Past Projects
Performed as part of the Battersea arts centre's Freshly Scratched season on the 22nd of December, the Lab Collective presents a Christmas themed piece for the festive season
A man sits in a dark room filled with the sense of cinnamon and apple supping a glass of cheap whiskey. He invites the audience to sit, eat Roses (or Quality Street) and teaches them about his past traditions and family customs around Christmas.
By allowing the audience to build decorations for a bare tree, write cards to loved ones long gone and the valued lesson on "How to fake gratitude for a rubbish gift" Last Year reminds us to value the quirky and unusual moments which have crow barred their way into our traditions, as well as the origins of older ones which reach far back into ancient British customs.
Performed as a work in progress in conjunction with performance artist Joe Iredale ( Halfcut Theatre ), the Lab aimed to mix truth and untruth to give honesty to this conversational and uber-realism styled piece
Performed By Joe Iredale
Directed by Joseph Thorpe and Natalie Scott
First performed at 2011's Up The Wall festival held at Chester Castle, Fields of Tinder was a response to the atmospheric and ancient Agricola tower. Fields of Tinder is a promenade performance which asks whether there is more to identity than the place from which we come, or a land we become part of.
In dangerous territory, an invader and the invaded exist alone, together. We welcome you to their temporary home, thrumming with tension and the hush of secrets. Fields of Tinder is an exploration of invasion, never named and fictional, it scars those on both sides
A Soldier explores the difficult nature of stepping over the boundaries he faces, the dehumanisation of those he hopes to conquer and the cultural arrogance which drives his tasks, as he turns the spectators into a squad fit for purpose.
Close but distant is a woman preparing to flee; Welcoming the spectator into her home, and offering them her hospitality, she shares her past, objects, stories, beliefs, and her attitudes towards the coming invaders who will shortly create the deluge, which will change her country forever.
Fields of Tinder is an exploration of invasion, never named and fictional, it scars those on both sides. The piece is currently returning to R&D in order to increase its flexibility for new and existing spaces.
Directed by: Joseph Thorpe and Natalie Scott
Performed by: Antigoni Spanou and Robert Pollington
Matador: October 2010 - August 2011
This damning one man piece has challenged audiences across Britain since it was first performed at Theatre Delicatessens Theatre Souk in September 2010. Since performer Neil Connolly was nominated for an Off West End Award for Best Male Performer in Matador, it has been taken to The Basement (Brighton), The Latitude 2011 festival and Theatre 503
The death knell is sounding for the last banker standing; now is the time for the Matador to perform his swan song. A beautiful apology or an arrogant claim, his torturous descent has begun and the solo Matador stands proud in his crumbling arena, but there is still time to sell the bricks for scrap. As society vents their hatred of the banking industry; is it our greed or his which is to blame for our position?
Performed by Neil Connolly
In The Wings
The Lab Collective presents In the Wings. Welcome backstage. For your delectation and delight, we lay bare the private lives of those on a pedestal. Once the curtain has fallen, The Lab Collective invites you to network, mingle and share the lowlights of the high flyers.
Directed by Joseph Thorpe
Natalie Scott
Piano Girl: Eloise Secker
Piano Mum: Terri-Anne Brumby
Rock Star: Neil Connolly
Diet Girl: Rebecca Killick
Producer: Christopher Jenner Cole
PA: Ronan Le Fur
PA: Matthew Haigh
Fallen Star: Nicola Hollinshead
Groupie: Amy Fleming
Groupie: Joyce Vaheary
Groupie: Victoia Barker
Groupie: Daniel Ash
Groupie: Liza Callinicos
Groupie: Rachel Nottingham
Performed At The Bluecoat Centre, Liverpool June 2011
Directed by Joseph Thorpe & Natalie Scott
The Lab Collective invite you to have a waltz and be brave as you take a short journey through missed opportunies and chance encounters. This one on one experience holds the promise of new beginnings and a brief embrace.
