the 2013 markers

  

FESTIVAL 30 | Jersey Arts Centre | January

MARK RAVENHILL | pool (no water) | January

AN EVENING WITH BRIAN KEENAN | January

THE BOOK OF KINGDOMS | February

THE LABYRINTH | April

AVA-MAE AUSTIN | Year One | June

KILN COTTAGE | Devon | August

EDINBURGH FESTIVALS | August

A ROYAL VISIT | The Book of Kingdoms | September

KEFALONIA | Ventura Rooms Retreat | September

NT 50 YEARS ON STAGE | November (still can't believe I did it!)

FORCED ENTERTAINMENT | Tomorrow's Parties | November

THE PUPPET THEATRE BARGE | December

HENRY V | MGC | December

THE 23 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS | reading | writing | sleeping | playing

all things be ready, if our mind be so

district 13

Some favourite moments:

"So I learned to hold my tongue and to turn my features into an indifferent mask so that no one could ever read my thoughts." - be well-researched and compelling

"Gale says I never smile except in the woods." - wood walks or smiles

"...the Capitol accent is affected, almost anything sounds funny in it." - less affectation vs funny

"Since almost no one can afford doctors, apothecaries are our healers." - free medicine

"I'm not the forgiving type." - not applicable

"So instead of acknowledging applause, I stand there unmoving while they take part in the boldest form of dissent they can manage. Silence. Which says we do not agree. We do not condone. All of this is wrong." - silence

"It is an old and rarely used gesture of our district, occasionally seen at funerals. It means thanks, it means admiration, it means goodbye to someone you love." - thanks

"Exactly how am I supposed to work a thank-you in there? Somehow it just won't seem sincere if I am trying to slit his throat." - wit and humour

"Crying is not an option. There will be more cameras at the train station." - no crying

"... it isn't in my nature to go down without a fight." - obvious

"But I have had a lot of practice at wiping my face clean of emotions and I do this now." - acting

"Destroying things is much easier than making them." - make

"That would give me something to cling to in the surreal world of the arena, where the authenticity of everything is to be doubted."- authenticity

"What would my life be like on a daily basis? Most of it has been consumed with the acquisition of food. Take that away and I am not really sure who I am, what my identity is. The idea scares me some." - purpose

"...they did a full body polish on you." - body polishes

"There's this sort of upbeat soundtrack playing under it that makes it twice as awful because, of course, almost everyone on screen is dead." - comic irony with underscoring

"But I do notice they omit the part where I covered her in flowers." - more flowers

"A wave of gratitude to the filmmakers sweeps over me when they end not with the announcement of our victory, but with me pounding on the glass door of the hovercraft, screaming Peeta's name as they try to revive him." - know how to end

underwater statue

Christ of the Abyss | Guido Galletti | San Fruttuoso, Italy | 1954
Placed into the water at a depth of 55 feet in 1954
.

fourgrounds media inc.

fourgrounds.com

merry merry

195th anniversary...

the puppet theatre barge

THE PUPPET THEATRE BARGE

Little Venice | Paddington

MR RABBIT MEETS BRER SANTA

Wish I still had a copy of my 1984, 3,000 word project from A Level Theatre Studies. Perhaps Juliet and Grenville Middleton still have their copy that I can photocopy? Would be great to re-read it after 29 years!

'Mr Rabbit Meets Brer Santa' was enchanting: as the moon rose and as Mr Rabbit wriggled in his sack!

Lovely to meet with the three puppeteers: Soledad Zarate, Elizabeth Barron and Eti Meacock.

Some photos by: Jorge Royan

there is Throats to be cut, and Works to be done

Photo: Johan Persson

What infinite heart's-ease
Must kings neglect, that private men enjoy!
And what have kings, that privates have not too,
Save ceremony, save general ceremony?
And what art thou, thou idle ceremony?
What kind of god art thou, that suffer'st more
Of mortal griefs than do thy worshippers?
What are thy rents? what are thy comings in?
O ceremony, show me but thy worth!
What is thy soul of adoration?
Art thou aught else but place, degree and form,
Creating awe and fear in other men?
Wherein thou art less happy being fear'd
Than they in fearing.
What drink'st thou oft, instead of homage sweet,
But poison'd flattery? O, be sick, great greatness,
And bid thy ceremony give thee cure!
Think'st thou the fiery fever will go out
With titles blown from adulation?
Will it give place to flexure and low bending?
Canst thou, when thou command'st the beggar's knee,
Command the health of it? No, thou proud dream,
That play'st so subtly with a king's repose;
I am a king that find thee, and I know
'Tis not the balm, the sceptre and the ball,
The sword, the mace, the crown imperial,
The intertissued robe of gold and pearl,
The farced title running 'fore the king,
The throne he sits on, nor the tide of pomp
That beats upon the high shore of this world,
No, not all these, thrice-gorgeous ceremony,
Not all these, laid in bed majestical,
Can sleep so soundly as the wretched slave,
Who with a body fill'd and vacant mind
Gets him to rest, cramm'd with distressful bread;
Never sees horrid night, the child of hell,
But, like a lackey, from the rise to set
Sweats in the eye of Phoebus and all night
Sleeps in Elysium; next day after dawn,
Doth rise and help Hyperion to his horse,
And follows so the ever-running year,
With profitable labour, to his grave:
And, but for ceremony, such a wretch,
Winding up days with toil and nights with sleep,
Had the fore-hand and vantage of a king.
The slave, a member of the country's peace,
Enjoys it; but in gross brain little wots
What watch the king keeps to maintain the peace,
Whose hours the peasant best advantages.

