Damaged
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Damaged started as a conversation between myself and the Director Stuart Murdoch in late 2006. We were both interested in exploring monologues in theatre and the concept that what is said live by a character on-stage often differs from what they really think or feel inside. We were also curious to explore how we could develop a more intimate relationship between our characters and our audience and decided that the use of headphones was the perfect tool for returning the monologue back inside the head. Whilst watching the actor live on-stage the audience would hear a pre-recorded sound-scape through the headphones that would be improvised from the rehearsal process and would conflict with what was being played out live in the theatre space by the actors.
Coming together in a series of intensive week long investigative workshops throughout 2007 and with the support of the Arches Theatre in Glasgow Stuart and i discovered that a family was the most complex vehicle for telling our story and would give us lots of scope to play around with characters who found it difficult to be honest and to say how they really felt to one-another.
I took on the role of big sister Jackie and we then cast five other performers in the work. Over a two week intensive rehearsal period we devised an experimental high risk piece of work that premiered at Arches LIVE in September 2007 to a sell out audience. Using sound, light, movement, photography, visual art, music and film the work followed the breakdown of a family as a result of grief and explored how if not careful being locked in ones own grief can have detrimental effects on the individuals left behind.
A life is a very precious and fragile thing – we have the choice as to what we say and do during it…