Symposium Report - Day 3
Symposium is now at its mid-week height. Complicite, on a surprise visit, did an inspiring performance workshop. Outdoor and indoor Bijou cinema on walls and buildings over the past three days. A towering solo Odyssey from Ad Infinitum and performed by award-winning George Mann that had everyone on their feet in the Barn Theatre at the end. Harvey
Grossman, renowned for his knowledge and personal friendship with
historic theatre genius Edward Gordon Craig, came from Antwerp to give one of his singular Craig workshops. There was strong Kantor-inspired work on Oedipages by ETA performers, under the direction of Andrea Cusumano, inthe presence of the legendary Richard Demarco (who first brought Kantor and his Cricot company to the Edinburgh Festival in the 1970s). But Stanislavski and Chekhov featured in many events today: how to teach Stanislavski from a panel of case study experts; designer/academic Christopher Baugh talking about Chekhov’s theatre and house in Yalta; a talk on post-Stanislavskian acting by Alessio Bergamo to a delightful performance of Chekhov’s On the Harmfulness of Tobacco by Markel Ivanovich Nyukhin. Ian Rickson, formerly Artistic Director of The Royal Court Theatre, took students through a workshop on Chekhov’s The Seagull in the Rose Theatre. In the Barn Theatre Roddy Maude-Roxby brought three trunks of masks to manipulate and turn into play.
A feminist and post-feminist perspective on Women, Gender and Performance came from Sue Parrish of Sphinx Theatre, Jemma Macdonald, performer and Artistic Director of The Paper Birds Theatre Company, academic Susan Croft, who also curates the Unfinished Histories of British alternative theatre in the Barn Gallery, and the great stand-up theatre artist Claire Dowie (who also gave one of her unique workshops). Everyone loved the delicate shadow play and physical theatre work of Filskit Theatre’s The Living Canvas. Outside there was tent theatre and a Mad Hatter’s Tea Party installation from Pocket Watch Productions. A fantastic lighting rig and system was the backdrop for bands The Kid Jones and Joey Suave, who ended today’s Fest in the Rainbow Tent.
Three times more events and workshops happening elsewhere around Lamorbey Park. Our Actors and Actor Musicians are tirelessly working in seclusion on their Showcase presentation to be previewed later this week. On Thursday and Friday all the Mechanical Theatre boxes are ready to operate play with in the Masefield Workshops.
More and so much more is left out here. You have to be here to see it.
15/04/2010