Gone in 60 Seconds Festival

Today's tea; Tesco Red Berries Infusion. Something a bit fruity for the bank holiday ;-)

Today marked the first day of rehearsals for 2013's GI60 Festival. Gone in 60 Seconds is a unique festival of one minute plays, written by writers from all over the world; but mainly from the UK and America. I've been helping to finalise the final 50 plays we're going to use, and am assistant directing the show which is to be performed on the 8th June at Halifax Viaduct Theatre.

A 60 second play sounds easy - though you'd be surprised! After reading hundreds of submissions I had a go at a few myself, and there definitely is a 'knack' to it. The comedic ones play like little sketches - but in just 60 seconds you've haven't much time for any build up and need to get to your punchline pretty quick. The more reflective response can seem rushed, as a minute doesn't give you much space to explore the idea. You can see videos of previous years performances here;
http://www.youtube.com/user/gi60channel?ob=0&feature=results_main

We've had some fantastic submissions, and started rehearsing today with a great cast. Along with the Halifax performance, a separate group at Brooklyn College in New York will also be performing another set of 50 GI60 submissions. It's really exciting to have a writing network spanning that sort of distance!

Will write more as rehearsals progress. Enjoy your brew!

http://gi60.blogspot.co.uk/
@GI60

'The Zero Hour' by Imitating the Dog. West Yorkshire Playhouse 14th February 2013.

Today's tea: Good old Twinnings English Breakfast Tea, we'll start off safe.
http://shop.twinings.co.uk/shop/twinings-tea/english-breakfast-tea/english-breakfast-envelope.html

3/5 Stars

UK Theatre Company Imitating the Dog explore a fusion of live action, recorded footage and animation in their perplexing piece The Zero Hour. Blending cinematic qualities with live theatre, The Zero Hour explores the different accounts of three couples in the final moments of WW2 Berlin. Through these different versions of the same ‘moment’ the characters lives at once connect, and fail to connect.

These characters are actors, filmed by a Chinese modern day film crew, and their lives are shot in short episodes of non-chronological narrative. This is further framed literally by a cinematic set; a screen filling the stage, projecting live video of the action, with hatches which open to show the actors on the stage. The layers to this piece are complex to the point of incoherency; using multiple spheres which seem to grate against one another.

The short episodic scenes, shot with the brevity and pace of a film making process, are juxtaposed with the image of an endlessly long train, a metaphor with science fiction connotations. Adding to all these layers of seemingly unrelated content is the fact the actors undertake multiple roles, performing different characters. At times the actors speak in German or Russian, and sub titles are projected onto the wider cinematic screen. At other times they speak in English with those accents. To say Imitating the Dog are really making their audience work to follow any form of narrative in this piece is an understatement.

What ‘The Zero Hour’ is seemingly trying to highlight is the falsity of fictions, in especial focus to the way we consider historical events, by literally showing the audience the ease with which they can be created. Though a baffling, and barely enjoyable theatre experience, ‘The Zero Hour’ really pushes conceptual boundaries in theatre. This is commendable, though it seems the desire to be innovative has come at the expense of creating a decent story.

@Imitatingthedog

http://www.imitatingthedog.co.uk/projects/the-zero-hour/

Fancy a brew?

My name is Jessica, I'm a theatre student and enthusiast of all things generally artsy-farty (genuine terminology there). I wanted a space to share my thoughts, occasional reviews and post about my findings and experiences of the arts mainly in the North of England.

I think it's important people make the time for the arts, and also make time to sit down for two minutes with a brew (and perhaps a biscuit if it's an especially good day). The purpose of this blog then was something to peruse for a while, mug in hand.

So, pop the kettle on, and enjoy.