A SHOW inspired by the myth of Medusa and pop singer Nicki Minaj today opens the biggest programme to date from contemporary performance festival Take Me Somewhere.
Notorious is pioneering UK/US performance artist The Famous Lauren Barri Holstein’s eye-popping exploration of depictions of womanhood in pop culture and the idea of the “female monster”.
Following the visually spectacular production at Tramway’s largest T1 space, Take Me Somewhere will host its launch party at Glasgow’s Old Hairdressers where organisers promise to be “invoking the spirit of the WitchBitch rituals” of Holstein.
Other highlights of the three-week festival include an Afro-Futurist performance party called Brownton Abbey, Brexit Means Brexit, a choreographic response to the collective mental health of UK residents since the Brexit vote, and Listening Party, a show where 30 teenagers from Glasgow will talk about their hopes and worries while singing and dancing along to their favourite pop tracks.
“Everyone I know who has seen Listening Party before has gone to see it twice,” says Take Me Somewhere’s artistic director LJ Findlay-Walsh of Icelandic choreographer Asrun Magnusdottir’s show.
“It’s completely informal and beguiling. It’s about this idea of mainstaging the act of conversations rather than performing or acting conversations.”
Also centring conversations from and about young people is In The Interests Of Health And Safety Can Patrons Kindly Supervise Their Children At All Times, 21Common’s “deranged disco” where children will be freed from adult surveillance and society’s reluctance to let young people take risks to “raise merry hell”.
The arts and social action organisation developed the piece with a large group of children in the run-up to the festival at Tramway, Findlay-Walsh explains.
“In Scotland we have a strong, radical approach to working inter-generationally and increasing participation, and I think 21Common really lead the way,” says Findlay-Walsh, noting the recent international success of The Ballad Of The Apathetic Son and His Narcissistic Mother by 21Common’s Lucy Gaizely, one of Take Me Somewhere’s constellation of associate artists.
Established in 2017 following the closure of The Arches, Take Me Somewhere strives to continue the searching, edgy spirit of that much-missed multi-arts space.
Findlay-Walsh and Jackie
Wylie, now artistic director of the National Theatre of Scotland, led the artistic programming there for seven years.
Whereas The Arches nurtured artists such as FK Alexander, Kieran Hurley, Gary McNair and Nic Green from the early stages of their development, Take Me Somewhere showcases artists from Scotland already at the top of their game such as Nima Sene, whose Beige B*tch looks at stereotypes in relation to black culture, and Amy Rosa, winner of 2018’s Adrian Howells Award for Intimate Performance.
In her three-hour performance There Is A Silence, Rosa will rest on a plinth of melting ice while visitors to the Glasgow University Chapel will be invited to chat with her about something; a memory, a belief, a habit – that they wish to let go of.
“There are all these beautiful things happening around the city,” says Findlay-Walsh, who also refers to Brian Lobel’s Binge, an interactive installation in which shoppers at Paisley’s Piazza Plaza can share a sofa with artists to discuss their favourite box sets.
“There really is the opportunity for the audience to happen across these pieces and for artists to engage in everyday life,” Findlay-Walsh says. “I think that’s very important. We are radical and innovative, but I don’t want people to get confused and think performance theatre exists in a silo. You don’t have to know the history of the form or anything like that.”
She continues: “We’ve managed to grow the festival year on year because of how easy it has been to partner with organisations and audiences within and outwith the city. There is really a desire for this kind of work in Glasgow, a ferocious appetite for things that are new.”
CONVERSATION is central to the festival, whether it’s informally at the Tramway bar – open late throughout Take Me Somewhere – or at events such as Live Art Lunches where people can get to know some of the artists over a light meal.
“It’s very informal, I make the cups of tea,” says Findlay-Walsh. “It’s a great chance for me to hear what some audiences members think about the work.
“If you were to invest in the whole Take Me Somewhere experience, a lot of it really is conversation. We try to create opportunities for informal discussions between artists and audiences and between artists from Scotland and elsewhere.”
Until June 2, venues across Glasgow and beyond. See the schedule and buy tickets at takemesomewhere.co.uk
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