studs in a leather jacket

Jack Speckleton / Noel Biledew / Photo: Bruce Liron

"The first truth is, there are no gods. That when a letter telling you to serve the government, to die for it or bow to it, lands on your doormat, it has not travelled from some distant galaxy but an individual, from a man, a human being who exists and is no more than you, and maybe less. And the second truth which follows from this is that what is, is not what has to be, but what we have allowed to be. And the consequence that follows from that is that we can change it. All this I have discovered through the miseries of my rotten life..."

Biledew, Claw, Howard Barker

death

Photo: Bruce Liron

An incredible thing happened at St. James last night as part of the International Howard Barker 21421 Festival:

• an intimate, disturbing and politically-charged theatre experience
• nine performers - participants - with whom it is a privilege to work
• more participants - our audience - who were also an integral part of the action
• a promenade experience that forced total engagement
• a shocking Barker story with infinite resonance for the 21st century
• an installatory theatre-first for Jersey
• WWII bomb sites, chelsea, fortnum & mason and institutional environments created

"We should all like to choose our deaths, both the moment and the manner. We should like to control this as all the episodes of life. But death is not an episode of life, it is beyond life and nothing that pertains to life pertains to death. It was the same with the birth agony. We were coming into a place. With death we are going into a place. Or, if we are not going into a place, certainly we are leaving one."

death, the one and the art of theatre by Howard Barker

(London: Routledge, 2005)

LONG LIVE NOEL BILEDEW

LONG LIVE NOEL BILEDEWS

LONG LIVE CLAW

DEATH

CLAW

telegraph

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/theatre-news/6396396/International-Howard-Barker-day.html

21421 - from Howard Barker

Photo: Cathy Pilkin

We were outside, always outside, like heretics or lepers forbidden to pass the city gates.

Then one night, by agreement, we lit fires at the same hour, and the extent of the light showed us we were not alone, as we had thought, but we were numerous, and not only numerous, but inspired, and could both move and speak in the light, and be beautiful...

H.B. 21 – X - 09

C L A W
by Howard Barker

21 - 24 October 2009

Jersey Arts Centre: St. James

£12 (£9 students)

Box Office: 01534 700444

http://www.21421.co.uk/

a way of processing

Photo: Bruce Liron | 48 hrs

juggling the making of five pieces

over a ten week period

is quite a unique experience

producing / directing / making

acting / performing / singing / dancing

stage managing / risk-assessing

three have now been performed

all three have generated

a unique and positive response

another is this week

the fifth in five

and that is in rehearsal / development

48 hrs

notes to a goldfish

carl's friends

claw

peter pan

the range of experience

for actor / performer

audience / participant

has been quite humbling

refreshing

and

as the above

indicates

a way of

maybe understanding a little more

reconnaissance for neverland artifacts

the sue ryder sale | nettlebed | saturday 10 october

cricket bats £5

hoe £1

hockey stick £2

table tennis bats £1

walking stick £1

teddy bears £5

a cot £10

fortnum & mason

fortnum & mason: piccadilly since 1707

in preparing Act I, scene iv, of Howard Barker's CLAW

for two weeks' time

a visit to the tea room earlier today was - officially - research

unofficially: research

we wanted a cuppa tea

my budget - of course

not the production's - of course

but I had kinda wished it had been a production expense!

but that would have been wrong: very wrong

it was a luxury

but so, so worth it

the darjeeling tea brought back some incredible memories

of india in '98

the service was impeccable

the service was - seriously - impeccable

the cakes are actually served as scripted in the Barker

to have that choice...

to be able to keep the menus

great production elements

idiosyncratic but good

the elevator - wow: cosy

my Dad was a lift engineer

a beautiful afternoon: researching

our friend, Anna, would have loved it

Anna loves tea...

I love tea

first flush tippy golden is the best

darjeeling tea