Research & Development 2001 - 2003
Untitled (exposure 1), 2009
Concept / texts: Mark Hewitt
Sketches / paintings: Lindsey McGown
Photographs: Magali Nougarede
Performers stage 1: Jonathan Cullen / Jo Howarth
Performers stage 2: Cary Crankson / Kathryn McGarr, directed by Elizabeth Newman
The origin of this research and development project was the chance observation in the White Hart Hotel, Lewes, of a woman in a little black dress, all but obscured by the bulk of a red leather wingbacked armchair - so that all that could be seen was her bare arms and legs in profile, gesticulating in the course of a conversation with a friend. The mesmeric quality of this scenario led to the idea of creating a work for theatre that might exploit the visual possibilities of an intense conversation between two figures in wingbacked armchairs that can never clearly be seen by the audience. A game of concealment and revelation.
There were two phases to the initial R&D work. In the first phase, working with two outsize red leather armchairs specially constructed by upholsterer Marc Whatling, two visual artists: photographer Magali Nougarede and painter Lindsey McGown made images of life models holding poses in the armchairs. The process was collaborative but loosely overseen and directed by myself. Supported by lighting technician Martin Chandler, the work took place over three days at the Komedia theatre in Brighton - the aim being to establish a basic visual language for the proposed piece of theatre - a vocabulary of counterbalanced movements and gestures that the text could 'float over'. To that extent the project was conceived, in the first instance, as movement-based visual theatre. At the end of the three days, Nougarede and McGown produced two intriguing and entirely independent sequences of images, with the photographs capturing close-up detail of the figures and the sketches and paintings picking up on underlying mood and atmosphere.
Photo © Magali Nougarede, 2002
Sketches © Lindsey McGown, 2002
After an imtermediary phase where possible approaches to developing text for the piece there were explored, this first period of research and development was concluded with a day working with actors Jonathan Cullen and Jo Howarth at Komedia, Brighton.
Above: Jonathan Cullen and Jo Howarth.
Untitled (exposure 1)
January 2009
Work on the text for this piece resumed in late 2008 and this new material was presented as part of malt(ings) extr-acts, a day of scratch performances held at Farnham Maltings in Surrey, showcasing works in progress. The text returned to the same basic scenario: two figures in red leather wingbacked armchairs. Well-received by the audience, this performance was directed by Elizabeth Newman and performed by actors Cary Crankson and Kathryn McGarr.
Photos © Lesley Brewin