Hello everyone!
How are you today? I’m slowly recovering so you’re getting consecutive etudes. I’m really proud of this one becuase I found a goldmine of stuff thanks to the Hemispheric Institute Digital Video Library. There’s so much in here of work from North and South America that is really exciting. I selected three but do browse to see if there’s anything really special. Do drop me a message if you find something that you want to share and I’ll highlight it. This did take some deep research to find so hopefully it was worth hunting down!
Below are this weeks highlights
Fierce Love: Stories from Black Gay Life by Pomo Afro Homos
available now
free
Fierce Love was conceived, written, and performed as a response to the absence of three-dimensional black, gay men on the American stage. The show premiered at Josie's Juice Joint & Cabaret in San Francisco in January 1991, and went on to tour nationally and internationally to critical acclaim until 1994 (Brian Freeman revived the show with a new cast in 2010). This recording marks the final performance by the original ensemble cast of the Pomos--Djola Branner, Brian Freeman, and Eric Gupton--and includes a post-show discussion.
Here’s an interview with the group and here’s more of their back catalouge
Dykenstein: Sex, Horror and the Tragedy of the Straight Brain by Susanna Cook
available now
free
Susana Cook's "Dykenstein" is a lesbian adaptation of the classic story of "Frankenstein." In this play, Dr. Dykenstein triumphantly creates "the perfect dyke," but one of her assistants carelessly leaves the creature unattended in front of a TV and a bunch of trashy magazines. Brainwashed by mainstream media, the perfect dyke becomes a "wild" straight woman. Desperate for a husband, the monster threatens to murder Dr. Dykenstein if he does not make one for her. "Dykenstein" is a parody of the Christian Right's take on science, the U.S. anti-abortion crusade (which declared that having aborting a fetus older than two weeks is murdering an American citizen), and the rights of women.
More of Susana Cook’s back catalogue
Letters from the Dead by Honour Ford Smith
available now
free
Letters from the Dead began as a collectively-created image event commemorating the murder of thousands of youth killed in inner city violence in Toronto's Caribbean diaspora. The event comprises a silent funeral procession in the street. Bringing together the messages from the dead and media reports on violence, and the losses of living, the performance traces one woman’s attempt to bury her grandson and convey his demands for justice in the present.
available now
free
Never one to rest on her laurels, Natalie Sharp, AKA Lone Taxidermist, debuted a new stage show as Body/Vice over the summer following on from her shows in recent years in support of last album Trifle.
One of the festivals at which she presented BodyVice over the summer was last month's Supernormal in Oxfordshire and above, IMPATV have captured her full set from the event so you can watch it back.
BodyVice sees Sharp explore what's possible with the human body and technology in order to connect the performer with the audience. She plays live alongside flautist Tida Bradshaw, filmmaker Matt Watkins and sound artist Tara Pattenden, who has helped her create the 'skinstruments' which form part of the show.
Reviewer Eden Tizard, who was at the festival, described the set as a "potentially festival stealing performance," describing it as "an MRI themed paranoia rave masterminded by Natalie Sharp – or Lone Taxidermist as you may well know her.
"tQ's own John Doran comes on stage in full hospital gown - though perplexingly still his summer hat - and delivers dread drenched spoken word over the jolts and beeps of medical machinery, referring to his own experiences in an MRI machine and a desire for a 24/7 existential button that he will no doubt be forcibly be disconnected due to over usage."
Here’s an interview with the artist about the project
Lennox Mutual by Candle House Collective
various dates
pay what you decide
Reserve a call today.
At Lennox Mutual, we help you make the most of the time you have – no strings attached.
Are you eligible for our program? Reserve a Customer Service phone session to find out!
Your session will last approximately 20 minutes. We encourage you to reserve as many as you like.
MEMORIES OF OVERDEVELOPMENT by Caridad Svich
Until 15th August
€10
Some plays are a quiet revolution about loud things. Some plays are about the stories we carry in our bones.
This play is a film: a documentary about what people remember about dictatorships where they grew up and how they left and how they survived. An enactment of seven startling, personal interviews, inspired by true stories. A rebellious look at where we’ve been and where we are right now.
Hope you find something you enjoy
Josh x