Poem: ...LovePasionLovePasion...

It's not like that. It was, but it's not like that now. React and react and react and react and react; pushing leads to being hurt. Eyes meet across a room; there is something in that, a flickering, firing sensation in the stomach, an exciting rush, the cool rush of night air, the crease at the corner of a lip, and then the eyes drop slowly to the floor, and that feeling fades like the moon at dawn. But it pulls you in, a tide across a shore drawing tiny grains of you back out with it, inching away at you, shrinking you with each lusting wave, to drown and drown and drown and drown and drown; a fuck. More than that. Cold words like harder, yes, don't stop, and fuck me. Yes there cold words, but cold words on warm breath, warm breath into burning ears; Sweat and matted hair, cloying hands on hot, sweet tasting skin, rhythm is everything, and everything is rhythm, just before the whole world seizes and it your both just blood rushing, muscles clenched and sighs caught in the throat, your no-one and everyone, nowhere and everywhere for a fraction of a second. And then? Well, then it's just a fuck; like the sand you're just carried away and washed up on a different shore, the mystery gone with another mystical moment. Now there are waves of guilt and uncertainty, questions and insecurity; as they build they become bitterness, resentment, hate, and worst of all, disillusion and boredom; a tsunami insurmountable gasping for breath as the rejection and disappointment fight each other to pull you to your death, to pull you down. Spare me another pull from this. I want something enduring, I want something that will last forever, I want that security and sense of purpose, I want that, need that feeling of hearts beating together, breath drawn in unison to last for a life time and beyond! An orgasm is an infinite second but love is a second for infinity, there is no reason in either but one has the grace of a child, and the other the leer of a whore. Just ten more seconds of this, please, count them so I can feel them slip away, and remember the quality of each one as it passes. But it's not like that. It was, but it's not like that now. React and react and react and react and react; pushing leads to being hurt. An orgasm is an infinite second but love is a second for infinity, and both these crimes hold a life sentence; but do I really deserve to pay this much for a lesson? I have suffered enough. Please spare me from this madness; I can't be alone.

Florence's Poem

Broken promises break your heart.

Broken heart breaks your trust.

Broken trust breaks your bond.

Broken bond breaks your secrets.

Broken secrets break your love.

Broken love breaks your marriage.

Broken marriage breaks your family.

Broken family breaks your happiness.

Broken happiness breaks your belief.

Broken belief breaks your faith.

Broken faith breaks your existence.

Broken existence breaks your life.

Broken life breaks you.

Broken you breaks promises.

Broken promises break you.

Expressive form

Tithau’n dad??!! Fuaist fyth yn dad!
Fy mhlant i oedden nhw…
O, mi fuaist yno, yn bresennol
Ond yn dad???!
Na… cancr yn llygru cnawd fy mhlantos bach
A sugno’u holl daioni, nes bod dim byd ar ol.
A phan oedd dim byd ar ôl, mi droiaist at un arall.
Gan adael llai na dim ar ôl.
Ac o garedigrwydd, o ddaioni, o gariad......mi ddes innau a’u bodolaeth, nad oedd bellach yn bod....i ben.
A thithau’n sefyll yno, gan feiddio dweud mai ti oedd eu tad!?
Ti, yr un a’m gorfododd eu gwneud yn rhywbeth yn nhragwyddoldeb rhag bod yn ddim yn y byd-
A thrwy hynny gwneud dy fywyd di ond mymryn yn wacach...gwneud i ti diemlo mymryn o’r hyn a deimlaf i......fy mod i’n ddim, na gwraig, na mam ma merch, a’m croth yn gwegian dan wacter.
Mwytho? Cusanu? Wylo dros y cyrff a greaist ti dy hun?
Na. Does dim pwrpas gweled mwyach. Paid a dod yn agos atai. A paid a mentro dod yn agos atyn nhw. Mae’n rhy hwyr nawr. Ac mi rwyt ti’n deall pwy sydd ar fai, yndwyt?

unit description. expressive form

I love you mummy. Not because you are good or kind but unconditionally because you are my mummy.

Dead. Murdered. Slain. Slashed. Scared. Tortured. Dead.

Turn around, open your eyes see what you have done.

Look upon their twisted bodies.

See their eyes rolled back, mad whites drowning in pools of blood.

Howls of pain etched eternally on their little faces.

No more to play carefree games of child hood.

No more laughter. Not more cries of mummy.

You say you can do this, but how, how can you Medea kill this part of you, your children? As you kill their life you pass on yourself a life sentence and I hope you hand in misery for your actions.

Medea's lament (Claude, Im, Danni)

from the outside looking in,

cast aside, with out him

all alone in this cold world

the earth, the sun and the sky

become my reasons why

All alone in this cold world

babies cry, they haunt my dreams

nothings ever what it seems

Golden bands are make believe

filled with hate and jealousy

A house, no longer a home 

all alone

she's got nothing more to give

no reason to live

                                                      x3

all alone in this cold world

Mark Thomas.

A while ago a comedian and political activist named Mark Thomas came to visit the uni and gave quite alot of us a rather rallying speech about the power that we have as actors and comedians. I don't think he came across as a scary man or someone who would cause actual violence to another human being.

In this article written by the Guardian he is named on a spotter card, that was dropped by police, as one of the people most likely to cause trouble at demonstrations. There is a series of articles surrounding it and they are all worth a read!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/oct/25/spotter-cards

Joe's Poem and Jon's song 27/10/09

Poem in bold. Song in italics.

The carnage and murderous rampage
That was unleashed upon them, by the women
That you will loath and detest forever more.
You will be left to grieve as a broken man with
A sense of helplessness that will run throughout
Your entire body. Tears streaming down, falling
From your face, sensing that there is a void
That cannot be filled any longer.

