Arnolfini

I made it back home after tonight's work in progress presentation of The Middle Bit at the Arnolfini, but only just, my legs had pretty much stopped working.

Tonight I learnt an important lesson about pre-performance nutrition having basically run out of energy and gone all jelly legged before the show and thereafter visibly wilting during the post show discussion. Not even managing to get a beer down me before wobbling off.

I'm going to be doing a weeks worth of work on the show at the Arnolfini and then presenting a little work in Progress on the Friday evening in the Dark Studio. If you want to see the full show then you need to book your ticket for my performance on the 15th of May at 6:30pm in the Bristol Old Vic studio. For more about that show check this link - http://edwardrapley.co.uk/middle-bit-mayfest

It's going to be a pretty tiny audience so get your ticket this moment if you want to see the show- QUICK Book Here NOW.

On Saturday I tried to read all the news in all the newspapers that could be purchased from the newsagents near the Arnolfini. It was part of the We Live Here weekender. I then spent around thirteen and a half hours in the basement sitting in a comfy chair and reading. The results- I was hallucinating mildly after finishing, and had read all I ever want to read on the subject of Snow, had come to the conclusion that the only paper offering any actual news is The Financial Times, the rest are at best simply voyeurism, propaganda, pornography, stupidity, horror, filth and degradation.

Photo by Holly Dunham

What a weekend, it's been great, I have spent most of the last two days inside the Arnolfini in Bristol, watching and performing in their live art weekender: I am still your worst nightmare. My pieces both worked to a certain extent but not in the way i thought they might. Here is a brief run down of some of the performances I saw, in no particular order and utilising the conceit of a system of spurious awards...

The award for...

I had a mildly noteworthy experience the other day: it was sunny and I'd stopped off at the Arnolfini for a pint and to sit on the harbour side and read my book (Against Nature by Joris-Karl Huysmans) anyway upon finishing my drink I hopped off to the gents down in the basement, only to be confronted, upon the door of the cubicle, by an image of myself on a poster.

I'm going to be doing a couple of bits at this, it should be great fun. There will be some really great artists and performers there.

Last year’s platform, where 50 artists performed their own work for Arnolfini audiences, was such a success that we’re doing it again. I Am Still Your Worst Nightmare has been developed with Theatre Bristol to showcase new live art, experimental theatre, durational, installation and film work from new and established UK-based artists. Performances will be taking place throughout Arnolfini over the course of the weekend.

For the Sunday of IASYWN iw ill be performing two little pieces: one at 11am-12pm which will consist of me saying the first thing to come into my head when i see a person. Why on earth did i think that would be a good idea?

Then in the afternoon, 4:30 to be precise, there will be a game of Kind to be Cruel, where players can capture each other through acts of kindness.

Plus there will be a whole bunch of live art nut bars going wild all weekend.

Live art is the new live art.

Here's a video of my performance at the Arnolfini.

Right click on the links below and "Save As". The files are pretty large (500-700mb) so be prepared for them to take a while.

http://edwardrapley.co.uk/files/videos/TheLicensees-001-1.mov
http://edwardrapley.co.uk/files/videos/TheLicensees-001-1.mpg

The video was shot by James at http://www.fotosonix.com.

I've just finished watching the DVD of my performance of 10 Ways o Die on Stage at the Arnolfini on 12th of January 2008.

It was for one of the best nights of my life, in that it was the best performance that i have ever done.

Watching myself there on stage feels so strange, the video, by James of fotosonix.com, is excellent, but it really serves to demonstrate just how vital it is to be there at the performance to really understand what it felt like. A video document like this one can't capture the feelings i had, the warmth of the audience, it doesn't pick up the things i heard my mum saying during the show, all these things delighted me.

I'm really pleased that it exists and i will be using it to help promote the show but i can't help feeling disappointed somehow. Like i say in the show you can't go back. The work is for the audience in that space at that time, it isn't meant for anybody else, it resists being packaged and distributed by degrading, by going off slightly in the process of being filmed and viewed at a distance. In the same way that fresh vegetable wilt and bread turns stale.

There is an uncapturable quality to live work, what a shame, and thank goodness!