Oil City by Platform & The Situationists

Whilst researching Site Specific performances I stumbled across a London based group called Platform who use theatre to explore the arts, activism, education and research. They create all types of theatre (site specific, auditorium based etc) that educate the public of current global concerns. Such as foreign energy policies, globalisation’s effect on contemporary corporate behaviour and the current British government oil controversy. I particularly enjoyed their performance ‘Oil City’ (Platform, 2014), which takes the audience ‘deep into the underbelly of London’s oil economy’ (Platform, 2013). They take a small audience of paying guests and immerse them within the scandal by informally guiding them around London’s business quarters. Where ‘by eavesdropping on business people and seeking out secret documents hidden in dead-drops […] [they] will help piece together a puzzle that interweaves government files with financial deals’ (ibid, 2013). Below is a link to their website and the video of their performance:

http://platformlondon.org/p-eventnew/oil-city-site-specific-theatre-by-platform-10th-21st-june-2013/ 

I feel that this type of promenade theatre and site specific performances go hand in hand, and compliment each other very well. Depending upon the site I choose, promenade theatre would be something I would like to explore more of for the performance. Moreover, the way Platform take the audience on a journey and force them to become involved, not only exposes important economic issues, but also exposes the audience to the idea of general government manipulation. After doing some further digging into site specific performances being used as a tool for public awareness, I stumbled upon The Situationists, who simularly used site specific performances in this way. This Parisian agent-garde group sought to create situations by means of criticising or undermine the capitalist hegemony. For the 1950/60’s their site specific performances raised a lot of public controversy, however they did also raise awareness of British capitalism.

At this moment I am not aware of any site that I believe holds any need for such political dictation in Lincoln (however this may change further on in the process). Although the physical process and the throughout process behind these performances inspire me. Tim Etchelles stated that ‘thats the thing you have to do with a voice after all – make it speak of the things that it cannot deal with – make it speak of the illegal’ (Etchells, 1999, 107). This refers to both voice as a verbal communication and also voice transferred into art. Voice is a very powerful tool, it can entertain, enlighten or educate.

Etchells, T. (1999) Certain Fragments: Contempoary Performance and Forced Entertainment. London: Routledge.

Platform (2013) Oil City – Site Specific theatre by Platform 10th-21st June 2013. [online advertisement] Available from http://platformlondon.org/p-eventnew/oil-city-site-specific-theatre-by-platform-10th-21st-june-2013/ [Accessed 8th February 2015].

Platform (2014) Oil City by Platform. [online video] Available from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwwpaHSg3fw&spfreload=10 [Accessed 8 February 2015].

The old and the new

Whilst walking around the Cathedral quarters, Castle grounds and the surrounding areas, I discovered a side to Lincoln I never knew before. Wandering off the beaten track, down alleyways and through hidden gardens opened my eyes up to Lincoln’s rich history that I knew existed, but had never witnessed. It was the architecture of the buildings that fascinated me the most. The clear contrast between new builds and old roman remains. However it was the blending of the old and new together that made me reflect on just how far Lincoln had come over time, and I appreciated that little bit Lincoln more. Within Phil Smith’s Mythogeography: A Guide to Walking Sideways, he stated that drifting through a city could allow you ‘to see for the fist time things you already know’ (Smith, 2010, 119). Although it was a guided drift through Lincoln, I certainly saw things that I’d seen before but never appreciated.

Below are some examples of the blending of old and new. The old roman wall which had bowed over the years with a modern postbox slotted inside its historic bricks. Old steal rods to help preserve the wall and to keep it standing throughout time. Crumbling brick walls in contrast to the fancy modern new build in the historic cathedral grounds.

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Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s work is something that I find very interesting. The wrapping of everyday objects such as trees, and the walls of oil barrels, allows the public to see everyday sites in a new way. When the sun shines on the trees they take a new form, something mystical that distorts the assumptions of the everyday. Thus the public pause and acknowledge their surroundings. The wall of barrels does a similar thing. They create a block in a path or a wall so high and intimidating it makes the audience feel small. This alteration of journeys and physical perceptions also forces the public to acknowledge and appreciate their surroundings.

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Smith, P. (2010) Mythogeography: A Guide to Walking Sideways. Devon: Axminster Triarchy Press.

Love at first ‘Site’

It certainly wasn’t love at first sight for Site Specific and I. When first approaching the given task my heart sank. Drawing attention to myself in public, standing out from the crowd, was something that never came naturally to me. However I’m all for throwing myself into challenges head first, and once I let my guard down, I started to realise what Site Specific performances were all about. For me, the reactions of passersby fascinated me. I thrived on the thought that we had shaken their day up somehow, broken the formality of everyday journeys to and from places and made them realise what was around them. Fiona Wilkie stated that ‘Site-Specific performance engages with the site as symbol, site as storyteller’ (Wilkie, 2002, 150), and it was this sense of purpose behind the performance that I began to favor. Such as the symbolisation of the everyday office job in Glob Squad’s Work (1995), and the public demonstrations of government control from The Space Highjackers and The Surveillance Camera Players. Using site specific performances for public education or enlightenment really interests me, and is something I would like to explore further.

 

Wilkie, F. (2002) Mapping the Terrain: A Survey of Site-specific Performance in Britain. New Theatre Quarterly, 18, 2.