Cruel water
Murder on the flume
Cold anger
Bodies of the womb
I never thought I’d end up here
But cruel mother made her feelings clear
But cruel mother made her feelings clear

So tell me lies
Tell no truths
So I’m not broken
So I’m not broken

The look of disbelief and the shock of the
Double horror that lies before you, the
Two that you love the most. Lying there
Motionless, lifeless with a look of emptiness
In their eyes. That sends never ending emotions
Coursing through your body.

Eyes haunted by writings on the wall
Harsh echoes of what I’ve done before
But no praying will bring back what is lost
For cruel mother made me pay the greatest cost
For cruel mother made me pay the greatest cost

So tell me lies
Tell no truths
So I’m not broken
So I’m not broken

Indeed you cannot tell which would be easier to state,
All your love or all your hate for this woman
But what she has done to you and yours is
Truly monstrous and unforgivable, However always
think of them; think of the two that you have lost,
and remember them.

My Poem.

Down the Rabbithole.

Alice, Alice, hair of gold.
put her head through the hole,
in a field, full of poppys
beneath the sky of shepards delight.

Alice, Alice, blonde and beautiful.
Sitting, at the bottom of the hole.
Waiting.
Waiting for the white rabbit to appear.
And to take away the darkness, and her fear.

Alice, Alice, curiosity in her nature,
finds a potion and wraps her hands around it.
'Drink me' it explains
'I will drink!' she exclaims.

Alice cannot move.
Alice cannot breathe.
The rabbit has appeared.
But Alice cannot relieve -
the amount of her air from her lungs,
not able to sing a song once sung.
For this rabbit as we see,
is not all white and fluffy-
but covered in soil and earth,
and looks as if he has been through years of dearth.
Glint in his eye, and scars on his fist,
this rabbit bends down for a kiss.


I stop here, for now the reader realises,
the rabbit is not rabbit, but a man society despises.
A man who traps Alice in the hole,
serving to fufill his sick, sick goals.

My Poem

You are so far from being,

So distant from forming.

Not yet to breath, to feel or see.

In my soul I know your exsistance,

I love you and I can't wait for the day we meet

When big hand and little hand will greet.

Would it be selfish to bring you here?

To this world of rape, deception and murder?

This nightmare, a dark and grimm fairytale

in protecting you from it pages would I fail?

Beware the wicked man who wants to play with all little boys and girls,

Don't start a game of hide and seek and stay in the darkness for years,

Say no to stuck in the mud with you dad who who draggs you down,

never make believe your a fish with a woman who wants you to drown,

and do not play sleeping lions with mum and stay unmoving on the ground.

You are so far from being,
So distant from forming.
Not yet to breath, to feel or see.

And as you are so precious to me.

I'd rather leave you where you are,

and let you be.

The Murder of Baby Briana

Hello.

I simply typed 'Murder' into a search engine and the first result was this youtube video, a news item from New Mexico. It is particularly relevant and potent to the direction we are taking. It is definitely not light viewing but I recommend watching it. Click HERE to view.

Hello.

I don't know how many people watched Question Time on Thursday but it was absolutely gripping and really interesting. i know some of us are quite ignorant to politics but you should definately give this a chance to blow your mind away.

ENjoy!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00nft24/Question_Time_22_10_2009/

Yann Tiersen

Many people know of Yann Tiersen for his aurally stunning production of the Amelie soundtrack, please please watch it if you haven't already! However, his musical talents stretch beyond mine and most people's imaginations. He is a truly gifted man who had written and performed some of my most favourite and life changing (yes, he really is that good!) pieces of music.

I was lucky enough to see him when he came to Bath and my musical life has never been the same since, I didn't say a single word throughout (which is a rarity for me), instead I sat enthralled with my mouth wide open.

If any of you have spotify, if you don't I urge you to get it, check out his music, his entire back catalogue is intriguing and moving. Much like Pete with Philip Glass, he takes me to another place far far away from the world in which we live. His music is nothing like I have ever heard or I doubt ever hear again. He demands you to listen, I feel like I just have to sit and do nothing but listen. There is a certain piece which I am bringing on tuesday, that as soon as the first note is played my heart feels like it might explode.

Here are a few of his mind bogglingly beautiful tracks.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awtWSj_qTkE&feature=related

I am just about to watch the film as I have never seen it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-B-MvO1Byhg

he also does things like this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jeIY_yMQY-Y

Another band that are almost as good are the Penguin Cafe Orchestra and my personal favourite is this one, it makes me uncontrollably happy and just makes me want to jog about, so I do :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqBHWOzNBU8

xxxx

The Beauty of Philip Glass

Hello all,

Would love to share with you some of the most moving music ever made. Though I haven't listed the song that I will be bringing on Tuesday, all of these are by the same composer and anything he does, I love. I genuinely feel a rush at the top of my stomach listening to Metamorphosis 1, and the Hymn at Amenhoteps Funeral came on to my MP3 player whilst walking around tesco recently and it caused a similar affect on my attitude to that of death metal; suddenly I had a group of soldiers walking in step with and everyone had to move or be crushed by the devastating wheels of my doom trolley.
Joking aside, this music is transportive, imersive and, with each track seeming to have a narrative, almost a life, it is also intensely beautiful and emotional. I am not afraid to admit that when I first heard a track by Philip Glass i both wept and felt an enormous rush of power; this music is as relevant to me as a heartbeat.

Here are two videos. One for "Metamorphosis Part one" and the other for "dead things", there is also a link to Amenhotep's funeral, though please ignore the video as I think it is something to do with meercats...oddly. Enjoy.

Trestle's 'The Glass Mountain'

Hi all,

refering to Kyli's example of reinvention, Trestle theatre company are bringing their show, The Glass Mountain to Bath tonight and tomorrow night at the Rondo. Maybe see if you can catch the show, should be very worthwhile I imagine.

