To begin then, the RSC and a recent trip to Stratford-Upon-Avon to form a group of emerging directors being treated to tours workshops and discussions with the RSC, meetings with Greg Doran and seeing the current production of Morte d'Arthur. What a whirlwind of Shakespeare and theatre it was. Firstly, I am hugely indebted to the hospitality and the openness, the passion and commitment to Shakespeare that the various staff of the RSC expressed. Being amongst peers and fellow directing students was a rare treat and encouraged conversations within and without the room that felt utterly relevant for now. For example it became quickly apparent that there is an urgent need for a form of storytelling that speaks to a new audience, an audience emerging with me as I develop a practice. My director comrades expressed similar thoughts and were in their own experiences of Shakespeare posing fascinating questions as to the way we approach these so often performed, historic texts.
It is hard to not be impressed by the machinery of the RSC, not the actual metal forming machines but the departments that constitute the behemoth that is an institution at the top of the theatrical funding pile. Does the RSC deserve this place? Does the RSC encounter new work and encourage new approaches? Absolutely, to both. I myself felt that I was singled out by my peers as being on a course, from a school such as Central that seemed at odds with Shakespeare and yet I have this hunch that time spent devising is time well spent indeed. I have a passion for the grand narrative, for the text and yes for Shakespeare and believe that work with debunked may just be the best way to approach these stories.
My time, although brief essentially was a marvellous test of my interest in these stories, in these traditions and also allowed the RSC to position themselves, to encourage passion in me for the benefits the RSC can afford, a theatrical powerhouse indeed but not one that is big enough it is not doing the best work to support artists who are keen to explore what it is that Shakespeare does so well, even when his plays are placed before a contemporary audience.
______________
Then I must naturally move on to the work of debunked, the company I am currently exploring the work of Whose Cloud is it Anyway? with and will be rehearsing for a further month before we show at the People Show Theatre at the end of July 2010.
Take a break and look here: http://www.youtube.com/user/DebunkedTheatre
It is the work in progress showings of Whose Cloud is it Anyway that have taken a lot of my and the free time of debunked away and it is now as we begin to embark upon the next stage of our development that we must take some time to reflect on the work.
The production:
Whose Cloud is it Anyway? is an attempt to comprehend the digital
landscape that exists above our heads. Vast amounts of our data, our
social interactions and information increasingly exist in digital clouds.
Even our books, films and art are being transferred and uploaded by
Google and Apple, who now seek our trust in them as custodians to
the future of our culture. The work in its structure invites the
unknown as much of the material is born out of our play,
improvisation, and constant remixing and questioning of fragmented
narratives. The work exists in multiple spaces, each with its own
character, purpose, and function. Our audiences author the work in
much the same way they navigate the internet.
In one space, we attempt an adaptation of a classical narrative. In
another, we expose the process of the birth of a new work, using the
html coding that is hidden behind a website’s design as an analogy
from which we draw upon. Finally, we look honestly at the design of
the internet itself full of multiple narratives exploring the necessity
for human traces in this digital age, and its impact on our
relationships.
The Company:
Debunked is a diverse collective of performance makers established
out of the MA Advanced Theatre Practice course at Central School of
Speech and Drama. Debunked build work from a sustained open and
shared dialogue. We engage with contemporary debates from the
world we exist in, and our performances evolve constantly, finding
the mode, which can communicate meaning. We question, stretch
and push traditional rehearsal methods in an attempt to debunk how
a devised collective works. The theatre we make poses our own
questions about our collective contemporary existence for an
audience who are invited into the work itself. Our performance
events exist within a context of our digital age, framed by company
relationships and our own experiences.
Rob Drummer Director
Sirichana Prae Homsilpakul Producer
Lauren Irving Scenographer
Jon Mcleod Sound Design
Hyun‐Hwa Oh Video Design
Sian Rees Performer
Elizabeth West Performer
Arezou Ali Performer
Taghrid Choucair‐Vizoso Performer
Whose Cloud is it Anyway? will be
presented at the People Show Theatre
in Bethnal Green on July 28th and 29th.
Please email the company fur further
information.
debunkedtheatre@gmail.com
