Quarantine's producer Sarah Hunter talks to us about Wallflower, which is at GIFT on Friday 4 May at BALTIC. You can drop in and catch this durational performance from 5pm until 10pm.
What can people expect from Quarantine at GIFT this year?
From Quarantine at GIFT this year people can expect a dance marathon unlike any they’ve ever seen before. On stage are five performers attempting to remember all the dances that they have danced in their lifetime. So far they have collectively remembered over 1800 dances…
Wallflower is a show about the ways that dancing can shape our lives. Everyone has a relationship to dancing, probably multiple different relationships at different times in their lives, and Wallflower encapsulates the complexity of what it means to move our bodies, to be in our bodies, to be in relation to other bodies. As the piece is created out of the live act of remembering it is different every time it is performed, so it’s hard to say exactly what to expect on the night. I’d say come and join us on Friday evening to find out for yourself…
Can you remember all the dances you’ve ever danced?
It's the first time you've participated in GIFT, why are you taking part this year and what are you excited about? We are excited about presenting Wallflower as part of GIFT 2018 because we love the ethos and the energy behind the festival. We’re pleased to be presenting Wallflower alongside performance films commissioned by Third Angel, and we’re looking forward to the Wallflower after party too - where the playlist will be made up of songs dedicated by the audience over the course of the evening…
For people who don't already know who you are, can you tell us a little bit more about the company? Quarantine are a Manchester-based theatre company. Formed in 1998 by artists Simon Banham, Richard Gregory and Renny O’Shea, we work with a shifting constellation of collaborators to make theatre and other public events that are characterised by their intimacy, fragility, and a forensic interest in everyday life. We work with both virtuosic performers and with people who have never done anything like this before - electricians, philosophers, families, soldiers, chefs, children, florists, opera singers and countless others. It's on-going exercise in mass portraiture. You can find out more about us at: www.qtine.com.
What else are you looking forward to seeing as part of the festival? We’re looking forward to seeing lots of other things as part of the festival - what a great programme for 2018. Some particular highlights for me include Present Tense by Adam York Gregory and Gillian Jane Lees; Composed by Rosa Postlethwaite, and Public Address System by Helen Collard and the Brahmari Ensemble.
Comments