Bij

Criminal Justice

I have just finished watching the last episode of Criminal Justice, the entire series is utterly gripping and a wonderful piece of television. For those of you who have not yet watched it, I would urge you to do so. The acting is superp, most notably from Maxine Peake, who plays the lead role, and, the subject matter is enormously tragic. I believe by watching it, it will improve your understanding of tragedy, and most importantly your interpretation of acting for tragedy.

Enjoy, if you have the opportunity.

Funeral Blues by W. H. Auden

Here is a simply beautiful poem, for me it highlights the enormity of death. It emphasises how the tragic loss of a loved one will change your life forever and that from that moment on nothing in your life will ever be the same again.

I have a deep connection with this poem and found it extremely relatable to a lot of the exercises that we have been doing in class.

Funeral Blues

Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,
Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,
Silence the pianos and with muffled drum
Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.

Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead
Scribbling on the sky the message He is Dead.
Put crepe bows round the white necks of the public doves,
Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves.

He was my North, my South, my East and West,
My working week and my Sunday rest,
My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;
I thought that love would last forever: I was wrong.

The stars are not wanted now; put out every one,
Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun,
Pour away the ocean and sweep up the woods;
For nothing now can ever come to any good.

by W. H. Auden

The pain and sense of tragedy in this piece of writing is utterly striking,

I hope that you all can connect to it as much as I can,

xxx

Evil or addicted? 15 Abortions in 17 years.

ip dip dog shit hanging from a mothers tit,
if it squeals, let it go,
or
pop a pill and let it flow;
out of your body into a pile of dripping, deceased, dense, drooling blood.
Liam, age 6.

Round and round the garden like a teddy bear, one step, two step, abort it out of there.
Rosie, age 12.

This little piggy went to black market,
this little piggy stayed at home,
this little piggy got coat hangered,
this little piggy got stoned,
and this little piggy went wee wee wee wee,
more wee? no.
period? no.
baby in a bath of your abortion addiction? yes.
Lauren, age 7. Daniel, her twin brother, also age 7. Dominic, age 14. Peter, age 13. Saffron-May, age 12.

Ring-a-ring of roses, a pocket full of babies, in a tissue, a kleenex tissue, they all fall down.
Toby, age 4. Terri, age 3 and a bit. Alex, age 8. Emma, age 16.

Jack and Jill went up the fallopian.
What's so good about that?
Jack fell down and broke his crown,
the careless, clumsy brat.
Jack, age 15. Jill, age 15 months.

Baa Baa black kid, have you any pulse?
Yes Sir, No Sir, but I've got three bags full of brothers and sisters also pulse-less?
Robert-Ray, age 18 and his dead sister Joy, age 6 months.

Itsy bitsy baby climbed up the umbilical spout,
the medicine came down,
to throw her to the ground,
and flushed the baby out.
Mellani, age 2.

Old Mother Hubbard went into the cupboard and when she came out she was a mother no more.
Louise, age 10.

Mary had a little lamb, little lamb, little lamb.
Mary had a little lass,
her fleece was white as snow,
but she was an accident,
so she too,
had to go.
Florence, age 5.

By Lauren Gauge, age 20.
October 20th, 2009.

My heart.

My life is full of that thing called pain now.

I will never be happy again, for my heart can no longer feel, for my heart is no longer there.

Those demons called people took it away.

They raped it and murdered it.

My heart now lives in heaven.

Never to write in school books,

Never to ride on bicycles,

Never to splash in puddles on a rainy day,

Never to live, never to laugh.

My heart was my baby,

They took her away,

My baby now lives in heaven.

Poetic exploration Around Abusive themes.

A bed time story about drowning in guilty pleasures after dark. There is no logic there. So glad to see you well, after all this. Time. But no healing, there are no healing hands, just probing hands, searching through memory, no shielding children going deep or shallow, he comes out with a tiny, scared, crying child in his arms. Never grow up or out from this. Submit. Not a dream though i can't remember physically doing it. Not a dream, a memory. (Not a dream.) I would definitely wake up before that point.

(created using snippets of newspaper headlines, a song lyric, and personal response to material.)

I think this is a brilliant poem, I hope I get to use it at some point in class

When I was two I laid upon my cot
and closed my eyes to dream of fairies and their dust

At four I sat upon the knee of my father
of whom I did so willingly entrust

When I was eight that man I did trust
slid his hand upon my sex

I did not cry
I did not weep
it but became my oedipus complex

He looked upon my youthful face
with such a wistful eye
that man had killed the thing he loved
and so he had to die

He did not wear his crimson coat
for blood and wine are red
and blood and wine were on his hands
when they found him dead

The poor dead man who had murdered me
lay murdered in my bed


anonymous

My Poem

Children
Child
No matter what age, we are all someones child
But these children have been,
Strangled
Sold
Murdered
What have they possibly done to deserve this?
How can they defend themselves?
Innocence
Don't break their innocence

Bulgarias abandoned children

Hey

This was a documentary aired last year on channel four

It is an incredibly poignant look at the lives of abandoned children in the care system

This is a distressing example of abuse through a lack of knowledge and a lack of facilities, both mental and physical abuse ensues

Horrendous but very much worth taking the time to watch, there is also a second programme which revisits the children...

This is the link to Channel 4's website which also contains materials from the production team:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/documentaries/features/bulgarias-children.shtml

This is a link to part of the documentary on youtube, not sur eof it can be found elsewhere?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1V53U3XHOA

Kyli x

Hi.

Not massively related to tragedy or child abuse I suppose. But it fascinates me this sort of program…how do we know who we are? Regardless of religious or non religious belief the scientific exploration is fascinating!! I think!!

xx

Emma's Poem

How can there be no love?

