DICK IN SPACE
Written and performed by Steve Attridge
Film noir murder meets existential madness as intergalactic Dick
DICK IN SPACE
3rd- 27th August Mon to Sat 8pm nightly
Running time - 1 hour
Cuckoo’s Nest 69 Home St.
What was the inspiration for this performance?
The character of Dick Spacey came to me in a dream years ago and I then created him as an alchemy of a disturbed dream figure, the ghost of Humphrey Bogart, and an insane piece of pulp fiction that somehow escaped into the universe and is trying to make sense of everything. I wanted to create the weirdest murder mystery ever.
Is performance still a good space for the public discussion of ideas?
I think that most of private and certainly public life is performance which lends itself to both the discussion and the suppression of ideas. I don’t think that the kind of intense discussion and radical change that, for example, Brecht hoped for, is going to happen.
How did you become interested in making performance?
A powerful love for and curiosity about puppets when I was a child. They were more real to me than most people. I later felt the same about animals.
Is there any particular approach to the making of the show?
Sweat and blood. An initial period of just free form writing, then honing and cutting during rehearsal. Trying to be ruthless. For me, a lot of writing and performance is like surgery. Not being frightened of cutting out what is superfluous and self-indulgent. A lot of experimentation.
Does the show fit with your usual productions?
I don’t really have a template. I’ve worked in film and TV, theatre and radio, but I also write books and poetry. Variety keeps you jumping and finally, everything connects anyway.
What do you hope that the audience will experience?
Laughter. Intrigue. Strangeness. Being thoroughly entertained and glad they came.
What strategies did you consider in shaping this audience experience?
Variety, movement, pace. I hate theatre and comedy that plods along for hours and is so pleased with itself it doesn’t need or deserve an audience.
Steve Attridge is an award winning writer and performer – Writers’ Guild Awards, RTS Awards and 2 BAFTA nominations. 9 stage plays, 100 TV scripts, 8 films including the award-winning GUY X, 20 books. He is especially known for his much loved BBC TV series The Queen’s Nose. His novel The Natural Law went straight to number one in the Amazon Kindle Singles. He worked as a performance poet with John Cooper Clarke. He likes to take language into physical performance and see how far both can stretch out of shape until something happens or everyone dies in the attempt. He also lectures and runs workshops and has worked all over the world. His last theatre show was called a comedy theatre tour de force mix of Dario Fo and the Goons. He is currently writing a novel and a new play.
STEVE ATTRIDGE - POTTED HISTORY
Roadie for Rod Stewart and the Faces
Started a riot in Harlem (very small – about 331/2 people)
6 months in a monastery
Factory, parks, office jobs
Got caught up in a military coup in Morocco through own stupid fault
University – BA MA PhD
Writer in Residence – various UK, New York, Australia
Plays, TV, films, books, poetry – writing and directing and performing
Broken nose, broken arm, broken leg, broken heart in final football season
Lecturing and Teaching – Oxford, Sheffield, Warwick, London, New York, Greece, Thailand, Paris
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