As part of this years Poolside Emergency, we will be participating in greenroom's must-see festival of new performance returns to the Bluecoat for a marathon of live art, performance, sound and intervention
"simple and effective way of creating an experience which had me questioning why had let those opportunities go"
C. James Fagan, Confused Guff
Performed at the V&A: March 2011
The Lab Collective presents In the Wings. Welcome backstage. For your delectation and delight, we lay bare the private lives of those on a pedestal.
Once the curtain has fallen, The Lab Collective invites you to network, mingle and share the lowlights of the high flyers.
Part of our resident bursary at Arch 468:
October 2010 - May 2011
Acting Masterclass: Led by Bethany Pitts
Devising and improvisation: Led by Tai Lawrence and the Improsarios
Devising through Object: Led by Natalie Scott and Joseph Thorpe
Devising though Adaptation: Led by Joseph Thorpe
Origins was a new series of workshops for performers curated by The Lab Collective for Arch 468 in Brixton. Bringing the participants questions on devising to the table, we worked collaboratively using improvisation, object and existing text to inspire and identify methods which give devised performance depth and fluidity.
This project was intended to help performers to hone and develop devising skills, which are often overlooked and underestimated.
Performed at Theatre Delicatessen as part of award nominated Theatre Souk: September 2010
Directed By: Joseph Thorpe and Natalie Scott
Performed by: Sophie Carmichael, Christopher Jenner Cole, Amy Clarke, Matthew Haigh, Rob Lyndon and Lauren McCullum
Our modern civilisation should sit on the shoulders of economic brilliance. A wonderful ideal. In reality it is a stampede instigated by the selfish desire to be a winner. Come, play a game which gives you a taste of trading.
Choose your team and play out a grand match of chance and skill, to test your resolve in the dangerous world of the market. Two teams will battle it out to extract their last ounce of competitive spirit in the ring.
The participants will be trained by elite corporate players, pulled through their high life stories and exposed to their brutal attitudes. Are you game?
Performed at the V&A: June 2010
Directed by: Bethany Pitts
Produced by: Joseph Thorpe and Natalie Scott
Performed by: Fiona Drummond, Omar Ibrahim, Joe Iredale
Unseen is our response to Vazio S/As unique architectural structure Spiral Booths. Unseen explores concealed relationships set around the peak and abyss of a spiral staircase, charting the emotional and psychological fluctuations that occur between two people. As the spectators are guided through this theatrical experience, they will witness the force that these destroyed relationships have wrought within the space.
Using a haunting soundscape and uninhibited interaction, we invite you to take part in this consuming performance, questioning how far we can ever comprehend the relationships of others, even when we invade their intimacy.
Performed at New Diorama Theatre: as part of ScenePool: May 2010
Concieved and Performed by: Claire Goatham and Natalie Scott
In collaboration with: Joseph Thorpe
Join us on our journey up the ladder. In a world where everything is set against the tick of the clock, we want to get ahead, ahead of the game, ahead of each other, ahead of ourselves. But when will we stop, and will it be our choice?
We follow the footsteps of two women driven by their need to succeed, survive and escape. The every day becomes extraordinary, as they encounter moments which push them forward or hold them back. The Lab Collective raises the stakes, and questions the pace and consequence of the race towards success.
Performed at The White Bear Theatre: October 2009
Directed by:Bethany Pitts
Performed by: Emma Vane, Nicola Sangster and Fiona Drummond
Written by: Richard Cameron
Produced by: The Lab Theatre Collective
The Lab Theatre Collective's rehearsed reading of Cant Stand up for Falling Down explores the experiences of three women at the hands of a brutal and unforgiving man. By interweaving film and image we evoke the continual presence of this absent man, the shadow he casts over those he has abused and question the memories that bond these characters so inexorably togeth er.
