Smoke Ghosts at The Hive

I love the shapes that smoke makes caught by hard light in still air. My brother Andrew has some gorgeous shots he took the previous winter one fine morning... was it something like 4 that you left the house to catch a numinous jack frost with your breath in the still icy night? Hoary ink blots. Smokey impressions aren't as healthy but certainly more comfortable. Special effects to rival poltergeist. Love. 

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Bingley

Have been getting arty in a fine art stylie this week. I've cast three faces in plaster at the playhouse in prep for mask making and also started painting/constructing a large indoor mural at a yute centre in Bingley. Thought I'd paint a giant pink humbolt manga squid called Alberto. Part of the squid based installation includes a set of giant musical tubes. I wonder if the commissioning authority realised what they were getting when they hired me and mine...

See and download the full gallery on posterous

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Throwing the stone.

New years day at Hunstanton. I threw an old stone. A necklace piece that had been weighing on my mind for some time. Its gone to the sea now. If you look carefully you see my brother, the photographer, has caught the stone mid flight.

Below a student demonstrates Vsevolod Emilovich Meyerhold's solo classical étude “Throwing the Stone,”. The 21st century body lends an absurd weight to the movement that makes it rather comic.

 

Its rather different back in the days of the Moscow Arts Theatre. There is an expression of a noble truth. He was executed in 1940 by good old Jo Stalin.

Theatre should be full of truth. Not always the truth that exists in the everyday world... something more magnificent perhaps.

Mandrake's Magnificent Machine

Well the Magnificent Mandrake's Machine has run its first race and shows some darn good form. Me and Simon discovered the beast this summer and after some training it turns out to be a reckless animal capable of winning a few at races least. Could turn out for stud as well unless the boys from the black stuff cut off its head and stuff it next to me in ma bed.

Its a play by the way in case you were wondering. An absurdist steampunk pantomime no less. We, a good and happy 30, put it on at the Bradford Playhouse this Christmas and it won't no community fudge either. It was more chaotic than a liberal conservative government and attracted almost as much attention.

It followed a young inventor called Mandrake Eldridge ( I have his facebook page you know ) who had created a machine for raising and decreasing apparent levels of reality. With the aid of the machine and an odd group of fellows under the name of The Leather Gentleman he travels to the mystical land of ephemera and unleashes all sorts of madness and frivolity. Luckily we had an amazing performer & fight choreographer on board (Brendon Mccoy: http://www.uk.castingcallpro.com/view.php?uid=98875)  so we could settle the whole thing with a fantastic sword fight which I shall post with other goodies on't the tinterweb for your delectation. What I owe you cannot be repaid... quite literally. Try the fish.

I feel like Gilbert or Sulivan... maybe Gilbert O' Sullivan. Whats more I and my happy band of writers wrote an original pantomime. Rather spiffing what? A new one for the canon and it might float up there... wouldn't that be nice. (Sound of head violently inflating).


Special thanks to Simon, Maren, Vicki, Sam and the rest... even including Hedley Brown esq.


TTFN

The review: http://fringeleeds.wordpress.com/2010/12/20/mandrake%E2%80%99s-magnificent-machine-review/

Rehearsal Shots: http://www.flickr.com/photos/iblogology/sets/72157625343704899

 

 The Amazing Chemaine Cooke:

 

 

 

Choreographer Miss Pina Musgrave with one of her favorite dancers:

 

The management:

 Thank you also Anthony for these amazing shots :-) http://anthonyjamesphotography.co.uk/

William Blake

Some strange street theatre experimentation in Bradford

Here is some pretty funky playing around in Bradford I did last Thursday. We think the boots dilute the illusion slightly and I think certain positions could be held with more grace and time. Still reckon the illusion is quite striking and a rather interesting costume and statement to make in Bradford no? Of course Bradford has links with Venice... it flooded in 1968.



Of course there are other elements which really bind the whole thing together. I must admit I hadn't realised how close to the bone the costume was.

The Bradford to Shipley Line

The Bradford to Shipley train line.