Presents the history and an analysis of the experimental theater works produced by Bodies in Flight.
Based in Bristol and Nottingham, the performance group Bodies in Flight makes works where flesh utters and words move, challenging and re-energizing the relationship between audiences and performers as well as audiences and place.
Drawing on rigorous interdisciplinary and collaborative methods, they use words and images, movement and stillness, and voices and bodies to engage audiences emotionally and spiritually.
Intended as an inspiration to emerging artists, the volume covers key themes for any maker of contemporary performance: the relationship of choreography and spoken word; the use of new technologies and multimedia; the role of original music and soundscapes; the differences between work presented in a theater, gallery, or sited in non-theatrical places; and the persistence of theater as an art form in an increasingly digital culture.
This highly illustrated volume includes selections of scripts and archival material from thirty years of making devised theater and performance in the UK and internationally. It also features texts by collaborators, arts professionals, and scholars exploring the company's collaborative working method, contextualizing it in the wider performance ecology and culture.
ABOUT BODIES IN FLIGHT SIMON JONES MARKING THE TIMES: EXPERIENCING BODIES IN FLIGHT FOREWORD BY ANDREW QUICK UNCONCEALING THIS MAKER’S VOICE SARA GIDDENS 1989-1995: THE FIRST SERIES: PERFORMANCE AS ENERGY, IDEAS AND PROVOCATION DEADPLAY (1989) PLAYING DEAD … BECOMING PROFESSIONAL RACHEL FEUCHTWANG EXHIBIT (1990) CONTROLLED CHAOS BARNABY POWER LOVE IS NATURAL AND REAL BUT NOT FOR YOU MY LOVE (1990) MY (OTHER) OTHER COLLABORATOR: PHILOSOPHY ALONGSIDE PRACTICE SIMON JONES iwannabewolfman (1991-92) WORKING ALONGSIDE SARA GIDDENS ROUGH (1992-93) FROM FAN-BOY TO PROGRAMMER – MEMORIES OF A RELATIONSHIP WITH BODIES IN FLIGHT RICHARD DUFTY AS IF FOR THE FIRST TIME GRAEME ROSE SPEAKING IN TEXTS: WRITING BEYOND MEANING SIMON JONES BEAUTIFUL LOSERS (1994) HEARING BODIES IN FLIGHT DARREN BOURNE LITTLUNS WAKE (1995) 1996-2009: THE SECOND SERIES: PERFORMANCE AS (NON-)COLLABORATION ACROSS MEDIA DO THE WILD THING! (1996) THE MAGNIFICENT MINUTIAE SARA GIDDENS CONSTANTS (1998) SET-UP AND SITUATION – DRAMATURGY AS TRANSFORMATION SIMON JONES DELIVERUS (1999-2000) A DIALOGUE AT THE GLOBE THEATRE (LONDON) POLLY FRAME in conversation with SIMON JONES DIALOGUES & DUETS JOSEPHINE MACHON DOUBLE HAPPINESS (2000) BEAUTIFUL LOSERS RE-WORKED KAYLENE TAN FLESH & TEXT, a document (2001) SKINWORKS (2002-3) BEING IN-BETWEEN: COLLABORATION AS NON-COLLABORATION SIMON JONES WHO BY FIRE (2004-5) WHO BY FIRE: VERY SLOW DECAY SLEEPDOGS: TANUJA AMARASURIYA and TIM X ATACK in conversation TRIPTYCH (2005) THE TRANSMEDIATED IMAGE TONY JUDGE THE SECRECY OF SAINTS (2006) MODEL LOVE (2008-11) RENDERING VISIBLE PAUL GEARY FINDING SUSPENSION SARA GIDDENS PERFORMANCE/ PHOTOGRAPHY/ PHOTGRAPHY/ PERFORMANCE [AND ON/ AND ON] EDWARD DIMSDALE HYMN (2009) 2009-PRESENT: THE THIRD SERIES: OPENING OUT TOWARDS CO-CREATING THE PORTFOLIO WORK DREAM→WORK/ DREAM→WALK (2009-16) GYMNAST (2011-13) A PLACE THAT IS INTELLIGENT, A LITTLE BIT PUNK EVEN … BUT ALWAYS HUMAN SUZANNAH BEDFORD MAYFEST AND MAYK: FROM FESTIVAL TO CO-CREATION MATTHEW AUSTIN in conversation with SIMON JONES DO THE WILD THING! REDUX (2012) STILL MOVING: MOVING STILL (2012-18) DEVELOPING A PORTFOLIO SARA GIDDENS LIFE CLASS (2019-22) MAKING AND BREAKING, FAILING AND FAKING MORVEN MACBETH THE DARE OF OTHER VOICES – FROM VERBATIM TO CO-CREATION SIMON JONES UNBOX ME! (2023) AFTERWORD PAUL RUSS POSTSCRIPT SIMON JONES INDEX
Simon Jones is a theater director and writer. Simon is director of Bodies in Flight and Emeritus Professor of Performance at the University of Bristol, UK. Sara Giddens was a choreographer and theater director. She was also Professor of Choreographic Practice at the University of Central Lancashire, UK.