One million innocent children helpless,

No way to escape or go,

The loss of trust in the ones you love most,

A terrible drunk causing six years of hell,

No consideration for innocent minds,

DISGUSTING

We're leaving, that's what she said,

Memories that will live in young minds forever!

Lyrics

Hi guys - Here are some lyrics that I came across, and thought were quite blunt and to the point of one person's numbness. I felt that these also fitted with the topics we have been researching/exploring within the last week.

Once again, I do not own these lyrics.

Hello.

"Playground school bell rings again
Rain clouds come to play again
Has no one told you she's not breathing?
Hello I'm your mind giving you someone to talk to
Hello

If I smile and don't believe
Soon I know I'll wake from this dream
Don't try to fix me, I'm not broken
Hello I am the lie living for you so you can hide
Don't cry

Suddenly I know I'm not sleeping
Hello
I'm still here
All that's left of yesterday."

Aimee Poem

One Day We Will See.....


This Fucking woman angers me shes given so much power,
she makes my skin cruel thinking about her for this hour,
I think she is just dirty fucking scum
and gives me those sickening feelings in my tum.
She captured in the papers her face with a smile,
but how did she get away with all this its gone on for such a while.
I have written this poem in my own words to express how i feel,
about this sickening fucking bitch she makes me so Ill.
What makes her believe she can take peoples rights away,
innocent young minds upsetting people in her own cruwl way.
People like her dont deserve to be around,
they doint deserve their own rights or to stand on their own ground.
You try to imagine what these families went through,
but from an outsiders position you feel selfish to be glad its not you.
These poor innocent chilldren will be left scared because of that,
and she does not hold her head in shame just gets pictured the fucking twat.
I hate this woman she is so cruel,
managing to this for so long, under her power, her rule.
Hopefully shell be locked up and set the world free,
and the families affected can get their lives together,


One day we will see.........

Bijan's Poem

A man forcing a girl of three to smoke, poisoning her little innocent lungs with the filth of his sick mind.

A woman in a supposed abnormal mental state, retaliating against men and life, a retaliation ending with the destruction of the things she as a mother should hold most dear; her children.
Destroying her innocent children's bodies with her temporarily sick mind.

Sick, Sick, Sick and shocking.
UNbelievable and UNacceptable.
The doubt that she was actually in any way ill causes confusion and anger.
Anger, anger, anger that these people could do such things.

'Can I have another one?' the little innocent girl of three says. You'd think she's asking for a sweetie or a piece of chocolate,
But the man chuckles, as he gives her yet another poisonous cigarette.

It is beyond my capability to comprehend doing such things to a stranger, let alone someone I know or love. It strikes the heart, tears it and destroys the soul so only one single thought remains.
Things will never be the same,
Things will never be the same,
Things will never be the same again.

Rosie's Poem

Voiceless- no one hears me

Voiceless- i call but no one replies

I remain unnoticed, invisable

Detained and stained by you

Forgotten and broken.....still breaking

Life is draining out, taken and never regained

A corner holds no protection- always found

Internally burned....burnt out.

Video

Ignore the cheesy music to go along with this link. but i think it is very interested to see how common it is For Mothers to murder their own flesh and blood. As well as seeing the photos of these children, it also tells you how they died. It gave me chills.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmBlYhjdRyg

Books

I found that reading 'The Child called it' and 'The lost boy' by David Pelzer really inspirational pieces of writing describing the true and honest responses of a boy who gets physically and mentally abused by his mother as well as the aftermath of the situation of going into foster homes.

If anyone would like to borrow them, just ask.
xxx

Swiss Lauren's Poem

'Heart races as she comes towards me'
Anger fills my body as i read,
'I am her prisoner'
Murdering the innocent,
Loosing my mind,
64000 is a number,
It is the number of woman that are abusing children.
Disgust.
Disapointment.
Disillusioned.
As they share their stories with the world.
Not understanding.
Too overwhelming.
Incomprehensible!
Not able to help them regain their childhood,
Their Innocence.
Their worlds are broken
As others live not caring.


Their are no words to describe this!

Trestle Theatre Company - "The Glass Mountain"

Hey





I have found a company called Trestle Theatre, they specialise in high energy collaborations with international artists to create highly physical story telling theatre that embraces a variety of cultural expressions.





Their current touring production is an adaptation of a Polish Fable "The Glass Mountain"





The modern reinvention of the piece transports the story ino the 21st century and follows the plight of a Polish Baker who boards a bus for England and gets more of an adventure that he at first bargained for - Looking in depth at contemporary stories of migration.





Trestle concern themself with encorporating the traditions of the people in the play order to create an autentic piece of theatre. The play is very much inspired by the traditions of Eastern European singing and music





Feel free to explore their website for further info on the company and their current touring productions they look absolutely brilliant,


/http://www.trestle.org.uk/pl155.html

Kyli x

Kyli's Poem

The plight of children who are denied adequate help and protection by the authorities


Those lingering scarred scars on the mind

Lasting damage, secretley inflicted, upon tiny body, tiny mind

Dispicable,

slipping...

Cross that line of trust absolute, pimping, raping, ravaging children

Thousands, millions

slipping
slipping...

Paeodophiles with the power over the outcome of that life

slipping
slipping
slipping...

Under the radar, into the abyss "Known to the authorities"

But left in the dark to fight off the beast

OPEN YOUR EYES

Kyli x

Claudine's Poem

Who can they trust?
In their minds who
Will keep them safe?
Look after them?
Protect them?
Not encourage them
to fill precious, minute lungs
With smoke, dripping with tar, nicotine,
Pure poison.
The three year old started crying,
So he gave her another cigarette.
I don't understand.
I cannot comprehend.
I am disgusted.
There is nothing to explain this tragedy.
Does the child feel safe to walk alone?
And not be snatched from the street.
Forced to exist, not live
As a captive slave.
Innocence, ripped and torn away.
Once saved, live a life of psychological
Torment, torture, blame.
The teacher with the fantasies,
The carer with the history.
Who, who can they trust?

