of other days
of 7 7 13
Manchester International Festival
Manchester
England
1: Palace Theatre, Manchester.
2: Corporation Street, Manchester
3: (representing) Mayfield Depot, Manchester
The three photographs above represent three of the most amazing experiences - all packed into one day. Manchester is a three and a half hour drive from where I live- so it made for a very long day.
The first - (absurd) is the closing screen of a truly remarkable production directed by Robert Wilson of The Old Woman - an absurdist work written by Russian author Daniil Kharms. Two renowned actors - Mikhail Baryshnikov and Willem Dafoe are electric, curious, baffling and thoroughly engaging in scenes that are lit to utmost perfection. The four performances at the Festival were the shows’ only UK presentation.
The second - (dream) was in the pause between the two shows I had planned to see. The crowd of people are watching the screen attached to the building opposite - to see Great Britain’s Andy Murray win the Wimbledon title - and see an end to the 77 year wait for a British Champion of the greatest tennis Championship there is. It’s hard to describe that joy as for many we had learned to accept the idea of "not in my lifetime".
The third - (ideal) represents a unique collaboration performance called Massive Attack v Adam Curtis. Massive Attack who have long been considered one of the UK‘s most adventurous acts and the filmmaker Curtis have put together a show that attempts to redefine the idea of a "gig". The Curtis "essay" is called Everything Is Going According to Plan
Staged in a venue that hasn’t been open to the public since 1986, the Mayfield Depot was a train station - and what a venue! 11 enormous screens enveloped the audience with the band playing behind one of those screens at one end.
The visuals covered many intertwined topics that dealt with the ideals of society including the ideals of the set up of CalArts, founded by Walt Disney. Scenes from Bambi were utilized amongst hundreds of sequences - including Afghanistan, Donald Trump, Heroin use, Chernobyl, the rise of Putin, the death of Nicolae Ceauşescu, Russian punk bands, the collapse of the banking system, Jane Fonda, Ted Turner... and many many more.
This show - like The Old Woman too - relied on the technique of repeat/reinforcement with loops back to other stories that had been started. It focused heavily on the story of a promising English singer in the 1960’s who dreamed of the ideals of America, but never got there and who refused treatment for cancer because she was pregnant. Later her husband did go to America as a successful film maker but died of a brain hemorrhage in a police cell after he collapsed and the police thought he was drunk so they arrested him. Their child, a daughter, applied and went to CalArts - and went in search of the idealism that her mother had sought in America, only to have those ideals shattered by falsehood of image and beauty. She overdosed on heroin.
The visual overload with the pounding and pulsating music (they did give everyone earplugs if required) was simply stunning - and even when it came to exit the venue - paranoia was key as you left through another deserted part of the building with low swooping lights, staff with pin light torches and a security guard and not so friendly looking Alsatian - who was very vocal about your presence there.
The presentation of the three images used here is in reference to the joined screens with image and text that was used in the Massive Attack v Adam Curtis performance.
This is the trailer of that show:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ssws7s8lvY&feature=player_em...
An amazing day.
of 7 7 13
Manchester International Festival
Manchester
England
1: Palace Theatre, Manchester.
2: Corporation Street, Manchester
3: (representing) Mayfield Depot, Manchester
The three photographs above represent three of the most amazing experiences - all packed into one day. Manchester is a three and a half hour drive from where I live- so it made for a very long day.
The first - (absurd) is the closing screen of a truly remarkable production directed by Robert Wilson of The Old Woman - an absurdist work written by Russian author Daniil Kharms. Two renowned actors - Mikhail Baryshnikov and Willem Dafoe are electric, curious, baffling and thoroughly engaging in scenes that are lit to utmost perfection. The four performances at the Festival were the shows’ only UK presentation.
The second - (dream) was in the pause between the two shows I had planned to see. The crowd of people are watching the screen attached to the building opposite - to see Great Britain’s Andy Murray win the Wimbledon title - and see an end to the 77 year wait for a British Champion of the greatest tennis Championship there is. It’s hard to describe that joy as for many we had learned to accept the idea of "not in my lifetime".
The third - (ideal) represents a unique collaboration performance called Massive Attack v Adam Curtis. Massive Attack who have long been considered one of the UK‘s most adventurous acts and the filmmaker Curtis have put together a show that attempts to redefine the idea of a "gig". The Curtis "essay" is called Everything Is Going According to Plan
Staged in a venue that hasn’t been open to the public since 1986, the Mayfield Depot was a train station - and what a venue! 11 enormous screens enveloped the audience with the band playing behind one of those screens at one end.
The visuals covered many intertwined topics that dealt with the ideals of society including the ideals of the set up of CalArts, founded by Walt Disney. Scenes from Bambi were utilized amongst hundreds of sequences - including Afghanistan, Donald Trump, Heroin use, Chernobyl, the rise of Putin, the death of Nicolae Ceauşescu, Russian punk bands, the collapse of the banking system, Jane Fonda, Ted Turner... and many many more.
This show - like The Old Woman too - relied on the technique of repeat/reinforcement with loops back to other stories that had been started. It focused heavily on the story of a promising English singer in the 1960’s who dreamed of the ideals of America, but never got there and who refused treatment for cancer because she was pregnant. Later her husband did go to America as a successful film maker but died of a brain hemorrhage in a police cell after he collapsed and the police thought he was drunk so they arrested him. Their child, a daughter, applied and went to CalArts - and went in search of the idealism that her mother had sought in America, only to have those ideals shattered by falsehood of image and beauty. She overdosed on heroin.
The visual overload with the pounding and pulsating music (they did give everyone earplugs if required) was simply stunning - and even when it came to exit the venue - paranoia was key as you left through another deserted part of the building with low swooping lights, staff with pin light torches and a security guard and not so friendly looking Alsatian - who was very vocal about your presence there.
The presentation of the three images used here is in reference to the joined screens with image and text that was used in the Massive Attack v Adam Curtis performance.
This is the trailer of that show:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ssws7s8lvY&feature=player_em...
An amazing day.