In Assisted Solo, Philip Connaughton, Lucia Kickham and Magali Caillet are accompanied by video footage of Madeleine, Philip’s mother, who suffers from advanced dementia. In this humorous yet strikingly poignant piece of dance theatre we examine how we, as society, deal with the ageing body whilst also celebrating the roles we play in ‘assisting’ each other through life.
"This choreographic work is inspired by what it is to forget. I guess it’s about trying not to forget. My mum doesn’t know my name but she knows her timetables. She knows the words to the songs we sing. Some things stay, some get lost. Words, movement, logic, slowly break down but they can be found at times in patterns. We’ve taken movements from our past. Things we’ve danced. Remnants of larger things. Things barely remembered. They are bytes of stored information mostly disassociated from any linear logic. They are merely what’s left. But in them, you can find the essence of something bigger. Like in the thoughts, words and actions of Madeleine”.
"This choreographic work is inspired by what it is to forget. I guess it’s about trying not to forget. My mum doesn’t know my name but she knows her timetables. She knows the words to the songs we sing. Some things stay, some get lost. Words, movement, logic, slowly break down but they can be found at times in patterns. We’ve taken movements from our past. Things we’ve danced. Remnants of larger things. Things barely remembered. They are bytes of stored information mostly disassociated from any linear logic. They are merely what’s left. But in them, you can find the essence of something bigger. Like in the thoughts, words and actions of Madeleine”.
★★★★★
|
★★★★
|
This work is presented in partnership with Project Arts Centre and in association with The Everyman.
images: Luca Truffarelli