Performed at The Roundhouse Studios: August 2009
Directed by: Joseph Thorpe
Written By: Thomas Kendall
Performed by: Jane Dawson and Natalie
Scott
Technical Support: Caroline Saunders
What keeps us apart and binds us together?
We welcome you to the icon of neighbourhood, and invite you peek through the windows to encounter personal ritual, private pain and fragmented relationships. A Crack in the Wall combines live performance, film and innovative sound to create a deeply immersive audience experience .
Performed at The Gladstone Hotel, Toronto (Part of the Summerworks Festival): August 2009
A Co Production with Little Bird Theatre
Concieved by: Jamie Franklin
Performed by: Connie Tsang, Jamie Franklin, Natalie Scott
Design: Jamie Franklin
Photography by Connie Tsang
A transatlatic performance installation.
A hotel room. In Toronto, in San Francisco, in London, anywhere, seeking intimacy through anonymous Craigslist postings. Connected but alone in one moment. N.S.A (No Strings Attached) is a voyeuristic look into the use of casual encounters online, we invite you to stop and explore this world
The Southwark Playhouse Secrets Season, July 2008
Performed by: Jamie Franklin
Filmography: Jamie Franklin
Sound Design: Joseph Thorpe
Rough Curves is a multi – disciplinary piece based on the life of Silent Film Star and 20’s ‘It’ girl Clara Bow. Using a hypnotic mix of film, music and live performance, The Lab Collective produces a darkly evocative mixed-media performance.
Rough Curves explores the audience's relationship with film, audio and performer, allowing the opportunity to create connections between mediums and find snatched moments of lucidity.
Performed at The Birds Nest: March 2008
Directed By Natalie Scott
Performed By: Gordie Williamson, Lorena Garcia Ontiveros and Lucy Wilson
Sound Design: Jospeh Thorpe
In the search for perfection, the hunt is on...
Bare Bones is a performance installation which challenges our obsession with perfection and the desire to achieve it at any cost. This physically daring piece combines movement and audio composition to explore the performers relationships to each other, and themselves whilst asking the audience to do the same.
Performed at the BAC: August 2007
Written by: Dario Fo
Performed by: Genevive Allenbury
Written by Dario Fo A Mother is one of three monologues from 'Questions on Terrorism and Repression' in which a mother tells the audience of her political awakening after her son is branded a terrorist on national television.
A Mother explores the fine line between freedom fighter and terrorist, and produces a damning critique of fachism daringly reflective of modern Western democracy.
Performed at the BAC, May 2007
Written by: Meredith Oakes
A modern morality tale based on a fisherman's good deed. After saving the life of a magical fish, he is granted unlimited wishes.
The Fisherman explores human greed, the need for power and its life altering qualities. Using live musicians, and traditional folk music to tell this timeless fable, The Fisherman resonates strongly with a contemporary audience.
Performed at the Birds Nest: August 2008
Devised and performed by Subject to Change
Produced by: The Lab Collective
Two characters, allusions of a life, invite people to play with them. Together they play with reckless abandonment. Throwing away the cares of real life, they explore whether the shadows of a past can change the fragments of the future.
Subject to Change asks the audience to share its secrets and experiences, culminating in a unique performance installation based on those stories.
Performed at The Birds Nest: January 2008
Directed by: Lucy Wilson
Produced by The Lab Collective
Performed by: Zoe Dikin, Alex Jamieson and Lucy Wilson
The Birds Nest, December 2007
A photo, a letter, a secret...Why do we forget? What happens when we remember?
Scrapbook takes the audience on a journey of nostalgia, down pathways of collective memory. And around the corner? Laughter, tears and the echoes of things we would all rather forget.
Donate
![n718062250_978523_1017[1]](http://static.wix.com/media/b45bfd702ef0f9de501f487fd64290e3.wix_mp_128)
![n278200036_32329_8239[1]](http://static.wix.com/media/c22047047fb867d1b3af2099151a0890.wix_mp_128)
