Good News! Excellent News, in fact -
Kings of England have been offered a small commission and a chance to perform at BURST, the Battersea Arts Centre's Annual Flagship platform for theatre / performance, live art and all that. We gladly accept. Our gigs will be on the 20th / 21st May, so diary it if you are London based or somewhere close by. Unfortunately Mum can't make it as she will be on a walking holiday, but Dad and I are excited. The bonus is that this time, it should be worth a week's wages, a bit of expenses and a 50/50 box-office-split. More details "soon".
Big Love,
K of E. x
Showing posts with label Kings of England. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kings of England. Show all posts
Tuesday, 17 February 2009
Kings of England Accepted to Performing Lives Conference, Kingston University, 6-8th July
Indeed. My first conference as an "independent scholar" post-PhD. The proposal read:
(In response to the question: “WHOSE LIFE?”):
Since April 2008 I have been performing alongside my 74-year-old father under the name “Kings of England”. Our show, “Where We Live & What We Live For” has been scratched at five times and has confirmed for support by the BAC, the Nuffield Theatre and Leeds Met Studio Theatre in 2009.
I found a picture of my father (before he was my father) jumping from the rocks toward the sea. The picture, taken off the South coast of France in 1958, catches him partway down.
In 2001 he suffered a transient-ischemic attack, falling of a bicycle in the hillsnear home. My mother reports that for an hour, he did not remember his name, now where he was; nor where he lived.
I asked him about his fall, and about his landing, and he seemed to be unable to remember much at all except for “how clear the water was” and “all these little fishes”, he said: “talk about a clear blue sea”.
In response he has given me license to reclaim that lost hour, writing invention and supposition into the spaces created in the event of forgetting.
We may accord these inventions and suppositions certain ethical significance, drawing a Blanchotian treatment of the verb “to research” through Levinasian treatment of the unknowable-ness of the other: inventing fictions to replace lost facts, we aim to preserve the dignity of the unknown as unknown, as a point of convergence between us.
For ‘Performing Lives’ we propose to show 15 minutes of performance followed by 15 minutes Q & A.
(In response to the question: “WHOSE LIFE?”):
Since April 2008 I have been performing alongside my 74-year-old father under the name “Kings of England”. Our show, “Where We Live & What We Live For” has been scratched at five times and has confirmed for support by the BAC, the Nuffield Theatre and Leeds Met Studio Theatre in 2009.
I found a picture of my father (before he was my father) jumping from the rocks toward the sea. The picture, taken off the South coast of France in 1958, catches him partway down.
In 2001 he suffered a transient-ischemic attack, falling of a bicycle in the hillsnear home. My mother reports that for an hour, he did not remember his name, now where he was; nor where he lived.
I asked him about his fall, and about his landing, and he seemed to be unable to remember much at all except for “how clear the water was” and “all these little fishes”, he said: “talk about a clear blue sea”.
In response he has given me license to reclaim that lost hour, writing invention and supposition into the spaces created in the event of forgetting.
We may accord these inventions and suppositions certain ethical significance, drawing a Blanchotian treatment of the verb “to research” through Levinasian treatment of the unknowable-ness of the other: inventing fictions to replace lost facts, we aim to preserve the dignity of the unknown as unknown, as a point of convergence between us.
For ‘Performing Lives’ we propose to show 15 minutes of performance followed by 15 minutes Q & A.
Tuesday, 16 December 2008
Confirmed Residency at BAC / Ideas
Kings of England have a confirmed residency at Battersea Arts Centre in January (26th-31st) as part of their New Year, New Spaces initiative, which gives me space for a week and open doors on the last two days so that Audiences can see our process and a showing.
So I need some ideas. I have been working on some new texts for K of E, concerning decisive moments in our family's history, the things that escape ellipsis and make ot into the chronology.
How to leave or get left, and how to recover (the work has already begun to concern recoveries). And I want to show that some were possible, were achieved. But each recovery we make is miraculous, singular and exceptional, learnt from experience, so consequently it is hard to teach how-to-recover.
The 2008 scratch shows (BAC / You and Your Work 5 / Greenroom / Bluecoat / Custard Factory) concerned loss of memory. We performed to raise a question against the forgotten. So father sang for us "The Aeroplane Over The Sea", whistling in the wind.
But my interest is turning toward other, earlier recoveries. John Berger wrote something like (and I'll check this later): "the world of circumstance and contingency into which I had been born long ago". I can look at my father's life and see the proprieties, circumstances or contingent events that had to occur in order for the story, or the chronology, to be what is is. Were it not for ABC, no XYZ. And that chronology, at a certain point, permitted me.
See the Kings of England Blog and BAC website for more.
So I need some ideas. I have been working on some new texts for K of E, concerning decisive moments in our family's history, the things that escape ellipsis and make ot into the chronology.
