Archive for August, 2007
Sunday, August 26th, 2007
Heiner Müller calls Hamlet “the dane prince and maggots fodder”, but what has really turned to maggots fodder in our production is Hamlets shirt: Hole upon hole upon hole… The shirt is also full of blood (stage blood – don’t worry), so it needs to be washed, but we are worried that if we chuck that shirt into the washing machine it’ll come out as rags… Only option? Stitch! This wasn’t quite why I wanted to be a director. Taking into account the pain in my hands, I can’t wait to be rich and successful and in a position to afford costume designers… But hey – who wouldn’t stitch a couple of stitches if their stitching would be proudly presented on stage in the land of camels and pyramids?! Only 5 days until Imploding Fictions are off to Egypt, and no success on the skull-front yet. Unfortunately, despite my excellent stitching skills, I can’t conjure up a skull with needle and thread, so please let us know if you’ve got one to spare! Auch – bloody needle…
- Øystein
If you want to know more about Imploding Fictions, check out www.implodingfictions.com.
Tags: Øystein, Brager, Cairo, CIFET, Egypt, Experimental, Festval, Fictions, Hamletmachine, Imploding, International, Performance, Philip, Sewing, Stitching, Theatre, Thorne, tour, Ulsberg
Posted in The Hamletmachine | No Comments »
Sunday, August 26th, 2007
In a week from now we’ll be in Egypt… which is a slightly surreal thought when wandering through drizzly Sidcup to our rehearsal room. We’ve made some changes to the show. We’ve taken out some of the more complicated and technical set devices (which unfortunately also means scrapping the ultra cool, gesture controlled ‘hamlet-machine’, sorry Basti) to make the show more tour-friendly. Within the new limitations we’ve actually found some rather nice solutions and new methods of staging stuff and we’re excited to see how they will work… There’s also been lots of rummaging through prop and costume stores, trying to salvage as many of the original production’s items as possible… Many of these have been un-lovingly stashed away and the indispensable fake skull turned up in pieces. Our skull scouting expeditions to Goth shops, magic and theatre stores have been unsuccessful, and desperation has driven us to contemplate the option of paying a nightly visit to a cemetery with a good shovel. If you have any ideas as to where we can get a skull let us know ASAP and the deed may yet be avoided. When it comes to the purchasing of standard theatrical utensils London is a cursed city. On a previous occasion we found it impossible to locate a red nose in any one of the cities’ five-zillion joke shops. Still no news as to which venue in Cairo we’ll be performing in…
- Philip
If you want to know more about Imploding Fictions, check out www.implodingfictions.com.
Tags: Øystein, Brager, Cairo, CIFET, Egypt, Experimental, Festival, Fictions, Hamletmachine, Heiner, Imploding, International, Müller, Performance, Philip, Skull, Theatre, Thorne, tour, Ulsberg
Posted in The Hamletmachine | No Comments »
Sunday, August 26th, 2007
For the first time in our lives, we are performing in Africa! How come? Imploding Fictions’ production of The Hamletmachine got invited to the Cairo International Festival of Experimental Theatre, which is taking place from the 1st untill the 11th September. So in two weeks time, Sammy Metcalfe and Hannah Boyde (the performers) and Oystein and Pip (the directors) are going down to Egypt. We are all very excited, obviously! We want to thank everyone who participated in making the original production at BAC. Without your great effort, we would never have made this achievment! Now how about this: The main scenic element of the show is a huge pile of sand, which Sammy is sitting on and digging hidden objects out of. Now we get to perform this in sand from the Sahara! Wish us luck, and keep your fingers crossed for two good performances in Egypt!
- Øystein
If you want to know more about Imploding Fictions, check out www.implodingfictions.com.
Tags: Africa, Øystein, Brager, Cairo, CIFET, Egypt, Experimental, Festival, Fictions, Hamletmachine, Heiner, Imploding, International, Müller, Performance, Philip, Theatre, Thorne, Ulsberg
Posted in The Hamletmachine | No Comments »