No.1
The Plaza
Glory
I
am watching two women wrestling each other on the floor.
It
is violent, awkward, voyeuristic and a little pathetic.
I
feel complicit; in not intervening, in just watching.
One
of the women calls the other “a cunt”.
Just
as spandex clad pro-wrestlers grandstand for the crowd,
there
is perhaps showboating:
Look
how shocking I can be.
How
loud I can be.
Like
the junkies you see screaming at each other on the market place
observed
from a safe distance
Clutching
cans of triple strength, volume making up for actual violence
But
there is some actual violence here, I think
Certainly
limbs and elbows and teeth and curses.
I
am in a pub in Peckham, on a Saturday afternoon.
Endurance
I
am watching two women wrestling each other on the floor
It
feels violent, awkward, voyeuristic and a little pathetic.
I
feel complicit; in not intervening, in just watching.
One
of the women calls the other “a cunt”.
Just
as spandex clad pro-wrestlers grandstand for the crowd,
there
is perhaps showboating:
Look
how shocking I can be.
How
loud I can be.
Like
the junkies you see screaming at each other on the market place
observed
from a safe distance
Clutching
cans of triple strength, volume making up for actual violence
But
there is some actual violence here, I think
Certainly
limbs and elbows and teeth and curses.
I
am watching GETINTHEBACKOFTHEVAN perform “No 1 The Plaza”
at
Cambridge Junction.
Where
Art Meets Life.
Artifice
I
am watching two women wrestling each other on the floor
[there
is a white wash on the stage]
It
feels violent, awkward, voyeuristic and a little pathetic.
[I
know there is more lighting, because Lucy and Jen have been cycling through the
lights, controlled at the back of the stage]
I
feel complicit; in not intervening, in just watching.
[so
I know I’m at the theatre.]
One
of the women calls the other “a cunt”.
[Because
I can see the mechanisms of the theatre exposed on the stage.]
Just
as spandex clad pro-wrestlers grandstand for the crowd,
there
is perhaps showboating:
[like
swearing]
Look
how shocking I can be.
[but
undercut by humour]
How
loud I can be.
[but
undercut by humour]
Like
the junkies you see screaming at each other on the market place
[but
undercut – or reinforced – by repetition]
observed
from a safe distance
[like
a theatre seat]
Clutching
cans of triple strength, volume making up for actual violence
[do
you see what I did there?]
But
there is some actual violence here, I think
[I’m
drawing attention to the mechanisms that we use]
Certainly
limbs and elbows and teeth and curses.
[and
we can certainly see a lot of those]
I
am watching GETINTHEBACKOFTHEVAN perform “No 1 The Plaza”
[a
performance]
at
Cambridge Junction.
[on
the stage]
Where
Art Meets Life.
[on
the stage]
The
banal
I
am watching two women wrestling each other on the floor
[there
is a white wash on the stage]
“Do me now”
It
feels violent, awkward, voyeuristic and a little pathetic.
[I
know there is more lighting, because Lucy and Jen have been cycling through the
lights, controlled at the back of the stage]
“Oh there we
are”
I
feel complicit; in not intervening, in just watching.
[so
I know I’m at the theatre.]
“Call that woman
in the second row a cunt”
One
of the women calls the other “a cunt”.
[Because
I can see the mechanisms of the theatre exposed on the stage.]
“These really
ARE the chairs from our kitchen”
Just
as spandex clad pro-wrestlers grandstand for the crowd,
there
is perhaps showboating:
[like
swearing]
“Get the fuck
out of my house”
Look
how shocking I can be.
[but
undercut by humour]
“You don’t
really mean that”
How
loud I can be.
[but
undercut by humour]
“You don’t
really mean that”
Like
the junkies you see screaming at each other on the market place
[but
undercut – or reinforced – by repetition]
“This isn’t
really shit”
observed
from a safe distance
[like
a theatre seat]
“Get the fuck
out of my house”
Clutching
cans of triple strength, volume making up for actual violence
[do
you see what I did there?]
“This isn’t
really shit, it’s Nutella”
But
there is some actual violence here, I think
[I’m
drawing attention to the mechanisms that we use]
“I hate you”
Certainly
limbs and elbows and teeth and curses.
[and
we can certainly see a lot of those]
“You don’t
really mean that”
I
am watching GETINTHEBACKOFTHEVAN perform “No 1 The Plaza”
[a
performance]
“We’re back on
the stage”
at
Cambridge Junction.
[on
the stage]
“It’s good to be
back”
Where
Art Meets Life.
[on
the stage]
“It’s good to be
back”
John, I love this. It’s utterly it’s own thing and yet it gives a real sense of the performance, sort of by proxy, almost infusing its spirit into the writing.
ReplyDeleteI think you might be really interested by an organisation called Open Dialogues that’s been running since 2008. They aim to shift the act of criticism (written criticism) into a form of performance or performative writing. Their mission statement is here: http://open-dialogues.blogspot.co.uk/2011/08/open-dialogues-critical-model.html
Hope it helps. And keep doing this. It’s brilliant.
Hi, I really enjoyed your bold response to the piece. :)
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