Child abuse poem

(Based on Baby P's stepfather who also raped  a 2 year old girl)

He was so big

Full grown

Salivating

Pulsating

She was so small

Delicate

Broken

Ripped

Beaten to breaking point

Defiled

Flesh

Joe's Poem

How can someone grow up to be
sick, mental, twisted... wrong. No one
should have to suffer at the hands of
these people, no one.

They look regular on the outside, yet inside
they hide, horrible thoughts... touch, poke
kiss, cuddle caress. None the less it happens
right there and then under our very
nose, god knows what they would do
with the kids if left alone.

They need to be
Locked up for good, hit them with a plank
of wood, I don't care so long as they no
longer touch and stare. No more paedophiles
luring kids with their rag dolls and teddy
bears. Let them die and we'll see who cries
for them, No one, no one will cry for them
no one.

poem

If you’re human how is it possible to kill another?

You’re already older than she was,

And yet you know so little.

She wasn’t just strangled and wrangled,

She was chopped and mangled.

Just feel the presence of the person next to you,

Alive, warm and breathing.

Now see your hands, they are murders hands,

But they haven’t just taken life,

They’ve chopped it and torn it,

And still they wont mourn it.

You cold, callas, course, bitch.

As you kill life you kill yourself.

You are an incomprehensible, unfathomable enigma.

And I HATE you.

Link to Criminal Justice

The link for Criminal Justice.

Florence's Poem

To be fixed is to be broken,
To be innocent is to be corrupted,
To be touched is to be violated,
To be brave is to be frightened,
To be protected is to be hurt,
To be old is to be young,
To be safe is to be vulnerable,
To be healthy is to be sick,
To be trusted is to be suspected,
To be nurtured is to be abused,
To be strong is to be fragile,
To be repaired is to be damaged,
To be released is to be captured,
To be kissed is to be punched,
To be loved is to be hated,
To be a child is to be an adult,
To be an attacker is to be a victim.

Jon's Poem Week 3

Remind me of a time when people weren’t blind to what was most important. Life.
When did it seem ok to put yourselves in front of others? Adults in front of children?
Selfish needs ahead of honest ones? Your happiness ahead of someone else’s?
What gave you the right?

She drowned. You loved.
She was raped. You loved it, didn’t you?
Did he want you to throw him to his death?
My answer’s no but we can’t ask him now, can we?

You make them fight for a cause they don’t truly understand. Do they know what they’re doing or do they think it’s a toy gun they’re shooting in a playground of people who are pretending to be dead?
Do you have the right? NO!

Do you really know what’s best for your child? Do you really?
How about when Mr or Mrs Paedophile touches your daughter because that make-up you put on her and the short dresses you buy for her and the heels that she can hardly walk in really turn Mr or Mrs Paedophile on?

When did your child’s life become your own, to do with as you please? Was it when you stuffed him in a bin bag and waited for him to get crushed by huge metallic claws, rot on a waste dump and get pecked at by seagulls?

Do you feel their pain? Do you?
Do you have the right?
NO!

Steph's Poem

Here's my poem piece from today's class. 20th October 2009.

She saw your eyes,

Underneath the those tears you welled inside.

Why did she have to -

Cut up your perfect, little life.

I'm disgusted by all her lies,

She didn't do it just once, or twice,

She done it 100 times.

But not, 200.

She was clear of that, she mumbled that twice.

Over 100 lives destroyed and exposed,

Out on your, 'fun phone.'

What is fun, when a child is left,

confused and abused -

Left with your, messed up head.

You chose them because they were young,

You chose them because they were small.

Because they couldn't fight back,

Throw a fist, or push you against the wall.

You called it wrong and you called it vile,

Disgusting, Sick, and a little violent.

"The more photos I take, the more I get back..."

A sick cyber sex fling, that made a nation go mad.

The devil may smile, but you have sinned a sin,

Wearing a fake mask of kindness, as they taste fear upon their lips.

I fear for the world, and I fear for them,

I fear for you being set free to live again.

I hope you're caged, and not well fed,

I hope you starve of love and all good things said.

You've ruined too many beautiful lives.

You've left over 100 children with, a messed up head.

Steph x

Andrew's Poem Week 3

Close your eyes,
It's easier not to look.
Cover your ears,
If a life ends and nobody hears it
Does it make a sound?
Don't even breathe,
None of my business,
Is it?
See no evil,
Hear no evil,
Speak no evil.
Ignorance is bliss.

Kirsty's Poem

Thier eyes, like chocolate coins with the gold wrapper removed.
Never to see their mother's face again.
Never to see their father's faces- for he had two.
Never to open again to Rice Krispies.

Sister and brother. Father. Mother.
Yolanda and Theo lie side by side in a room of shattered trust.
Now dust.
At only four and two years old.
Their mother weaps for them, weakend, crushed under.
Whilst icy cold tears roll like thunder.
Down her cheeks and off her lips that used to kiss their heads goodnight.
They crash below on the even colder, icy bodies of her children.

'Separated'. Mum and dad separated.
"Dad"?
He is NO dad.
No daddy.
No Papa Bear.

No more bundles of joy.
No more of the "caring and happy" girl and boy.

Laughter once echoed throughout the walls of their flat.
Now no-one is ever going to hear that.

For they now rest in God's kingdom.
In the special place the Lord reserves only for children.
For all in this Kingdom have gone too soon.
Nobody in this garden had been ruined yet.
Their minds still pure, their breath still fresh, their bodies unscarred.
No-one to cause harm, or raise alarm.
Innocence. Safety. Caring and calm.
Now Protected for always in God's palm.

