THE CHAIR

Play, try, fail and fail again.

This is the process, this is the work.

During rehearsals for Mirror2 we re-imagined how the performance of The Chair might develop. In all of my work, chairs the furniture the props are active actors in the piece.

The construction, design, sound and shape of the performances arrive from different directions. Its always a collaboration, a process.

In the past with works like Combine in 2012, there were five huge projections, five dances, 3 singers, recorded and live music.

This new work is stripped back, one object, one performer, one absence. No projections, no soundscape. Just an intense focus on the present.

The Chair is an exploration of the after effects of a suicide.

This work was only achieved through the collaboration with the French performer, dancer, actor and director Lise Boucon. We worked together, playing with ideas and bringing the piece to its current state.

First rehearsal

I wrote a lot of spoken text, the first version was really a short play. When Lise and I first road tested this piece in 2021, I gave Lise a verbal description and outlined the piece, the general direction, some key words and phrases, but thats all. She improvised around those few simple directions and instructions.

When we came together again at Theatre Deli to begin rehearsals, I reluctantly sent Lise some text, with the strict instructions to pay no attention and under no circumstances deliver the speeches. I asked Lise to find her own voice from her own experiences, I wanted it to be be authentic. Lis also had been close to others suicide.

As we progressed I gradually reduced the amount of spoken of text, until the third rehearsal when I said we will proceed without any words.

As we rehearsed the movements and actions were much more poignant than words could be and it settled into a non-spoken dance narrative.

THE PERFORMANCE

The Chair was first developed during lockdown in 2020 as part of series of workshops with Lise Boucon and Ash McNaughton. When the opportunity to present a work as part of The Place Resolution 24 festival of new choreography, I decided to show The Chair.

I invited Lise to continue the work we started and it has been an exciting and fruitful collaboration.

I planned on keeping the subject and focus of this work under wraps until the night, I wanted the final act to be the final reveal.

However a few things changed my mind, the practical reason is The Place put a warning on the website that one of the works was about suicide.

But also I have been speaking about the subject matter to many people and I was surprised how many like me had first had experience of friends and family who have taken their own life. So i thought this is something that we don’t often talk about but something we should.

So this piece comes from personal experience and something that is shared by many.

Lise Boucon

While her work encompasses both movement and words, her body is her main tool. She uses it as a political object to question identity: who am I? She also uses it as a place to experiment with what freedom from preconceived definitions and norms imposed by culture, gender and education look and feels like. 

From personal stories to common narratives, there is no limit (formal or moral) in her research and practice, solo or in collaboration. She is going as far as her intuition leads her, or as the project needs to, pushing then her own boundaries, and exploring her non-comfort zone. This includes nudity, intimacy and duration, and the use of animals as well as natural materials.  She usually performs in non-dedicated and site-specific spaces, in a close relationship with the audience. She tries so to cross the line in social interactions, hoping this makes all – performer and audience – more active and engaged. 

Terry Smith

Smith's early works focused on making wall cuts into buildings and museums, transforming forgotten spaces. Notably, projects in renowned institutions such as The British Museum, The Tate, Muso Bellas Artes, Caracas and MACBA the Museum of Modern art in Barcelona.

However, as an artist continually seeking new avenues for creative expression, Smith has since ventured into performance and dance. This progression showcases his versatility and willingness to push boundaries. Through these mediums, he weaves together movement, gesture, and visual art.

Paola Piccato

Paola began her dance studies in contemporary and ballet at the Accademia Regionale di Danza del Teatro Nuovo, before undertaking a diploma in Set Design at the Accademia di Belle Arti, Turin, Italy. Paola then went on to study a post graduate certificate in Dance in community from Trinity Laban, London. 

Paola worked as a choreographer for the Wilton Music Hall, in London for the “Scene in Time” family events, from 2014 to 2017 working with the local schools. She has also delivered dance workshops in adults’ community setting and for school children in London and in Italy.  In late 2022, Paola joined the Language of Dance Centre as Outreach Project Developer.  This is the first occasion that I have been able to put my performance work in an established dance organisation, venue and dance school and in front of an predominantly dance audience.

The piece was discussed with Paola and the collaboration with Mirror 2 and Combine in 2012 helped a great deal in the construction and thinking about Chair, long before either of us realised, thats where we were heading. So I have kept Paola here as part of the team because her influence runs through the work.