Twisted Stories

The past few days have been utterly packed. First there was the run-up to our performance, right down to the insane tweaking that occurs seconds before the audience enter. The following morning I trundled my way to Kings Cross St Pancras where I joined my fellow students and tutors for a whirlwind weekend in Paris.

But first, I must address the performance. Now, I'm not usually one to get excited about actually taking part in a show. Make stuff for it yes, be in it, NO. Well that was my first reaction, but this project managed to work its way into my heart, not to mention the fabulous group I worked with.

To give a little backround on the project, we worked with an outside practicing tutor on creating and performing a site-specific piece inspired by the space and the fairy-tales we chose as a platform. It was an intensive eight-week process that required a lot of editing and compromising skills, but I gained so much from it and I like to think our results were worth it all...

I'm afraid I don't have as many photos just yet as i'd like, but here are a couple of peeks into our piece and some of those of the rest of my class. I also want to say thank you to my Laurel of the fabulous blog A RoRo in London, who came in that afternoon and selflessly posed as an usher for us. Thank you x

A terrified Rapunzel/wife of Bluebeard hacks at her own mane of golden locks as an act of self-preservation.

This long corridor immediately caught our eye, and we decided to place each one of Bluebeard's past wives in front of one of the slim windows, each filled with relics he'd collected from each wife and enshrined. Each woman is tied at the throat by a continuous maroon ribbon that loops from their throats to the ceiling, before tangling in pools between them.

Another group's Rapunzel sits in her tower, streaky mascara and glazed gaze revealing her misery.
Perhaps she is not even aware of her glass prison within a prison? Eerie and beautiful in the way only a fairy tale can capture.

Here we follow another group's take on Bluebeard, as this charming girl in the blue dress leads us on a clue-ridden journey through the college; we see her being flattered by a charming photographer, who then proceeds to click away at us, the audience. Ghostly women line an avenue of black & white photographs of lost women, before she finds his studio (above). From there, she discovers the dark room, and the horror of a pile of discarded dead models backlit by the red lights. Eventually we are led outside where our girl in the blue dress is running for her life down the street, (not in an uncomical fashion).

And of course, the last group who also took to Bluebeard. They had a striking vintage theme, and this particular tableau caught my eye. Their final set was magnificently done, but my photos were somewhat limited to my enormous dismay!

I shall post some more details and some of my discoveries from my janut to La Jolie Paris!