Since I’ve not updated in however long, I’m going to have to really skim over things. But that’s okay I guess.
The past month has actually been really fun. I wasn’t able to start working on my dissertation until the end of April, but now I’m knee deep in research for it. I don’t want to explain what it’s about since I feel like my go to explanation just cheapens it. Instead I’ll say that it’s going to be a play about mental illness. Since it takes place in a mental hospital and deals with a mental illness that I’ve not got much experience with, I have obviously had to do a lot of research on it.
As most immersive projects do, it has started to seep into my everyday life where now I’m reading various mental illnesses into everyone/everything. It is haunting me. So of course every chance to get away from it is welcome.
One mode of escape I’ve been using is rehearsing for three plays I’m directing. They will premiere on June 3rd. They’re only 10 minutes each and I’m using the same two cast members for every show, so the rehearsals haven’t been arduous or anything, but they’ve been a nice way to change my focus. The shows are all a bit odd (they’re about internet dating, kidnapping, and sex dolls) but they’re fun to work on. I’ve also got a play I wrote premiering that day, but I’ve heard nothing about the rehearsals/casting for it so who knows how it’s going. I like and trust the director though, so I’m not concerned.
One thing I love about living in London are all of the things that I can do for free here. A good example is that in April I joined a website that gets you in to film premieres and screenings for free. I have only gone to one so far, but it was fun. The film itself (Pompeii) was absolute shit, but it was at a pretty posh theatre, they provided free snacks:
And the stars were there, including Kit Harington, whom you might know as Jon Snow if you watch Game of Thrones (if you don’t watch Game of Thrones and you aren’t my mother/don’t mind gratuitous nudity and violence, then I highly suggest you start!)
A few days after that, my friend Eleni and I went to see a retrospective on the work of Martin Creed. His art is very interesting, and I've enjoyed his work since I first encountered it five years ago. I was a student at Queen Mary at that point and went to see a piece of his (work #850) at the Tate Britain. It was just a person running as fast as they could through the gallery every 30 seconds. It was really interesting, frankly. So of course I was excited to see him again. Also I was excited because one of the pieces that was being displayed was A ROOM FULL OF BALLOONS.
Here is Eleni in the room:
IT WAS SO MUCH FUN.
Next up was that I saw The Horrors. They're one of my very favourite bands (some of you may remember that Caitlin and I followed them on tour when they first came to the US 8 years ago) and they were playing at the 100 Club. I was so excited that a band that sells out pretty big venues regularly was playing such a small venue and that tickets were only 10 pounds. They did it as an album release party and it was SO fun. Their shows are always so great--I highly recommend seeing them if you get the chance. I adore them. I might be seeing them again this summer too, which is super exciting! They're so lovely to see live.
Later in May brought a lecture by Slavoj Zizek, who is just wild to listen to. I'll give you a taste:
Now imagine hearing that sort of thing for two hours. Regardless of whether or not you agree with him (and please understand that I don't care if you do or don't agree) you have to admit that he's pretty interesting. His lectures are a bit funny too, so overall I'd say that I enjoyed myself. Plus it was free since it was my school that put it on, which is always a bonus.
ALSO I went to this thing called Hound Around, which was a fundraiser for a cafe that some folks are trying to open here that will allow people to dine while their dogs get groomed (it's called The Happiness of Hounds) and I got to play with a bunch of dogs! It was so lovely. I miss my dog so, so much. It was nice to have a few dogs to play with in her absence (though they don't replace her at all). I've no photos of Hound Around, so here is one of my dog:
Here she is with the giant teddy bear that she stole from my bedroom after I moved to London.
That brings us to this weekend. It's not over yet, but already the past few days have been tiring and crazy.
Yesterday I went to see a performance artist named Ron Athey in his show Incorruptible Flesh: Messianic Remains. He is a very well known, highly respected performance artist and I've adored for years. Unfortunately I've never had the chance to see one of his performances even though I've known several people who have worked with him. So yesterday was a real treat for me. I'm not going to post any photos because his work tends to deal with blood, nudity, anal penetration, and body peircings, which while it interests me, is something that I know that not everyone is comfortable with. So I will say Google him at your own risk.
Today I had two things to do: research for some songs I'm writing in the choir that I'm in and go see Birdland at the Royal Court Theatre.
My research was riding the 38 bus from Hackney to Victoria Bus Station. It was the easiest research I've ever done. And very convenient since the Royal Court Theatre is a stone's throw from Victoria station.
Birdland was just incredible. I had heard equally that people loved it and people hated it, so I didn't know what to expect but having seen it I am firmly in the "loved it" camp. Shame that it was closing night because I'd actually probably go see it a few more times.
It starred Andrew Scott:
AKA Moriarty from Sherlock
He played a rockstar named Paul. I won't go into detail since this is a blog entry, not a review, but I will say that it was an interesting look at an obviously mentally ill (but un-diagnosed) person who is surrounded only by "yes men". It is also a scathing look at the record industry and the effects of celebrity worship. It dealt with mania, paranoia, suicide, depression, drug addiction, hallucinations, even a bit of catatonia (that one might be me reading into it, though). I don't think I can stress how much I LOVED the show. It was so simple, but so, so beautiful. The stage actually sank and became flooded by the moat that surrounded it the more the character sank into his illness. Everytime there was a flash of light he either went into or came out of a manic episode. He was literally tied to the recording industry at one point. Beautiful use of symbolism. Just astounding. It's been 5 hours since the play ended and I've not been able to stop thinking about it. It was nothing like what I thought it would be, but in all the best ways possible.
Since this is my blog and whateva whateva I do what I want, here are lots of photos and videos related to Birdland:
It's one of those shows that I just want to relive forever. It's incredible.
Anyway, tomorrow I'm volunteering all day at the Hornsey Street Festival which should be lovely, but incredibly tiring. Monday is choir rehearsal and I'm getting my headshots done for free (yay!). Tuesday my shows are opening, so a good chunk of the day will be devoted to just getting them done. Should be a tiring but productive and fun few days!
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