Jess's Poem week3

I find it sick,
I find it disgusting,
Poor, innocent children,
Abused, tortured and murdered.
Some by adults, strangers,
Some by even their own parents.
Why?
Yet some,
are abused by fellow children.
Little James Bulgur,
Lured away.
Not by an adult,
But two 10 year old boys.
Brutally beaten,
Left for dead.
This was over 15 years ago,
Yet in September 2009

Two 11 year old boys,

Beat, abused and tortured,
two boys younger than themselves.
Why?
The suffering and unimaginable pain,
these poor, innocent, helpless souls went through,
Is sickening.
It needs to STOP!

Sian's poem-Week 3

“Mummy was bad”
“Mummy was bad”
The words that echo through her brain.
The worst thing a mother could hear.
Horrifying, terrifying, traumatizing.
What makes a father kill his child?
He felt helpless.
He didn’t feel like he had a choice.
He didn’t want to live without them.
Love?
A haunting cocktail of rage, jealousy, revenge, hatred.
How can I possibly sympathise with that?
“Mummy was bad”
“Mummy was bad”
Their final words, Nina and Jack.

Reinvention Theatre

Hey everyone, here is one example of Reinvented theatre that I have found:

Charles Mee's The Trojan Women: A Love Story - a retelling of Euripedes' The Trojan Women brought into the modern world. It keeps the basic story of Euripedes' story using a Greek Chorus, Dance numbers, TV, bombs and sexual references, with the characters speaking directly to the audience through a microphone for the majority of the piece. The characters plough through their ruined and bombed city without food and water, their children and husbands dead before them. The set is visually bland, but the director's vision comnpensates for this, such as using bags of sugar to represent the babies, and when slaughtered, displaying sugar over the set. A power of love is stressed throughout the play between the women and their soldier husbands, with sources from musical theatre. It is not a political piece of theatre, but a powerful production that explores social foundations of war and questions why men fight.

Filter Theatre

Hello again!

The second piece of reinvented theatre that I have discovered is an adaptation of the Shakespeare classic, Twelfth Night, which was created by, Filter Theatre. The production was created in association with the Royal Shakespeare Company, originally being comissioned for The RSC's Complete Works Festival in 2006. Filter Theatre collaborate the classical verse, from Twelth Night, with riotous gig music to create an extremely accessible Shakespeare production, designed specifically for a contemporary audience.

Filter Theatre devise original and exciting work, as well as focusing heavily on reinventing theatrical classics. Past and current reinvented productions include; Brechts, The Caucasian Chalk Circle and Chekov's, Three Sisters.

To find out more visit: www.filtertheatre.com/?page_id=3

goodnight

x

reinvention

Hi!

My first example is of a company called Remain in the Light; I thought their new project, a reinvention of Waiting for Godo sounded fascinating. I feel they really wanted to ‘make’ work for a purpose, but with a consciousness of the original piece to make it relevant for audiences today. I also emailed the company and they replied with a lovely email beginning to give me an insight into their way of working but they said anyone would be welcome to email them questions…

My second discovery was of Theatre Encounter I thought their work was practically interesting because of their strong relationship to discovery through movement, with suddenly I realized is such timeless and also time specific language. Their next project is Everyman. “The core of the theatre is an encounter. [Grotowski] Smash. Recuperate. Drill again. We are the beginning and you are the end. Today we may be us, but tomorrow we may be you. The horror. The horror.”

I also first watched the revisit of this program which I found on the BBC iplayer but this is a link to the original program about Bulgaria’s Abandoned Children. I found it so incredibly overwhelming that I decided to use it as my world event but I thought it might be of interest in relation to the theme of child abuse in general….

Actors of Dionysus

Hello.

The Actors of Dionysus are a theatre company who, as you can probably tell by their name, specialise in reinventing the classic Greek dramas in order for them to remain accessible to modern audiences.
I saw the 2006 AOD production of Oedipus at the Ustinov and was seriously blown away. They used a newly adpated script by David Stuttard and a minimal, modern set which was split into several moveable parts to easily create different settings without blackout.
I found the reinvention particularly raw and visceral, mainly due to the stark simplicity of the piece and intense physical elements and interaction prominent throughout. It was brought up to date but still proudly presented the idea of chorus and, although the period was not specific, there were hints of historical context from the original. Please click here to find out more about this production and also explore more of AOD's work, including a recent reinvention of Bacchae.

The Young Vic Company

Hello There!

The first example I found of reinvented theatre is an adaptation of Harold Brigehouse's, 'Hobson's Choice'. The Young Vic Company comissioned British writer, Tanika Gupta, to adapt the classic. Gupta brings the comedy, originally set in 19th century Salford, to the present day. The adaptation follows British Asains, in Salford, working in the rag trade. Suprisingly Gupta rarely had to change the original dialogue; the classical language moulded beautifully with it's new contemporary setting. Gupta emphasises how important it is, when reiventing theatre, to honour everything that makes the original so special, she claims, "You just have to recreate it all in this new world whilst keeping true to the original." The production was first performed at The Young Vic in June 2003.

to find out more info go to: http://www.youngvic.org/whats-on/archive?id=29

goodbye for now xxx

Hello all,

Good to see your examples being added here - remember, everyone should have found TWO examples of reinvention. So carry on exploring!

