Research and Development – Page 2 – Daedalus Theatre Company

Going Beyond East

By DaedalusAdmin on Wednesday, December 16, 2015

Left to right: Farah Naz, Shamim Azad, Paul Burgess and Sef Townend. Photo credit: Indigo

East‘s behind-the-scenes organisational team met at Rich Mix to plan the next stages of the project. What started as a simple, short-term community storytelling project (led by Daedalus and Bishwo Shahitto Kendro, and supported by Rich Mix, the Arts Council and Apples and Snakes) has grown. With further support from the Arts Council plus some crowd-funding, we’re now making an online archive of our stories (and some songs) and working out how to support our storytelling group’s desire to do something longer-term, while also dealing with several offshoots of the project, including our work on radical history (which will probably now be treated as a separate project) and possible work with local schools and community centres. Oh and the events we’re planning as an offshoot of A Season of Bangla Drama. They’ll be in April. Watch this space…

All of which explains why the meeting was about three and a half hours long. We got through a lot of tea, but were very restrained and shared just one piece of cake between us.

Events Major Projects Partners and Collaborators Research and Development

Radical History: project definitely underway

By DaedalusAdmin on Monday, November 16, 2015

Thanks to Ovalhouse, the Arts Council and private funders, we had our first proper development period on our collaboration with The Black Smock Band: an undertaking which emerged from our East storytelling project but which seems to be taking on a life of its own. Temporarily known as The Radical History Project, it looks at the texts, oral and musical, left behind by our radical forbears and the mythology of English radicalism they created, while also searching out contemporary and local stories of struggle. We had a very productive week – well, it’d be shameful not, given the incredible wealth of material we have to work with. Our research so far has focused on the Diggers movement, but since we were working just yards away from where the Chartists gathered, we looked at them and at the challenges facing the area today. In fact, a modern-day version of the enclosures is taking place, with social housing being replaced by private developments.

The end-of-week sharing at Ovalhouse cafe seemed to go down well. There was even some dancing. And lots of helpful feedback – thanks everyone!

The team was Alex Swift, Andy Bannister, Dan Cox, John Bryden, Rhiannon Kelly and Paul Burgess.

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We’re still sorting out the documentation but, in the meantime, here’s a photo (credit: Kanatip Soonthornrak). And the project will be back for further research and development soon…

Events Major Projects Partners and Collaborators Research and Development

Radical History at Ovalhouse

By DaedalusAdmin on Tuesday, October 20, 2015

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Protest and rebellion are as English as rainy bank holidays, cream teas and plundering foreign countries. But plenty of people would have us ignore the great radical moments of our history.

As part of our commitment to exploring the potent mix of local stories and history, we have joined forces with The Black Smock Band – London’s premier gay socialist folk band (as far as they know) – to take a look at how out forebears fought the power, and what their stories mean today. By rediscovering the songs and ideas that helped change our country, we hope to find where all this turbulence and disorder could lead us today. We’ll be at Ovalhouse so you’ll also hear local stories of resistance, past and current.

This work-in-progress performance will start as a gig. If all goes well, it will end with the revolution we’ve all been waiting for.

November 6th, 9pm, Ovalhouse cafe, free

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Ovalhouse website event

See you there!

Partners and Collaborators Research and Development

Alex provokes

By DaedalusAdmin on Friday, May 22, 2015

Here’s a great provocation from This Thing Called Artist Development at Ovalhouse by Alex Swift.

The full title of the talk is “Samuel Beckett’s First Play Was Shit And It Took A World War For Him To Write A Good One (and he was 40 before he did) or Artist Development Programmes are a Form of Disciplining Reified Ideology Reflecting the Underlying Structures, Practices and Brutalities of the Late-Capitalist, Neo-Liberal Economic Base, And, You Know, That Can Fuck Off.”

It’s sort of about artist development but it’s also about, well, you know, the world. And stuff.

Partners and Collaborators Research and Development

Disobedient Objects

By DaedalusAdmin on Tuesday, January 27, 2015

As part of the research for the Daedalus/Black Smock Band Radical History Project (yeah, still a working title), a few of us visited the Disobedient Objects exhibition at the V&A. It was fascinating and inspiring. And a bit overwhelming – a lot of very emotive stuff in one room. Well worth seeing before it closes. Last day is 1st Feb. And it’s free.

Here’s a wonderful trade union banner from the exhibition; a nice update on tradition. Can we have one of those for our project please? (That’s not a joke. I’m actually currently trying to work out how to cost having one made for the band.)