Storm.2: Things come apart

Mike Brookes, Mike Pearson

Research output: Non-textual formPerformance

Abstract

‘Storm.2: Things come apart’ realised a propositional public performance of material drawn from extensive research into the events and participants of the Cardiff riots of 1919. The resulting public event offered an informal ‘autopsy’ and narration of the events of four days and nights of vicious rioting in Cardiff in June 1919, within the meeting hall of a city centre chapel of the period and still standing at the heart of the effected area – using only the unfolding newspaper reports, court records, personal statement, photographic images and street maps from the period.

The project built directly on the authors’ research and expertise in located, multi-site and intermedial performance practices, with an initial focus on the approaches and achievements realised within his long-term collaborative relationship with National Theatre Wales (NTW). The work was commissioned and produced by NTW. And was the second of an exploratory series of publicly commissioned works staged within ‘The Storm Cycle’, developed and presented at various scales across Wales, within Brookes’ three year engagement as Associate Artist to the company.

Research questions include:
In what ways might located and context-specific live art practices be engaged to expand and enhance approaches to the large-scale staging of discursive and narrative theatrical material?
In what ways can advanced techniques of alternative performance practice reveal approaches to the staging of additional forms of writing, such as philosophical texts, or newspaper reportage?
How might approaches to spatial design and contemporary media and technology use be employed to support the form and dramaturgy of such stagings, and to enhance an understanding and appreciation of their event for audiences?
In what ways can long-term practice-based research inform and extend the production practices of theatre-making for both professional and public benefit?
Original languageEnglish
Publication statusPublished - Mar 2018

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