One Performer and Audience

Continuing our group work with Hannah Ringham saw the presentation of 7 unique yet equally fascinating and sophisticated performance events. Starting with the brief to make a piece of work of 3-5mins in groups of 3, which used a single performer, minimal text and was in the here and now of the Webber Douglas studio felt restrictive and yet today has proven just how much play can be found.

Jamie, Sara and I spent an afternoon in discussion yesterday, working through an idea to split and comment upon passive and active behaviours. Conceptually our performance event focussed upon the audience and its authorship of narrative but centrally the work sought to expose an audience to a humiliating event / act of torture or invasion in order to test boundaries.

The work itself as presented seemed to succeed in communicating a tension, where both audience groups (Active and Passive respectively) were unable or unwilling to intervene when the performer asked Arezou to "Suck my finger". In a group discussion, certain observations were made:

• Narrative - Examination / torture / prison / treated like animals / power play (structures)
• The theatricality of the event perhaps fluctuated and removed some tension
• The passive audience were rewarded but forced to observe the act of degredation.
• There was an unease in the air and the waiting 9 were concerned as to what was their fate.
• John felt part of the narrative and forgot the active role he had signed up for.
  

It became clear that the work did communicate its intentional narrative and also kept its concept / idea true to our own impulses as discussed yesterday. It was also noted that with a "strange" audience not crafted from peers there could have been a further direction to push the work. It seems that we will be advancing or at least evolving the performance tomorrow and Friday which is already an intriguing opportunity.

As a site specific practitioner I have spent considerable time questioning the role of the audience and have worked on numerous methodologies to move an audience through a work. However, what was fascinating today was the obvious difference between works that were only subtly responding to the same brief. Watching or participating in 6 works that were all unique was exciting and as a director I can already see certain methods that are strong and those that offer potential.

I look forward to seeing the remaining 5 and working with Hannah for the rest of the week to really push these ideas of one performer and audience.