tradition, form and ceremonious duty

Photo: Alastair Muir

Thus play I in one person many people, 
And none contented: sometimes am I king; 
Then treasons make me wish myself a beggar, 
And so I am: then crushing penury 
Persuades me I was better when a king; 
Then am I king'd again: and by and by 
Think that I am unking'd by Bolingbroke, 
And straight am nothing: but whate'er I be, 
Nor I nor any man that but man is 
With nothing shall be pleased, till he be eased 
With being nothing.

For God's sake, let us sit upon the ground
And tell sad stories of the death of kings;
How some have been deposed; some slain in war,
Some haunted by the ghosts they have deposed;
Some poison'd by their wives: some sleeping kill'd;
All murder'd: for within the hollow crown
That rounds the mortal temples of a king
Keeps Death his court and there the antic sits,
Scoffing his state and grinning at his pomp,
Allowing him a breath, a little scene,
To monarchize, be fear'd and kill with looks,
Infusing him with self and vain conceit,
As if this flesh which walls about our life,
Were brass impregnable, and humour'd thus
Comes at the last and with a little pin.
 

centre of the earth

gastronauts

the last castle

at the end of the world

i wish

from morning to midnight

emil and the detectives

taylor wessing @ NPG 2013

The Twins | Dorothee Deiss | March 2013

Kofi Annan | Anoush Abrar | February 2013 

Lily Cole | Rosie Hallam | May 2013

Choir Master | Rosie Hallam | October 2012

wertenbaker: our ajax

Photo: Camilla Greenberg

research for: 'antigone' and 'the great warrior'

• the futility
• the psychological damage
• the madness
• the nightmares
• the hallucinations
• the destruction
• the blood
• the death
• the corpses

SOLDIER

How much longer?
How many more years?
windswept
on the Asian planes
the dust of Helmand
the sand of Troy
salt marshes of Basra
the barren rocks of Aden
Bosnia
The jungle of Malaya
Vietnam
The beaches of Al Faw.

How much longer
the ceaseless misery
unending war work.

I wish he'd never existed
or went down to hell before he lived
that man
who first taught us warfare.
Hardship leading to more hardship
that man ruined all men
oh ponoi progonoi ponen
and pain promotes more pain.

No pleasure for me here
no party hats drink music
not even the sweetness of a good night's sleep
and as for love. Love. Oimoi
he sure stopped all that:
I lie neglected
alone
in my cold fartsack
my hair streaked with desert frost
and wake up to this shithole.

Home, I want to go home,
feel the lapping of the sea
flowering fruit trees
the smell of autumn leaves
Magnum cider with ice
the green criss-cross patches of England
when you fly in.

OUR AJAX | Timberlake Wertenbaker
Southwark Playhouse | 2013

lecture III: roehampton

Photo: Tagishsimon

Red Boxes designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott

Architect: Whitelands College | West Hill | Putney

Resident: Swan Walk 1985-1986 | Walpole 19986-1988

Roehampton University

Employability in the Arts

Contemporary Professional Practice

BELIEVE IN THE BARN

0. Time - it is not negotiable

1. Planning and Research - it is essential

2. Possitivity - be it

3. Energy - get it

4. Kindness - do it

5. Diversity - develop it

6. Pro-activity - go for it

7. Creativity and Vision

• LISTENING (no notes)
• TALKING (be brave)
• BEING PRESENT (no phones)

FOUR KEY STORIES

• The Gingerbread Man: herbs and spices, elbows and knees
• Post Offices: being the Post Master General
• The Ladybird Affect: appearing soon...
• Believe in the Barn: £7,000 to create 7 environments!

