universal feelings of failure
Really great scenes between Oliver and Robert Lyon - first in the borrowing books scene and then later when Robert is making his sketch of Oliver and they finally express how much the other means to them
Also when Harry tells Oliver to take Helen’s offer of a stipend to paint
Also when Oliver admits to Helen that he made the wrong choice saying ''no"
Great use of projecting the paintings - not too much and never allowed to dominate
Very intelligent grown up warm and wonderful play that is just getting richer and more wonderful the more i think about it My only criticism was just a bit much shouting
Cast credits:
: Christopher Connel
: Michael Hodgson
: Ian Kelly
: Brian Lonsdale
: Lisa McGrillis
: Deka Walmsley
: David Whitaker
: Phillippa Wilson
Production credits:
Director: Max Roberts
Designer: Gary McCann
Lighting Designer: Douglas Kuhrt
Sound Designer: Martin Hodgson
In 1934, a group of Ashington miners hired a professor to teach an art appreciation evening class. Rapidly abandoning theory in favour of practice, the pitmen began to paint. Within a few years the most avant-garde artists became their friends and their work was acquired by prestigious collections; but every day they worked, as before, down the mine.
Straight from a sell-out season at Live Theatre Newcastle, Lee Hall’s new play is a humorous, deeply moving and timely look at art, class and politics.
"the pitmen painters"
A co-production between Live Theatre, Newcastle and the National Theatre.
cottlesloe, national theatre
by lee hall
Mixed reviews for this. S and C not totally convinced m and i really loved it.
There is so much in this play:
The nature of art and art appreciation
The difficulty men have talking about feelings and intimacy
The pressure to stay in your group and with what you know. Even if this is less than what you could have by going outside your group
Questions about exploitation and patronage
The very critical attacks the men make on each other’s work
The vulnerability of making work and the almost universal feelings of failure
Really great scenes between Oliver and Robert Lyon - first in the borrowing books scene and then later when Robert is making his sketch of Oliver and they finally express how much the other means to them
Also when Harry tells Oliver to take Helen’s offer of a stipend to paint
Also when Oliver admits to Helen that he made the wrong choice saying ''no"
Great use of projecting the paintings - not too much and never allowed to dominate
Very intelligent grown up warm and wonderful play that is just getting richer and more wonderful the more i think about it My only criticism was just a bit much shouting
Cast credits:
: Christopher Connel
: Michael Hodgson
: Ian Kelly
: Brian Lonsdale
: Lisa McGrillis
: Deka Walmsley
: David Whitaker
: Phillippa Wilson
Production credits:
Director: Max Roberts
Designer: Gary McCann
Lighting Designer: Douglas Kuhrt
Sound Designer: Martin Hodgson
‘A play about the importance of not just feeding your stomach and your brain, but about feeding your soul. And it does just that.’4 stars Guardian
‘Lee Hall’s new play is witty and touching… the inspiring story of ordinary people doing extraordinary things.’ 4 stars Metro
‘Lee Hall’s new play is witty and touching… the inspiring story of ordinary people doing extraordinary things.’ 4 stars Metro
‘An inspiring, important new play. A play that's both deliciously comic and grave.’Observer
In 1934, a group of Ashington miners hired a professor to teach an art appreciation evening class. Rapidly abandoning theory in favour of practice, the pitmen began to paint. Within a few years the most avant-garde artists became their friends and their work was acquired by prestigious collections; but every day they worked, as before, down the mine.
Straight from a sell-out season at Live Theatre Newcastle, Lee Hall’s new play is a humorous, deeply moving and timely look at art, class and politics.
Tuesday, 17 June 2008
chelsea college of art and design graduate show
monday 16th june 2008
http://picasaweb.google.com/marktrezona/ChelseaCollegeGraduateShow2008
chelsea college of art & design graduate show 2008
http://www.arts.ac.uk/showtime/chelsea
and my favourites were:
emily page's machine
http://www.arts.ac.uk/showtime/emilypaigeshort
jonny brigg's weird family
http://www.arts.ac.uk/showtime/jonnybriggs
http://picasaweb.google.com/marktrezona/ChelseaCollegeGraduateShow2008
chelsea college of art & design graduate show 2008
http://www.arts.ac.uk/showtime/chelsea
and my favourites were:
emily page's machine
http://www.arts.ac.uk/showtime/emilypaigeshort
jonny brigg's weird family
http://www.arts.ac.uk/showtime/jonnybriggs
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
