ENSONGLOPEDIA OF BRITISH HISTORY (by John Hinton)
Ensonglopedia of British History recounts the major events in our island’s history, from the point of view of a character who lives forever and does their best to provide for themselves and their family amid political turmoil, disease, industrialisation, and everything else that history has to throw at them.
Brighton Fringe Festival (The Warren). May 2019
WHAT SILENCE HAS TO SAY / DER STIMME DER STILLE (Co -direction) with BLAUCHAUCH
Eight international actresses / circus artists read and perform their new, dream-inspired play “What Silence Has to Say”. This extraordinary story, in which the theater group Blauhauch explores the various facets of female sexuality – from abuse to ecstasy – was written by all women together. Eight dreams merged into a shared dream in which women not only play women, but also men, children, animals and objects.
What Silence Has to Say asks many questions. Among other things, what does it mean in today’s society to be a sexualised woman, mother, successful businesswoman, friend, daughter, neighbour? What does it mean to be completely “free” from any expectations? The answers are found in the voice of silence when the answer comes from silence.
NO WAY OUT (Concept & Direction)
(PICTURES CREDIT: UNDERSKIN)
Stuck between highly taxed tampons and badly lit mirrors, three characters are trapped in a patriarchal purgatory. Locked in a toilet, three characters examine the female stereotype established in classic and modern literature and media and offer a different perspective to the stories we know.
An act of dramaturgical punk; fusing dark comedy, the ridiculous and the tragic. A mix of clown, story-telling and political rant, inviting you to laugh in the face of, ridicule, challenge and reconsider what it is to be a woman today.
Focusing on the representation of women – not just in literature but also on TV, stage, media and fashion – No Way Out questions the overall creation of the female image and narrative and seeks to debunk it.
The international ensemble bring their own languages, experiences, literary traditions, national symbols and current events, to reinterpret these texts and characters; inspired by Don Quixote, House of Bernarda Alba, Joan of Arc, Jane Eyre, Shahmaran, Disney princesses, and pop queens.
NO WAY OUT is a Flight of the Escales co-production, funded by Arts Council England through Grants for the Arts and Norfolk County Council. The development of the show was supported by Ballhaus Ost Berlin, Camden People’s Theatre London and The Cut Halesworth.
WHAT THE CIRCUS (Co-Direction & Dramaturgy) with FLIGHT OF THE ESCALES
“Rope wrapped like a vice around the tops of my legs – you know the tender bits – snaked around, tight and painful, a squeeze and a burn. But you’re not thinking about that because the hard floor is below. You’ve done it so many times but every time you do it you know that you can’t miss it, not this time, not ever”
A journey through the realities and absurdities of everyday circus life; a reveal of the truth behind the form: the rigging, burns and calluses, sacrifices, the years of commitment and the ‘what am I when I can’t do this anymore?’
Delving into desires of narcissism, fear and wonderment, What the Circus? is an investigation of circus and its potential. Using its heightened form to explore questions about ourselves and our relationships with each other and the world: how we observe and judge, what we expect and how our experiences mould us as performer, audience and human. It is an attempt to redefine how we watch, understand and appreciate the form and a celebration the people that work and in it.
A patchwork of personal stories, circus tales and epic theatricality. Stealing from David Lynch, David Attenborough, Stephen Hawkins and Hip Hop, with original music and multi-surface projections, this is unlike any circus show you will have seen before. See the trailer here.
www.flightoftheescales.com/circus-wtf
I GAVE HIM AN ORCHID (Direction & Dramaturgy) with FLIGHT OF THE ESCALES
Winner of the Jury Prize 100˚ Sophiensaele 2014.
In 1885 Sarah Henley throws herself off a Bridge. She lives. This is not a show about suicide, it’s about love and what it makes us do.
Inspired by real heartbreak stories – some given, some found, some stolen – this is an act of public self-help that bounces happily along the boundaries of inappropriateness with poetic meanderings, absurdist melodrama and recounts stories of people in and out of love.
Deconstructing the same old love stories with modern day predicaments, tapping into our vulnerability, our fears and needs and inviting the audience to share their own tales and desires, I Gave Him an Orchid is ultimately a celebration of love, heartbreak and life and our preoccupation with this perpetual pumping organ.
Created and performed by Sarah Calver. Trailer here.
Carolina Ortega 