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Monday 15 July 2013

tidy carnage puts Motor Neurone Disease in the Spotlight

I’m going to start this post with an apology: I apologise to anyone who has sent me a Press Release in the last couple of months. I have responded to some of you, but not been able to reply to all of you. I have been busy as both an Actor and Graphic Designer, so I haven’t been able to find the time to blog - even about the productions I’ve been working on - but keep the releases coming!

Apology over, Kelly Smith, producer of 'dream//life', contacted me with details of the show, currently running at The Bike Shed Theatre in Exeter and it sounded really interesting, so here’s a bit about the company and the show.

Helen Cuinn in 'dream//life'

Tidy carnage, is a new theatre collective from Glasgow, who merge new writing, movement and multimedia, and their current show, 'dream//life', is at The Bike Shed Theatre until Saturday 20th July. It’s a moving account of one couple’s experience of Motor Neurone Disease (MND) and has been developed in collaboration with Motor Neurone Disease Scotland.

Director Allie Butler was initially inspired by a piece of creative writing entitled ‘A Day In The Life’, written by someone with the condition. She further developed the piece by researching and talking to people who have MND or care for those with it. Performed by Neil John Gibson and Helen Cuinn, 'dream//life' became a piece, not explicitly about the illness, but about a relationship affected by it. The piece has been supported by Ovalhouse in London and The Arches in Glasgow, where the company presented early work in progress showings and received feedback from the venue, community and charity to enable further development. This development process certainly seems to have worked, as Arthur Duncan has given them a glowing review on Remote Goat: http://www.remotegoat.com/uk/review_view.php?uid=9970

Neil John Gibson & Helen Cuinn in 'dream//life'

The company has been in residence at The Bike Shed Theatre for the last two weeks and is collaborating with the local branch of the national charity, Motor Neurone Disease Association (MNDA), the only national charity raising awareness and money for research into MND and support for those affected, to raise awareness and support. Although the screening of the documentary film, 'I AM BREATHING' and their Q & A session have passed, there is still an opportunity for audiences who want to find out more about and support the charity, to do this, as there is a stall in theatre’s Café Bar where you can read and take away information.

Helen Cuinn in 'dream//life'

If you like their work, then you can also catch some of their work in progress before they leave Exeter. As part of their residency at the theatre, tidy carnage are collaborating with local writer Cally Hayes to create a new piece of Theatre. 'writer//collaborator' will be developed over a few days as the company give sections of text the tidy carnage treatment and then perform what emerges as scratch showings 18th-20th July (see the Bike Shed website for details).

You only have until Saturday to catch 'dream//life' in Exeter, but if you like the company’s work, then make sure you watch 'writer//collaborator' as you have the opportunity to be one of the first people to experience and provide feedback on their next show.

Links


The Bike Shed Theatre
tidy carnage on Twitter (@tidycarnage)
'dream//life' Remote Goat Review 
Motor Neurone Disease Association Website
I AM BREATHING Website
Ovalhouse Website
The Arches Website