How to leave or get left, and how to recover (the work has already begun to concern recoveries). And I want to show that some were possible, were achieved. But each recovery we make is miraculous, singular and exceptional, learnt from experience, so consequently it is hard to teach how-to-recover.
The 2008 scratch shows (BAC / You and Your Work 5 / Greenroom / Bluecoat / Custard Factory) concerned loss of memory. We performed to raise a question against the forgotten. So father sang for us "The Aeroplane Over The Sea", whistling in the wind.
But my interest is turning toward other, earlier recoveries. John Berger wrote something like (and I'll check this later): "the world of circumstance and contingency into which I had been born long ago". I can look at my father's life and see the proprieties, circumstances or contingent events that had to occur in order for the story, or the chronology, to be what is is. Were it not for ABC, no XYZ. And that chronology, at a certain point, permitted me.
See the Kings of England Blog and BAC website for more.
Wednesday, 24 September 2008
K of E at BAC / Hauser Rehearsals
Hello!
Kings of England did prettty well at Battersea Arts Centre last week. Dad and I performed a 10-15 minute version of an earlier lecture I had given at greenroom in Manchester. 'Recent Falls' is a response to a photograph I found of my father jumping into the sea in the south of France, 1958. In our vintage swimwear, I narrated and Dad performed a jump, a fall and a recovery, with some help from my mum who held cue-cards and ribbons for us.
We got good feedback from audience- and producerfolk, and Dad seemed to enjoy himself thoroughly.
The next morning I got up and travelled to Leeds Met Studo theatre where we (Hauser) are currently putting finishing touches to 'I Made You a Submarine' a new show directed by Swen Steinhauser.
We have all been ill and it has been hard going, but the structure is down and we are growing more confident. I'll write somethig more on this after our showing for students on Thursday.
Kings of England did prettty well at Battersea Arts Centre last week. Dad and I performed a 10-15 minute version of an earlier lecture I had given at greenroom in Manchester. 'Recent Falls' is a response to a photograph I found of my father jumping into the sea in the south of France, 1958. In our vintage swimwear, I narrated and Dad performed a jump, a fall and a recovery, with some help from my mum who held cue-cards and ribbons for us.
We got good feedback from audience- and producerfolk, and Dad seemed to enjoy himself thoroughly.
The next morning I got up and travelled to Leeds Met Studo theatre where we (Hauser) are currently putting finishing touches to 'I Made You a Submarine' a new show directed by Swen Steinhauser.
We have all been ill and it has been hard going, but the structure is down and we are growing more confident. I'll write somethig more on this after our showing for students on Thursday.
Tuesday, 16 September 2008
Residency at the Institute for the Art and Practice of Dissent at Home
I have just completed a whistle-stop residency at the Institute for the Art and Practice of Dissent at Home, run by TwoAddThree (Lena Simic and Gary Anderson) from their Everton Address in Liverpool.
The premise for my residency was to explore the streets that my relatives grew up on: Gredington Street (Grandma), Aigburth Vale (Grandad) and Fernwood Road (Auntie May). I also visited the street of the sheltered accomodation where Grandma lived with Grandad until she died and the street of the Care Home where Grandad was looked after nearly five years before being admitted to Whiston Hospital on 25.12.07. He died on the 12 January this year, and upon his death I began to understand just how little I could learn of his youth. Anyway, the walks I made in Aigburth and Huyton were dedicated to the memories of Rene, Ollie and May.
There is something of psychogeography, something of family history on this project, and I am unclear as to possible outcomes, but I think I will end up writing extensively on this at some point.
I am tired and tomorrow I am off to London for the BAC gig with Dad on Thursday. For now I want to extend a warm thanks to Lena, Gary, Neal, Gabby and Sid, and to Ania Bas, another artist in residence at the Institute. Please click on the link and read up on her work.
More soon.
The premise for my residency was to explore the streets that my relatives grew up on: Gredington Street (Grandma), Aigburth Vale (Grandad) and Fernwood Road (Auntie May). I also visited the street of the sheltered accomodation where Grandma lived with Grandad until she died and the street of the Care Home where Grandad was looked after nearly five years before being admitted to Whiston Hospital on 25.12.07. He died on the 12 January this year, and upon his death I began to understand just how little I could learn of his youth. Anyway, the walks I made in Aigburth and Huyton were dedicated to the memories of Rene, Ollie and May.
There is something of psychogeography, something of family history on this project, and I am unclear as to possible outcomes, but I think I will end up writing extensively on this at some point.
I am tired and tomorrow I am off to London for the BAC gig with Dad on Thursday. For now I want to extend a warm thanks to Lena, Gary, Neal, Gabby and Sid, and to Ania Bas, another artist in residence at the Institute. Please click on the link and read up on her work.
More soon.
