A Crack
25 tracks for the zeitgeist
“In the dark times, will there also be singing?
Yes, there will also be singing. About the dark times.”
B. Brecht
This is one from the heart. It’s a love letter to Europe – specifically here Greece, the (patriarchal) seat of democracy – and a lament for what we have lost. I wanted to explore how we are experiencing global crises viscerally and the affect of these on mental health, even for those not directly affected by tragedy, for no human is an island…I started with the words insularity and freedom of movement, post-Brexit in mind. Created in London and Athens, the piece is a collaboration. I cannot claim sole authorship, for the performers’ own impassioned writings have found their rightful place within the text.
I conceive a crack as an LP: each track independent but structured to create a whole experience. Anna Furse
Funded by Arts Council England
“A rare and pleasing opportunity to see two mature female actors debating and embodying political ideas. Playful, stylish and arresting.”
Brigid Larmour CEO Watford Palace Theatre- Director
“The tone is elegiac at times and at other times, urgent and demanding. Twenty five scenes that continually shift the ground from under our feet.[…] physical, poetic, lyrical and disturbing. It is uniquely itself […] an elusively fluid text is immaculately communicated – the two actors are brilliant in their musicality and physical generosity. This is a haunting piece of art that speaks to us all now, and stays in the mind long after it’s over.”
Annie Tyson Actor, director, writer. Co-founder JBAT Theatre Studio.
“ [your] mixture of anger, sarcasm, sharp fear, humour and love. You stir them up, like in a brilliant soup […] I really appreciate the wonderful way you seek transformative presence for fear and anger.”
Roger Smith Independent scholar; Emeritus Reader in History of Science, Lancaster University UK; Honorary Fellow, Institute of Philosophy of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow,
“a work of great delicacy”
Edward Fox, Writer
Tracks:
01. TAKE OUR PULSES
02. THE OUTSIDE INSIDE ME
03. SYMPOIESIS
04. EUROPE
05. PLAGUE
06. ISLANDS
07. TAXED
08. WHEN CONVERSATION FLOWS
09. IN PASSING
10. NOWHERE IS A GOOD PLACE
11. PLATO’s CAVE
12. SMASHING PLATES
13. TRUTH
14. PLAYING
15. ARE WE BANANAS?
16. SLOW MOVEMENT
17. CLICHÉS ARE CLICHÉS BECAUSE THEY ARE REPEATED TRUTHS
18. DEMOCRACY
19. SOVEREIGNTY
20. FEAR OF THE DARK
21. EVERYTHING’S ON FIRE
22. THE FUTURE
23. TEACH ME YOUR DANCE
Concept, text, scenography, direction
Anna Furse
Performers/co-creators
Nicole Dimitrakopoulou & Shona Morris
Composer
Graeme Miller
Lighting Designer
Nao Nagai
Costume Designer
Berthe Fortin
Producer
Paula Van Hagen
Production Assistant
Perdie Bargh
Production Manager
Crin Claxton
Technical Operators
Graeme Miller, Nao Nagai
Production Photographer
Sheila Burnett
Greek Producer
Sozita Goudouna
Consultant on London Greek community
Angeliki Petropetsioti
Carpentry
Andrzej Stobinski
With special thanks to:
The Municipality of Filothei-Psychiko, Athens, Elysee Greek Restaurant, St Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, London, Jack Klaff, Wendy Houston, Mariangela Korma, Angeliki Molfetas, Maria Stamatopoulou, Efi Ververoi, Eleni Papadimitriou ,Elia Karamanou, Alexandra Bourgali, Jamil Luzuriaga Velsaquez, Paula Van Hagen and all of the team at Chats Palace for their support in deed and kind.