Monday 17 July 2017

The Dramaturgy which Overslept: Stephen and Philip @ Edfringe 2017


We all love a lie in, but the alarm clock is definitely ringing.  The time has finally come to throw back the duvet and leap into this playfully unhinged show about finding the hero under the covers. 

It’s a sincere and heartfelt invitation to defy indifference and experience a new, tender love story for our long-neglected earth, one in which we are the ones we’ve been waiting for.

In a never seen before mix of climate science, psychology, philosophy and surrealist dance, our unlikely heroes strive to remake themselves in preparation for an overdue remaking of the world. 

These quirky ‘Clark Kents’ of climate change will shake your inner snooze button awake, so come see a performance that stretches what’s possible in an hour but will be a lifetime in the living.

What was the inspiration for this performance?

A shared concern for the future of the planet. Arose out of a friendship discovered on a sustainability course in Devon. We made a promise to create a piece of activist arts-based theatre to inspire others to play a part in our response to the environmental crisis.

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

Head, heart, hands. We are taking academic material out of the lecture theatre and onto the stage. You might say, “putting the theatre back into lecture theatre!”

How did you become interested in making performance?

Philip has a professional acting background and has appeared at the Fringe in the past. He felt inspired to collaborate with Stephen, a senior OU lecturer who does public speaking and performances around sustainability. Could we both find a way of bringing the subject alive?

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

It’s a very carefully crafted mix of climate science, psychology together with some amusing surrealist dance.

Does the show fit with your usual productions?
We researched the shows on offer at Fringe 16 – went to around 25 – and we are confident that this innovative approach will find an audience who are asking similar questions. We don’t think this has been done before.

What do you hope that the audience will experience?
Moved and amused.  They will be enchanted and inspired to think about the choices they make in their lives. We offer them the possibility of becoming an advocate of the new story.
We want to find out how people will react in a more systematic way and will be running a piece of audience research along side the show.

What strategies did you consider towards shaping this audience experience?
We’ve experienced this kind of transformative experiential approach in 5 days on executive training courses, and we have got near it in 3 days. We planned a version for 12 hours for business schools, but the Fringe show version is just 60 mins with a narrative Arc that we think strikes the right balance between showing/telling and entertaining. We walk a narrow edge between light heartedness and the uncomfortable truth.


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