Thanks,

Emma

Ukraine's got talent

hiya, 

on a slight tangent, but i thought this video was incredibly evocative;  it may help us in some way to think outside the box with regard to the form our reinvention will take.

video is from a contestant on ukraines got talent, believe it or not.  x

Reinvention Project Two: Woyzeck

My second choice of re-invented work is George Buchner's Woyzeck; a play about a low-class solider driven mad through the dehumanising effects of his social position. I became fasinated with this play when I was involved with a faild production at eighteen.
It was adapted and directed by Gísli Örn Gardarsson in 2008 as part of the Next Wave Festival. It was described as "a Woyzeck for the angst-ridden 21st-century, a stunningly visceral take on Georg Büchner's classic tale of honorable intentions gone tragically wrong." They employ music by Nick Cave, circus skills, dance and choral theatre to adapt the fragments of script for a modern audience. More information, including reviews and general description can be found here.

Some Links For Jstor

Here are some links that i found whilst researching my final essay for my FDA in Weston, i believe they are all available still though if not please ask as i have copy's saved and printed that i can e-mail to anyone interested. There are also a few links to websites i contacted at the time. Hope it helps!

• Characteristics of Child Sexual Abuse as Correlates of Women's Adjustment: A Prospective Study
• Assessment of Child Physical and Sexual Abuse Offenders
• Adult-Child Incest: A sample of Substantiated Cases
• The Social Context of Child Maltreatment
• Definition and Violation: Incest and the Incest Taboos
• The Impact of Childhood Abuse and Neglect on Adult Mental Health: A Prospective Study

And the websites:

• www.nspcc.org.uk In particular the article entiteld "what is child abuse?"
• www.napac.org.uk/ (National Association for People Abused as Children)

Peace!

Reinvention Project One: Caligula

Caligula, Albert Camus

Compagnie Art Maniac have reinvented Albert Camus's Caligula which went into production in July and august of last year. I love this play, and in fact, will be proposing it as an option for a graduation performance. I found this reinvention whilst researching for my proposal and thought then how incredible the video trailer (click link or see below) looked on You Tube. The original play, first staged in 1945, was set during the Roman Empire; Compagnie Art Maniac have bought it screaming into a modern and yet "timeless" space, to further highlight the political and philosophical relevance of the text to modern society and the seemingly emergent nihilistic, decadent, and self-indulgent culture. Furthermore they have radically re-ordered the staging, and introduced ellements of Physical story telling and Ballet as they seem to have done with all of their work to date. More information on this project can be found here (though this site is in french) and some reviews and general information, (this page has been translated) here.

Response to Charles Mee

Charles Mee seems to find an eternal truth in Aristotle’s meditation’s on the human character; that our culture and our identity and behaviour are inseparable, and hence, any artistic expression is a fuelled by, and composed of the same. If this were so it may be concluded that all art should speak of and to all humanity. With this approach it becomes impossible to reject something as inapplicable to a work; if it has occurred or entered the sphere of work in any way it has to be relevant. The resultant play produced by such a methodology could never be “psychological realism”, as this approach would not reflect the wider events of humanity and information, both historical and current; a play is not an event in time in the same way that a moment in life may be seen, it is rather time in an event; it contains, whether willingly or not, some element of all time. It maybe this omnipotence of information that removes the notion of originality for Lee, for if all of society, history and culture combine with psychology to create an individual, some element of us must always have come from the past. All that has been felt and thought by has doubtless been felt and thought by others; the uniqueness of my character arises not from the originality of my ideas but from the combination of those ideas in me. The same is also true of a play; so that whilst Steven Berkoff’s “Greek” is openly based upon the story of Oedipus, it is the presence of the current political, sociological and philosophical themes that gives the work any originality. It may be argued that an entirely new play could have been written, but this would not highlight the recurrent or rather constant nature of the human experience. It may be argued then, that to “reinvent” a classic text is to apply the current world paradigm to another times expression via the timelessness of the human experience.

Theatre Reinvention

Hello everyone,

The first company I found was Gecko Theatre, and like Danni, found out more about their production of 'The Overcoat'. The production has been inspired by Nikolai Gogol's novel published in 1842. The piece has been reinvented by the company in the form of a 'grotesque love story', and combines physical theatre with comedy and imagery. The company are based in the United Kingdom but internationally tour with their work. Use this link to discover more about Gecko Theater... http://geckotheatre.com/index_html?p=6

Corcadorca Theatre company produced a version on Eugene O'Neill's play 'The Hairy Ape', which involves an idividual struggling against the odds of life. This production by Corcadorca was highly visual and was a promenade piece moving throughout various unique locations. The company is famous for producing work in odd and bizzarre places. To find out more visit... http://www.corcadorca.com/pages/posts/the-hairy-ape43.php

Another Frantic

Hello all,

I, like Jon, thought of Frantic Assembly's version of Othello when told about this project, but I found another reinvention of Mary Shellys 'Frankenstein'. The theatre company performed and conceived this idea in 2008 and worked with Laurie Sampson, who works in Northamptons Royal & Derngate.

http://www.franticassembly.co.uk/pl26.html

That is Frantic's website but unfortunately it doesn't have a lot of information. Fortunately though I've found a blog for it on here which gives a lot more insight to the actual play itself.

http://frankensteinia.blogspot.com/2009/04/frantic-frankenstein.html 

I shall be back with another soon hopefully :)

xx

Reinvented Theatre- Complicite and The National

Here are two examples of reinvented theatre I found:

Complicité's last production, titled Shun-kin was inspired by two texts by Jun'ichiro Tanizaki and includes and all Japanese cast. The devised production deals with human relationships and highlights the shades of light and dark within them. The play is directed by Complicité's Simon McBurney but is performed in Japanese with subtitles and fuses music, Japanese theatre and puppetry. Here is a link to Complicité's webpage about the production here.

The second example is a modernisation of Shakespeare's All's Well That Ends Well, directed by Marianne Elliott at The National Theatre. The production is a tragi-comedy and is currently being broadcast in cinemas around the country following it's run at The National. Marriane Elliot has chosen to portray the darker fairytale aspects of the play. It is kept within the context and setting of the original play but items such as digital watches have been introduced into set, costume and props. The link to The National's website is included here on which you can find an interesting interview with the director.

