Dramaturgy Hames: Alex Rigg @ Edfringe 2017

Sea Hames

Oceanallover in association with Feral

Sea Hames at Dance Base:

22 – 24 Aug | 13.15 | Free (Ticketed) | 1 hour

Sea Hames at Dalkeith Country Park

Bus Transfer from Dance Base:

25 – 26 Aug | 13:45 for pick up, with 14:30 start at Dalkeith

£6.50 for bus transfer, which includes the show

2 hours 30 mins in total

Compelling site specific performance fusing sonic interventions, physical theatre and costume design to explore the mythology and iconography of horses.

Sea Hames is the latest project from leading physical theatre and site specific performance company Oceanallover. Inspired by Orkney’s ‘Festival of the Horse and Boys’ Ploughing Match’ this multi-disciplinary performance fuses live music, compelling performance and intricate costume design to explore the mythology and iconography of the horse, the plough and the land.

Sea Hames is inspired directly by the sea and its relationship to the land and the boundary between these two worlds. The ‘Festival of the Horse and Boys’ Ploughing Match’ on Orkney is a tradition more than 200 years old. On South Ronaldsay children dress as Clydesdale horses alongside the patterns of straight lines made by ploughs in the sands along the shore.

Florencia García Chafuén

• What was the inspiration for this performance?

Marketing text pasted in here but is a good summary.

• Sea Hames is the latest outdoor performance project from leading site specific theatre company Oceanallover. Inspired by 'The Festival of the Horse and Boys' Ploughing Match' this multi-disciplinary performance fuses sonic composition, compelling performance and intricate costume to explore the mythology and iconography of horse, plough and the sea.
• In 1984 two Clydesdale horses jumped the gate to their field and charged down to the beach at Billia Croo on Orkney. They stood up on their hind hooves and danced in the low mid-summer sun. This project begins with those two horses and the sea; about freedom and creativity, the persistence of memory, tradition and innovation, attention to detail and wild brush-strokes.
• The rituals of horse, land and sea inspire the visual poetry of 'Sea Hames' and the choreography responds to sources of natural power and green spaces as a stimulus to frame the performances.

Sea Hames

Fighting for thunder my eyes betray and ears deny

this assault under cobalt smashing through the calm

of closing lids.

A visceral shake of earth moved now, moved now

and now by two horses dancing or biting

they thump hoof prints each a craterous aftermath

into my green green grass.

And here am I a quaking blade looking up into the sky

or where the sky was filled by a quivering muscular exuberance.

This arrival is an exorcism that breaks my faith and rakes

the soles of unshod feet to crack resoundingly across

my vaulted heaven.

(AR 2017)

• Is performance still a good space for the
  
  public discussion of ideas?
  

It is a crucial way in which to share ideas that are outside of conventional linguistic parameters. Performance and all art forms have a philosophical imperative to challenge and question established forms and ideas. Performance in particular has access to a very emotive and visceral state of consciousness, existing as it does in the moment only. The viewer or listener must rely on instinctive reactions to the work foremost as their point of reference constantly changes along with the moment in time that they are occupying. Everyone performs their own life.

• How did you become interested in making performance?

Performance allows me the chance to unite several different aspects of my own artistic output in a single moment. It also allows me the chance to access the same instinctive responses that I hope for from the audience, a chance to find that unique moment that all art seeks for and hopes to offer.

• Is there any particular approach to the making of the show?

Yes, the work is made in the abstract with an emphasis on strong emotional and physical commitment. It is made with the intention of demanding the same commitment from its audience, while allowing the audience to speak its mind out loud. We are trying to find the line which divides conscious and unconscious action.

• Does the show fit with your usual productions?

I very much hope that there is no usual production.

• What do you hope that the audience will experience?

A sense of their own innate creative ability.

• What strategies did you consider towards shaping this audience experience?

My work and the work of the company is built around specific response to site and audience. I feel that the work must have a mandate from the public if it is to exist at all. However, this does not mean bending to popular opinion. It means offering an insight into a lateral view of life.

The Artistic Director of Oceanallover, Alex Rigg, lived on Orkney for several years and was involved and inspired by the archaeology and traditions of the islands.

In 1984 two Clydesdale horses jumped the gate to their field and charged down to the beach at BilliaCroo.

This project begins with those two horses and their owner, Raimie Manson, a respected horse-man who was a judge at the Ploughing Match Festival. His niece Sarah McFadyen and her husband Joey Sanderson have written music for the project in collaboration with Oceanallover. 

This music follows a common thread of history that presents a rich and essential return to an elemental philosophy of form and function. Alex Rigg has created costume derived from his own experiences and reaction to the progress of time across the sparse and inspiring landscapes of Orkney.

The rituals of horse, land and sea inspire the visual poetry of ‘Sea Hames’ and the choreography responds to sources of natural power and green spaces – such as fields, wind and water turbine sites – as a stimulus to frame the performances.

About Sea Hames:

• About OceanalloverOceanallover are a visual theatre performance company based in South West Scotland. They make visceral outdoor performance for site-specific locations and perform in both urban and remote landscapes. Their work is visually arresting and philosophically stimulating making use of original and innovative costume design, gripping theatricality and evocative music to create emotional and memorable performance events. www.oceanallover.co.uk

• About FeralFeral (Jill Smith and Kathryn Boyle) support artists making cross artform work and champion makers who explore new performance languages through their practice. Central to their ethos is platforming work in site specific and “found spaces” that animate and enliven rural and urban environments. www.feralartprojects.com
  

Sea Hames has been supported by Creative Scotland, Orkney Museum, Neilston Development Trust, East Renfrewshire Culture and Leisure, Water Works Barrhead, and Crawick Artland Trust.