Image
Loaded
A dance theatre show exploring weight and gravity, and what happens when we face the limits of our strength.
This new devised, dance-theatre work, conceived and directed by Sinéad Rushe, Senior Lecturer in Acting and Movement on BA (Hons) Acting (Collaborative and Devised Theatre), is an arts-science, interdisciplinary collaboration between theatre companies out of Inc and Scribbled Thought Theatre, with The Old Rep Theatre, Birmingham, The Place, London and Ormiston Academies Trust.
The production was developed as part of the BA (Hons) Acting (Collaborative and Devised Theatre) curriculum at The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama which pioneers new approaches to actor-training and theatre-making.
BA Acting (CDT) students performed a first showing of ideas at Jacksons Lane Theatre, London 5 – 8 March 2014. BA (Hons) Theatre practice student Joshua Gadsby was Lighting Designer for the production; BA (Hons) Theatre Practice alumni Rosie Elnile (designer) and Lex Kosanke (sound designer) continue to work on the project..
The 2017/18 show is commissioned by The Place Theatre, London as part of Choreodrome 2017 and is additionally funded by Arts Council England, Unity Theatre Trust, Ernest Cook Fund and the British Science Association. Working for the first time on a dance-theatre show, graduates from the BA Acting (CDT) and the BA (Hons) Theatre Practice programmes collaborate with established, award-winning artists, Neil Bettles, Vicki Manderson and Colin Grenfell.
Public Engagement
Sinéad Rushe and the project team are piloting an innovative public engagement programme of workshops, live-streamed Q&As with physicist, Dr. Vijay Tymms (Imperial College, London and scientific advisor on Loaded), artist talks at the Trauma Patient Public Involvement Group, National Institute for Health Research, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham, digital resource packs for KS3, KS4, and KS5 science students and curtain-raiser performances by young people.
Timetable
Artist residencies at Ormiston Academy Trust (Jan-Oct 2017), The Place Theatre, London (Sept 2017) and The Old Rep Theatre, Birmingham (Oct 2017) are followed by four performances at The Old Rep from 5-6 October 2017. Loaded will tour nationally in Autumn 2018, beginning at The Place Theatre.
About the show
Gravity shapes us. From birth to death, what bodies can do is bound by what they weigh. Things fall, softly or heavily, constantly or all at once. Some things are too heavy to carry, or to lift. Some things carry us.
Loaded combines an evocative original soundscape with texts ranging from ancient literature to modern science. Its eight performers use planks, sandbags as well as each other to explore how bodies and structures learn to bear loads – or fall apart. Violent, lyrical and funny, Loaded is a startling new show about the mechanics of weight and what happens when we face the limits of our strength.
Directed by Sinéad and choreographed by Vicki Manderson (National Theatre of Scotland) and Neil Bettles (Frantic Assembly), Loaded boasts a dynamic young international cast and creative team.
A collaboration between theatre companies out of Inc and Scribbled Thought Theatre, the show is commissioned by The Place Theatre, London as part of Choreodrome 2017 and is additionally funded by Arts Council England, Unity Theatre Trust, Ernest Cook Fund and the British Science Association.
Image gallery
Video