Punchdrunk

Punchdrunk theatre company are a site-specific company based in London. They have been around for the last 5 years in various 'Non-theatre' venues around London such as disused factories, creating detailed atmosphere described as:

“A world so haunting that you feel as if you have entered a parallel universe.”

In 2007/08 they did a production called 'Mask of the red death'. This production took over the Victorian building of Battersea's Old town hall creating a macabre world full of Edgar Allen Poe's haunting tales. This production fused Poe's tales with physically, an immersive atmosphere, live performance and a world that the audience are free to explore and to follow any story line or actor they want to. This production was of an epic proportion with a large company and a large very believable atmosphere spanning several floors, basement to attic, from an opium den to back stage at a theatre to a banqueting hall. Stories intertwined and re-invented to create a magical, exciting and chilling world.

For more info go to:

http://www.punchdrunk.org.uk/about.htm

Repression of freedom and democracy

Hi all,

I thought I would share with you a video that for me is the face of the tragedy that is happening through repression in Iran at the moment. The video is from recent protests in the summer over the presidential election. It makes for disturbing viewing which involves violence and death.

Another video that also shows other scenes from the protest may give you a little more information on the background of these recent events.

Re-invented theatre.

Hi there everyone.

The two pieces of re-invented theatre I found where as follows.

The first piece was very a contemporary dance company called Tmesis (Tuh-meh-sis). Coincidentally their first piece and the piece that I researched is also called Tmesis. The piece is based on Aristophanes speech from Plato's symposium about the Origin of love. The essay can be found here http://www.anselm.edu/homepage/dbanach/sym.htm. From this link you can see snippets from the piece. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hkE8E8oKfw. I hope you can see as I did the progression of love and the struggles that the human being faces when experiencing love of any kind. The piece was previously re-worked by Linda Kerr Scott from Complicite.

The other piece that I found was Eugene Ionesco's Macbett. Ionesco's recreated Macbeth infusing elements of degeneration, malice, desire and fear to make an extremely comic yet tragic farce.
A very interesting interview with Ionesco can be watched here. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGOFBLHiVXU. I think his views about theatre and the world in which he lives are especially interesting. He was one of the initial creators of the theatre of the absurd. More information can be found on Macbett here. http://www.rsc.org.uk/whatson/4674.aspx

Hope you are all well :)
xxx

KneeHigh

KneeHigh Theatre is a Cornish theatre company who started out by creating theatre for families in their local communities. By today, they are considered to be one of Britain's most exciting touring theatre companies. The ever-changing ensemble have created several reinventions of classical plays, from Don John (a reinvention of Moliere's Don Juan) to Cymbeliene by Shakespeare. Click here for more information on the company.
As I was browsing on the website, I found out that they have created a radical adaptation of 'The Bacchae' by Euripides-very apt for our work! The production includes elements of cross-gender performance (the director wanted "a tutu-clad, all-male chorus playing the women on Thebes") as well as music, rap and poetry all set against the backdrop of religious and political fundamentalism in the Middle East. Click here for more information and pictures.

Physical Theatre Reinvention

Hiya,

Gecko Theatre Company, founded in 2001 is a British Physical Theatre company who have done an spectacular reinvention of Gogol's 'The Overcoat'. It combines physical comedy, movement, Cinematic images and an evocative soundtrack said to create an "Intoxicating world" set in the industrial  1940's.  A trailer can be viewed, Here.

Secondly, Zen Zen Zo are an Australian based physical theatre company largely influenced by the  Japanese forms 'Butoh' and 'Noh'.  Have created incredible reinventions of Shakespeares 'The tempest' and 'Romeo and Juliet', 'A midsummers night Dream' and Euripedes 'Antigone'. There productions are incredibly raw, and undoubtedly my fave! A showreel can be viewed here.

Theatre Ad Infinitum

Good Morning,
Theatre Ad Infinitum is a Lecoq-trained international ensemble based in London that aims to create new theatre for a multi cultural audience mainly through the universal language of the body. This summer the company reinvented the Greek myth 'Odyssey' as a one man piece. 'Odyssey' is a passionate tale of one man's quest to be reunited with his family and seek vicious revenge. Theatre Ad Infinitum received rave reviews in Edinburgh and also won numerous awards for this production. Click here to find out more. Or perhaps click here to watch the rather exciting trailer for 'Odyssey'.
Thanks for reading!

Charabanc Theatre Company

Hello.
The Charabanc Theatre Company is made up of five Belfast actresses who were fustrated at the scarcity of work for women in the Theatre and at the nature of the work that was available to them. These five women have travelled around venues both rural and urban, at home aswell as venues overseas performing plays that incorporate their styles, such as, honesty of approach, pithy humour and striking ensemble playing. One of their more well known plays that they have performed was the lynn Parkers adaptation of Federico Garcia Lorca's 'The House of Bernarda Alba.' Click here to learn more about the company.

Frantic Assembly

Hi. Following on in the same Shakespearean vein, Frantic Assembly's production of Othello explores the premise of the original play through the context of the 2001 Yorkshire race riots. Although the setting calls for thick Yorkshire dialects, the Shakespearean language is still maintained. The script is heavily cut to link with the intense physicality of the piece. Click here to find out more.

Yellow Earth Theatre Company

Hello!! I thought I'd start the blog off :)
I found a reinvented production of King Lear by The Yellow Earth Theatre Company. They create BEA theatre (British East Asian Theatre) using physical theatre, dance, music and multimedia. The production is set the present day in Shanghai, and is in both Mandarin and English. Click here for more information on the company and the production.