Wednesday, November 18, 2020

Odd Lot Theatre Company

 

Despite autumn seeing us going into a second lockdown, we have been as productive as restrictions have allowed. 

Here we all are via the medium-of-no-choice:-



The summer months resulted in seven, short, socially distanced films on the theme of “Odd”.   A three minute compilation of these was submitted to a Documental Theatre project as “Odd Stories: New Narratives on the Trajectory of Life”.   Our first foray into the public domain! http://documentaltheatre.co.uk/

Then another opportunity.   A big thanks to Diverse Artists’ Network for providing an amazing evening of entertainment on 16th October at the Centre of Gravity Art Space. https://www.centreofgravity.uk/timetable.   Andreea Gheorghe and myself were delighted to be included in this. We performed extracts from the above, including:  Rebeccca Braccialarghe’s “Odd, Odd, Odd” which perfectly  captures  our ethos; Liz Cashdan’s evocation of lockdown in her “Passover 2020,  Andreea’s “Friday Night” and my “Oddly Enough”.   

It was a great evening,  albeit a strange experience performing again. This was all a bit last-minute and I know that all the other “Oddments” as Liz calls us, would have enjoyed it as much as Andreea and I did.    I felt it was so much easier to communicate directly to a live audience rather than to a camera and   I have a lot to learn in that respect. 

All told though, these last few months  I have been  so, so grateful for  the hard work undertaken by  Andreea and Poppy Jermaine in pulling us all together film and technology wise.   Also Liz Cashdan for charging our creative batteries on a regular basis with her writing exercises. And of course Liz, Louisa Fearnley and Poppy for taking on the business of Zoom hosting over the last few months. But a thank you to every one of my Odd friends for helping me keep body and soul together this year.

And we have a Facebook Page!    https://www.facebook.com/OddLotTheatreCompany.  Currently this features our DAN performance and Rebecca's wonderful "Odd, Odd, Odd".  All our  films  will be posted there shortly. 

Our current work in research and development is “R.I.P.” (working title) directed by Poppy.   The action revolves around a contentious, community mural commissioned during Covid restrictions in a provincial town.  The message of the mural is mysteriously subverted by graffiti on a regular basis drawing together the competing perspectives and experiences of local residents and tradespeople.  All this is likely to be filmed rather than live performed.   

I continue work on “Age Queer” – or the more likely title - “The Queering of Age”,  inevitably to accommodate the Covid experience.