HELL IS BACK…

Drunken Chorus are pleased to announce the online release of the full length video of their most recent performance piece, AND HELL FOLLOWED WITH THEM

***PLEASE NOTE: For best results we recommend you watch this video with headphones or through good quality speakers, due to the heavy bass sound levels. We also recommend you change the YouTube settings to 1080pHD.

AND HELL FOLLOWED WITH THEM is a horror performance by Drunken Chorus, with sound design by Steve Kilpatrick.

To find out more about the project, and to read about the making process, visit the AND HELL FOLLOWED WITH THEM blog space.

Filmed by Sheena Holliday and Adam Greenwood (Crestfallen Productions) at Junction in Goole.

The projected was supported by The National Lottery through Arts Council England funding, as well as Live at LICA, LANWest, Junction, Testing Grounds, China Plate / Pilot and Proto-Type Theater / Sunday Lunch Club.

Drunken Nights in the Big City

We’re working on something new…
Something big and ambitious!

We’re planning a series of curated platforms, featuring performance work made specifically for public houses. There will be three or four evenings, all in London pubs, showcasing around 30 short pieces of work (under 10 mins) by emerging and early career artists. We’ll be looking for work that responds to this specific environment, considering types of audiences in bars, histories of live performance in pubs etc.

After that, we’re hoping to select three artists / companies to receive development support from Drunken Chorus, mentoring from a professional practicing artist, rehearsal space and a production budget. These three pieces of developed work will then form a whole evening of performance, which will be shown at pubs in London and around the UK – perhaps even internationally.

All of this is (as usual)  funding dependent, so please keep your fingers crossed for us. We hope to be able to stage the performance events in Autumn 2012, with the developed work touring in late Spring 2013. We’ll be making further announcements in July. In the meantime, get your thinking caps on and start considering how you might make work that would engage with a pub context. PLEASE NOTE: we are not looking for straight theatre / plays to be performed in pubs. We’re looking for performance work that is playful, challenges conventions and breaks rules. Above all we’re looking for work that is created in direct response to public house environments.

If you think you’ll be interested in submitting a proposal when the time comes, please feel free to get in touch with us now with any questions. You may also wish to invite us along to see your existing work if you have performances planned in the UK over the next few months – this will help us with our selection process. Email: info@drunkenchorus.co.uk

#20: you remember the bright lights and the golden sands… (day _)

You remember the day when you all first met.

You remember filming on the beach.

You remember passers by laughing at the horse’s head.

You remember playing games – la la la, wink murder, granny’s knickers.

You remember lists, stories and detailed descriptions.

You remember hail and snow.

You remember fish and chips for lunch.

You remember the rehearsal room, with its weird carpet and poor blackout.

You remember the audiences.

You remember the lights.

You remember the blackout.

You remember the bow.

You remember the get out.

You remember the goodbyes…

(BRIGHT LIGHTS and GOLDEN SANDS was performed by More Dukes Youth Theatre on 14th April 2012. The project was filmed by Sheena Holliday, and a documentary following the project is being put together by students at LICA. We hope to post these videos here, along with photographs of the show, very soon. If you would like to know more about the work, or if you are interested in booking Drunken Chorus to create similar projects for youth and community groups, please contact Chris Williams – chris@drunkenchorus.co.uk)

#19: you imagine the finish line, finally coming into sight… (day 6)

A final late night of preparations before the final day, and the big night. Before we fall into bed for one last night of anxiety, worry and equine-based dreams, here’s a sneak peek at what the programme notes will say for tomorrow night… (this is a first draft, fuelled by a few glasses of vino, so please ignore spelling mistakes, bad grammar and any nonsense sentences that might have found their way in there!!)…

… … …

Over the past two weeks, performers from More: Dukes Youth Theatre have been working with theatre director Chris Williams, and with filmmaker Sheena Holliday.

To begin with, the group explored their favourite places around the local area – Happy Mount Park, the stone jetty, the beach, a statue of Eric Morecambe. They then went out into the town to begin filming these places, each having the opportunity to operate the camera, and each featuring in one shot disguised as a horse!!

They then began to think about what these local places remind them of – stretching their imaginations as far as they could, until the Superbowl became Las Vegas, Eric Morecambe became the statue of liberty, the Polo tower became the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Through improvisations and devising sessions, the group then layered their imagined places over the top of the video footage of the real places that inspired them.

The resulting performance is full of material created by this passionate group of young people. It is often funny and frequently absurd – but above all it is a fun exploration of the performers’ attitudes towards the places they live in, and the places in which they long to live.

Professional theatre companies can sometimes spend years making a piece of work, and yet these performers have had a total of just 7 days to make this show. They have shown a great deal of commitment, hard-work and talent, and can be incredibly proud of what they have achieved.

#18: you imagine a load of horses… (day 5)

Today’s blog is brought to you by Sheena Holliday – CLICK HERE TO READ!!

#17: you imagine televisions and wardrobes… (day 4)

Today was a day for hard work. I’m feeling exhausted. But the group (More: Dukes Youth Theatre) still seem to be on top form. I keep reminding myself that we’ve only been working on the piece for four days – but we have about 35 minutes of material (40 by the end of tomorrow morning). That 40 minutes contains various dance sequences, long texts, constant film projection, restagings of famous movies, a talking horse, and lots and lots of mess.

Tomorrow we’ll finish making the piece, ending the day with a rough version of the full show. In the evening, Sheena will arrive with the finished film footage, which we’ll work into the piece throughout Friday. And then on Saturday we’ll have the day to tweak things, and to improve lighting, sound etc. Or at least that’s the plan…

When you’re working on a project like this – away from home, staying in somebody else’s house – you lose all connection with your normal day to day life, with reality. You don’t check Facebook as much. You don’t receive mail in the post. You don’t get time to be bored, or watch television. You don’t have the chance to watch the news or read about what’s going on in the world. All you talk about or think about is the project. You try not to neglect your loved ones but it’s difficult. You answer text messages late. You miss lots of phone calls. You don’t eat properly. You keep your clothes in a suitcase, or in a bag, or sometimes just on the floor. You forget how to talk to people outside of the rehearsal studio. You find yourself desperate for rest, for sleep, for a comfortable bed.

No doubt when the project is over I’ll have difficulty adapting back to normality. But for now, I’ll keep on missing television, spare time and regular sleeping patterns…

It’s almost time to roll into bed again now, for more dreams of horse heads, the Statue of Liberty and the bright lights of Las Vegas…

All for now.

x

(PS – Don’t forget, you can see BRIGHT LIGHTS and GOLDEN SANDS for free – CLICK HERE for more info…)

#16: you imagine the foreign languages… (day 3)

Today we danced…