We presented an evening of text based work, using three short scenes from three playwrites.
The company split into three groups, and with the assistance of the collaborating theatre students, worked on the performing and staging of:
What, Where by Samuel Beckett
Plenty by David Hare
Baal by Bertolt Brecht
A site-specific intervention in the Holgate building’s reception at York St. John University. Commissioned as part of the well-being initiative for World Mental Health Day.
The space was invaded by suspicious men with suitcases, gentlemen/women exchanging top hats and newspapers, the world’s most miserable party, Mr.Hat and Mr. Bucket, two chatting cleaners, a group of camp cleaners, aliens intrigued by suitcases, a Greek Chorus, and people being manipulated by the person beside them.
Speaking Ourselves is Out of Character’s second mental health themed show. This performance has gone through various permutations and developments since work began on it in 2011 with founding director Gemma Alldred. It’s progression to a final show has been the least linear due to alternate projects arising (including Henry IV with York Theatre Royal) and changes within the company, most notably Gemma leaving to pastures new and Gina Vickers arriving to take on the director mantle.By the time of Create 13 at York St. John University, the company had a more finalised performance, although audiences may have been aware that some of the material had been performed in various guises and progressions previously.
Homespun was a performance on the theme of ‘home’, and was a collaboration between Out of Character and the Converge students from the Working Towards Performance course.
“I think you cope quite sensibly with the difficulty of living…We tremble in the balance, we don’t fall, we flutter even though we may be uglier than bats”
Welcome to the weird and wonderful world of Franz Kafka. Drawing on a rich vein of early writing and less well-known short stories, this entirely new play presents a layering and interweaving of eerie dreamscapes. It is shot through with Kafka’s hallmark foreboding and alienation, absurdist humour and struggling humanity.
-York Theatre Royal publicity leaflet-
Tales from Kafka was our first collaboration with Juliet Forster from York Theatre Royal. The play was based on a collection of short stories by Franz Kafka. Juliet directed us through a combination of adaptation and group devised work based on the source material.
The show was a surprise success for the company. All three nights at York Theatre Royal’s Studio sold out.
Episodes was our specifically made mental health show.
It came as a response to an increasing number of requests for the company to perform as part of the education of health professionals, students and those interested in the link between arts and health. We undertook a period of development to create and focus work with these audiences in mind.
Episodes is a series of fragmented works, developed to be performed by any number of the company in a variety of locations and differing audiences.
Two distinct themes instigated this work: an interrogation of the stories within, and the performative aspects of mental ill health experiences through the investigation of blurred boundaries between audience and performer in an attempt to break, rather than reinforce, stigma and assumption.
A short performance for a Hidden Histories seminar event held at York St. John University. This performance focused on things we wanted to remember and things we’d prefer to forget.
This was our first devised performance as a then un-named theatre company. Having completed the introductory theatre course provided by York St. John University to mental health service users, those of us who wished to continue were given the opportunity to create a company. We must have put this piece together in approximately four or five sessions.
It was created by using the techniques and methods learnt on the introductory course, and employed the themes of remembering and forgetting, the work of artist Dave McKean and an extract from a sketch by the comedy writer/director Christopher Morris. The show came entirely from our responses to the material, and choices made during the rehearsal process.
“I feel this is a timely piece, not only for the group, but for you the audience member. Now is the time to question what you know, what you thought you knew about your identity and your right to it. In a time where identity is confused in meaning, shifting in ideals and not always considered a personal right, who will you be and where will you belong?”
Gemma Alldred
