Royal Central School of Speech and Drama
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Diorama for Shoalstone Pool
No full textReview: Slow criticism: Diana Damian and Anette Therese Pettersen consider a meditative seaside performance created by Norwegian artist Ingri Fiksdal
The Actor and His Body
No full textA new introductory chapter by Ayse Tashkiran contextualises the work of seminal movement teacher Litz Pisk in this 4th edition
My Relationship with the Word P**i
No full textThe Author dwells on a racist incident, the memory of which he cannot shake loose but which he needs to master lest it should master him. Without bitterness and in an accessible and professional way he answers some of the questions that some people, especially non-specialists and especially white people, might ask about why the word ‘Paki’ should still haunt after so many years. Through an inner dialogue or soliloquy the Author carefully, patiently and dispassionately deals with the doubts and the ‘why’ questions that those without his experience might reasonably pose to him. He has therefore produced something of value. The piece is both moving and enlightening, both personal and forensic in its directness
Aural Visions: Sonic Spectatorship in the Dark
No full textTheatre in the Dark: Shadow, Gloom and Blackout in Contemporary Theatre responds to a rising tide of experimentation in theatre practice that eliminates or obscures light. It brings together leading and emerging practitioners and researchers in a volume dedicated to exploring the phenomenon and showcasing a range of possible critical and theoretical approaches.
This book considers the aesthetics and phenomenology of dark, gloomy and shadow-strewn theatre performances, as well as the historical and cultural significances of darkness, shadow and the night in theatre and performance contexts. It is concerned as much with the experiences elicited by darkness and obscured or diminished lighting as it is with the conditions that define, frame and at times re-shape what each might 'mean' and 'do'.
Contributors provide surveys of relevant practice, interviews with practitioners, theoretical reflections and close critical analyses of work by key innovators in the aesthetics of light, shadow and darkness. The book has a particular focus on the work of contemporary theatre makers – including Sound&Fury, David Rosenberg and Glen Neath, Lundahl & Seitl, Extant, and Analogue – and seeks to deepen the engagement of theatre and performance studies with what might be called 'the sensory turn'. Theatre in the Dark explores ground-breaking areas that will appeal to researchers, practitioners and audiences alike
And The Rest of Me Floats- Bush Theatre, Birmingham REP
No full textAnd The Rest of Me Floats (Bush Theatre, Birmingham REP) is all about the messy business of gender, devised by performers from across the trans, non-binary, and queer communities. It weaves together autobiographical performance, movement, pop songs, stand-up, and dress-up in an anarchic celebration of gender expression and queer identity.
The production forms part of a multicomponent practice research output that incorporates a production performed at internationally renowned theatre venues (The Bush, London, The Birmingham Rep), a publication of the play text by Oberon Books and a series of funded workshops delivered to LGBTQIA+ youth groups across the UK. This practice research responds to the exclusion and lack of representation of trans and gender non-conforming performers and narratives in mainstream theatre. Drawing on innovative collaborative theatre making processes that I have developed with queer and trans actors as Artistic Director of Outbox Theatre, And The Rest of Me Floats establishes a distinct approach to theatrical form that explores and captures queer potentiality. This project mobilizes queer futurity (Muñoz 2009), dance and performance studies, and dramaturgical theory to create rehearsal systems and dramaturgies that harness and reproduce queer potentials.
The production has been acknowledged as being internationally significant by the V&A who have included a digital recording of it in their archive. In addition, this practice research has innovated the theatre industry as major arts organisations, such as National Theatre, Southbank Centre and Spotlight, have approached me and Outbox, to engage in consultations on transgender-inclusive routes into training, casting and performance.
Production Dates
12th – 23rd September 2017, Rose Lipman Building, London.
13th – 14th November 2017, Birmingham Repertory Theatre.
20th February 2019 – 16th March 2019, Bush Theatre, London.
Cast
Josh-Susan Enright
Barry Fitzgerald
Elijah W Harris
Emily Joh Miller
Tamir Amar Pettet
Michelle Tiwo
Yasmin Zadeh.
Creative Team
Devised by Outbox Theatre
Directed by Ben Buratta
Designer Rūta Irbīte
Lighting Design by Jess Bernberg
Musical Director Neil Carter
Movement Direction by Coral Messam
Stage Manager Elliot Howe
Production Manager Marco Savo
Producer Charlotte Boden & Soph Nurse
Funders
The project was funded by National Lottery Reaching Communities, Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, and Arts Council England
Complicite's 'A Disappearing Number': Annabel Arden and Catherine Alexander in conversation.
No full text“Our attachment to our human stories is very frail. The only way we can create permanence is through the work we do or through our children.”
In this interview, part of Digital Theatre’s Contemporary Performance Practice series, Complicité Co-Founder Annabel Arden talks to Associate Director Catherine Alexander about the history of the company and its classic production of 'A Disappearing Number'.
Covering Complicité’s Lecoq-inspired origins and its long record of physical and collaborative theatre work, this in-depth exchange sheds new light on this significant group of theatre-makers
Finding a Concrete Utopia in the Dystopia of a 'Sub-City'
No full textThis article examines a ten-year long series of annual short-term interventions with young people living in Dharavi (India) that has led to a number of public theatre events. The partnership offers a unique training experience to students from the UK in theatre facilitation, and a regular opportunity to participate in theatre for young people in Dharavi. It brings together students from The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama (University of London), working collaboratively with an Indian theatre practitioner, an NGO based in Mumbai, and young people who live in Dharavi. In the article, I explore the role theatre plays in the precarious lives of those who live in Dharavi, and the potential of this on-going partnership to develop a theatre of change in a community and site affected by extreme poverty. Focusing on the longevity of this applied theatre project and drawing on the writing of Paul Ricoeur on utopia, I argue that this on-going exchange can be understood both as a form of cultural invasion and, at the same time, a utopian community theatre practice. Whilst the project continues to raise troubling questions about cultural colonisation and power, the integrated investment of partners and participants over time has generated a resilient sense of optimism as well as, to a more limited degree, evidence of long-term positive change
Re-framing the Classics: La Cubana Reinvent Rusiñol and the Lliure Revisit Beaumarchais
No full textIn depth production reviews of La Cubana’s Gente de bien (dir. Jordi Milán, Tivoli Theatre Barcelona, 2015) and Les noces de Figaro (dir. Lluis Homar from Fabià Puigserver’s original production, 2015)