Friday, 12 September 2008
Kings of England Accepted to BAC Freshly Scratched AND You And Your Work 5, Bristol
Good News!
Kings of England, have been accepted for two gigs.
The first is at Battersea Arts Centre in London on the 18th September, as part of their Freshly Scratched Festival. The event starts at 7PM and is a pay-what-you-can event. We will be presenting a reworking of 'Recent Falls', a performance lecture concerning a jump, a fall, and a recovery made by my Dad in 1958, 2001 and 2008 respective.
The second is at Easton Community Centre in Bristol, as part of You and Your Work 5, on the 3rd of October (times and costs TBC). The platform is curated by Birgit Binder and Sylvia Rimat. We will be presenting 'Where We Live & What We Live For', a series of interchangeable short talks and performances which look at place, belonging and identity through the lens of our relationship at father and son.
I am blogging our doings at bowesandson.blogspot.com.
Kings of England, have been accepted for two gigs.
The first is at Battersea Arts Centre in London on the 18th September, as part of their Freshly Scratched Festival. The event starts at 7PM and is a pay-what-you-can event. We will be presenting a reworking of 'Recent Falls', a performance lecture concerning a jump, a fall, and a recovery made by my Dad in 1958, 2001 and 2008 respective.
The second is at Easton Community Centre in Bristol, as part of You and Your Work 5, on the 3rd of October (times and costs TBC). The platform is curated by Birgit Binder and Sylvia Rimat. We will be presenting 'Where We Live & What We Live For', a series of interchangeable short talks and performances which look at place, belonging and identity through the lens of our relationship at father and son.
I am blogging our doings at bowesandson.blogspot.com.
Sunday, 27 July 2008
Kings of England Field Trip / PhD
A joint post. Kings of England (my Father and I) went on a field trip to the pub last night. Normally we never...ever...do that, but this was something of an occasion. Last week I graduated from the University of Central Lancashire with a PhD, entitled 'Towards an Ethics of Voice as Hospitable Space'. The thesis draws on the ethical philosophy of Emmanuel Levinas, and concerns as a performative space, and as a gesture of welcome. It took 4 years to research and write, and is a sprawling 73,000 words, a proper bastard, but it's over and done with now.
We walked out to the Sportsman, which was shut, so we went to the Royal where we met another father (Keith) and son (Chris), who also live down our road.
So we put the world to rights - topics included the weather, chemistry, hiking, the theatre, types of hats, osteoporosis, ants and helicopter rescues. I made a mental note to induct Keith and Chris into some kind of K of E club if we ever start one. But besides all that, I haven't seen my dad squiffy in a long time and it was good to see him loosen up a bit. He was supposed to be going to listen to a choir somewhere this morning but awoke at 11 after an unintentional lie in.
We walked out to the Sportsman, which was shut, so we went to the Royal where we met another father (Keith) and son (Chris), who also live down our road.
So we put the world to rights - topics included the weather, chemistry, hiking, the theatre, types of hats, osteoporosis, ants and helicopter rescues. I made a mental note to induct Keith and Chris into some kind of K of E club if we ever start one. But besides all that, I haven't seen my dad squiffy in a long time and it was good to see him loosen up a bit. He was supposed to be going to listen to a choir somewhere this morning but awoke at 11 after an unintentional lie in.
Thursday, 3 July 2008
Kings of England
Good News!
I have been talking with my Dad about starting a company in which both he and I are principle devisers and performers. As of yesterday, we are agreed. And as of today, we have named ourselves...
"Kings of England".
We are currently writing up a pitch for some cash but in the meantime, we are modestly underway. A conversation we had a couple of weeks ago as I was researching 'Recent Falls', prompted him to quote me the following, from Alan Bennett's 'Writing Home':
Which, essentially, is what our first work will be about - the fictions that will have to stand in for fact, in the event of forgetting.
By way of an early research task, I asked Dad to list his Top 5 songs, as something we might work with (see below, right click, or whatever, to get it up big & legible).
I have been talking with my Dad about starting a company in which both he and I are principle devisers and performers. As of yesterday, we are agreed. And as of today, we have named ourselves...
"Kings of England".
We are currently writing up a pitch for some cash but in the meantime, we are modestly underway. A conversation we had a couple of weeks ago as I was researching 'Recent Falls', prompted him to quote me the following, from Alan Bennett's 'Writing Home':
...the dull distorting effects of time, in phrases which sound right but aren’t…He said: Oh, I don’t know, I don’t remember, then he says: one always forgets the most important things, it’s the things one can’t remember that stay with you (Bennett, 1998, p258)
Which, essentially, is what our first work will be about - the fictions that will have to stand in for fact, in the event of forgetting.
* * *
By way of an early research task, I asked Dad to list his Top 5 songs, as something we might work with (see below, right click, or whatever, to get it up big & legible).
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