25th May - 13th June 2009
Written and directed by John Harrigan
1957- Seascale, the North of England. Cirxus is an old English circus lost in the shadows of the smoke stacks of Calder Hall, the world's first commercial nuclear power station. FoolishPeople will use mythology, shamanism, music and dance to bring the darkness of an atomic circus to life. The performance will allow audience members to step into the world of an old English circus lost in the 1950s, explore its sideshows and meet extraordinary characters from the past and future.
Athalia the ballerina waits in the ring for Loudon the Clown to return with directions to the Black Pool, the mythic site of the Home Sweet Home, the final show of the season. Join her as she begins a bizarre and wondrous search for Loudon through the irradiated secrets of Cirxus, where she must face the macabre atomic menagerie, haunted by circus animals and navigate her way through the maze of strange, hallucinogenic sideshows on the other side of time. Immerse yourself in the world of Cirxus, where theatric arcana and Atomic fallout irradiate the sawdust arenas of our inner worlds.
Presented by FoolishPeople Written and Directed by John Harrigan
Creative Team John Harrigan Lucy Allin Victoria Karlsson P. Emerson Williams Claire Tregellas Tereza Kamenicka
This was a promenade performance in Arcola's new industrial space, Studio K. Cirxus is based on fact: the German Bremen University confirmed that radioactive contamination by Americium-241 found in some soil samples taken by Greenpeace 11.5 km south of Sellafield, were 400 times higher than those taken 11 km from Chernobyl. 51 years on, the villagers of Seascale still live with the ramifications of the accident at Pile 1 of the Windscale Works Atomic Energy Factory.
Cirxus was FoolishPeople's first London performance run since the critically acclaimed Dead Language at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in 2007.
There was a lot more that was done behind the scenes, things in development that is yet to be released, and much that shall remain hidden, but here's a short list of what I had my hands in in 2007:
The year kicked off with a podcast and a declaration that "...we're going to be shaking things up in -07..."
Cognitive Dissonance Pod V: Corrode and Engulf
The folks at Alterati somehow let me slip into the kickoff of the Gspot podcast in the guise of Swami Swampa Vivaconundrum:
The G-Spot Pilot Episode
The G-Spot Episode #4 In addition to your loving host, this show features the voice acting talents of P. Emerson Williams and Anna Young, and the music includes much atmospheric material from Veil of Thorns and Ariana van Gelder.
The Fallen Nation Webcomic I completed one comic that looks like it may never be seen, storyboarded another which will not be drawn by me. No other comix on the immediate horizon, unless someone who wants to do something unusual in comic form makes a proposition.
Two audiobooks, and another started:
The Incunabula Papers- Platinum 20 Year Anniversary Audio Book Edition
El Centro & OMEGA: The Audiobook
Fallen Nation: Audiobook Prologue (Chapters shall be released in regular episodes.)
Three musical releases:
Manes - How the world came to an end vocals and sound structures,
subQtaneous - Some Still Despair In A Prozac Nation, vox, psychovox, guitar, cello,
Veil of Thorns - Cognitive Dissonance all but the drums, which were supplied by the mighty James Curcio.
The current project ("Stalker Variations") was commenced, and I should be starting the posting of the painting stage this month.
Did we shake things up? It was a tough year for a lot of us, but things were put in motion that will bear sweet fruit and we all know ourselves much better than ever. What I want from myself this year is for me to be more communicative with all of you, rather than just showing up now and then to throw media at you and disappear into my batcave again.
There is nothing but love here, after all.
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