Never in a more richer position:

socially, academically, financially, domestically, philosophically...

than when you are studying.

the hunger games part two

in prep for part two

jane bussmann

content: engaging, politically charged, exciting

structure: eclectic and lacking fluidity and focused debate

presentation: clarity needed and needs to be 'off script' or 'on script'

overall: engaging, politically charged, exciting

Jane Bussmann: 'Bono and Geldof are Cunts' - Soho Theatre

Soho Theatre: stopped by security and asked what I wanted (hood was up on big parker coat - it was very cold out - which revealed a shaved head) and so I asked what the problem was. Apparently, I had to be a member to drink in the theatre bar. Really? But I didn't want a drink. I had come to the theatre. I then presented ticket and was allowed entry! Having 45 minutes to spare, it was curious to find that no one else was being checked for membership. Perhaps I was just too scary for a Saturday night at Soho Theatre...

Note to self: be a welcoming theatre!

Communication style from front-of-house was also not good - in fact: rude - considering we were all just wanting 'a good night out' at the 11pm show!

Note to self: be a welcoming theatre!

or...

Photo: Hugo Glendinning

forced entertainment

the reality | the alternatives | the future | the population | the medieval | the priorities | the men | the women | the children | the food | the sex | the art | the life | the death

the sixth happiness

bergman and seyler: exquisite

the camera / dress rehearsal was a dream...

See it Broadcast Live: Saturday 2 November 2013 - BBC2

what richard did

the kings of summer

after earth

celebrating five years onmakingtheatre

Read none of the reviews before seeing the penultimate performance of Edward II at the National's Olivier. Now having read most of them, all of which (bar the one) are shallow and reduce theatre to two-dimentional critical experiences, it was superb to discover the one that deals objectively and intelligently with the piece - not all of which agrees but most of which does. The reviews of this piece raise questions about the quality of the reviews and the reviewers, of responsibility in the use of language, opinion and balance.

Read: Postcards from the Gods

I had a unique experience at the matinee this Saturday and the ambition, intelligence and wit of the piece excited... then went on to experience/enjoy 'a good night out' at the Pirandello...

othello @ nt

364 years to the day...

Photo: Alison Richards

17 September 1649
King Charles II visits Jersey for the Second Time
2013: the 350th Anniversary of the gifting of the Royal Mace

Extract from: The Book Of Kingdoms for HRH The Earl of Wessex

'a good night out' in edinburgh '13- JMcG

PERFORMANCE

1. Histoire d'amour | teatro cinema

2. Tourniquet | abattoir ferme [74]

3. One Giant Leap | wee stories

4. Titus | macrobert

5. This Side of Paradies | dudendance theatre

6. Don Quixote | frankland / cooper

7. Bonanza | berlin [74]

8. Parkin'Son | guilo d'anna

9. La Poeme | crying out loud

10. Sonambules and the 7 Deadly Sins | karavan ensemble

11. Quietly | the abbey theatre

12. Grounded | gate theatre

13. Fight Night | ontroerend goad

14. Have I No Mouth | brokentalkers

15. Long Live the Little Knife | fire exit/david leddy

16. Theatre Uncut

17. Whatever Happened to Political Drama? | traverse

18. Violent Pleasure > Impossible Theatre | summerhall

19. The Tin Ring | human remain [74]

20. Anatomy of the Piano | will pickvance

21. Ciara | traverse

22. I'm with the Band | traverse / wmc

23. The Secret Agent | theatre o / young vic

24. Cadre | 

25. The Events | atc / young vic / bt / sw [74]

26. Brand New Ancients | kate tempest / bac [74]

27. Our Fathers

28. Wot? No Fish!! | bread&circuses [74]

29. For Their Own Good

30. Freeze!

31. The Tragedy of Coriolanus | beijing people's art theatre
32. 7 Deadly Sins

33. Dance Derby [74]

34. Motherland | vincent dance theatre
35. I Could've Been Bettter

36. Something There That's Missing

37. That Is All You Need To Know

38. The Respeckable Widow Takes to Vulgarity

39. Midori [74]

40. L'Apres-Midi D'Un Foehn | company non nova [74]

41. L.A. Dance Project [74]

EXHIBITIONS

1. Daydream

2. Peter Doig [74]

3. Jupiter Artland [74]

4. Suber Duft | gregor schneider

5. The Vanity Press | fiona banner

6. One Hundred Multiples | lawrence weiner

7. The Blue Book | derek jarman

8. Man With A Movie Camera | michael nyman

9. Ecstatic Art | robbie thomson 

10. Transmitted Live: Nam June Paik Resounds | talbot rice
11. Gabriel Orozco | the fruit market [74]
12. Witches & Wicked Bodies | SNG Modern Art