Thank You Very Much - T1227873413Forty years after Elvis left the building, the King is back. Thank You Very Much sees Claire Cunningham use the phenomenon of Elvis tribute artists as a springboard to explore impersonation, identity, acceptance and the challenges of being yourself.DramaturgLuke Pell. Design Matthias Herrmann. Costume Shanti Freed. Design Bethany Wells. Lighting Chris Copland. Director Chris Copland (associate director). | |
| 31 Oct 19 to 3 Nov 19 | General, Glasgow :: V1443918235 listing details L2088437012 |
Give Me a Reason to Live - T0688783333Give Me a Reason to Live is a 40 min solo performance by Glasgow based choreographer Claire Cunningham inspired by the work of medieval Dutch painter Hieronymus Bosch and set to a mesmerizing sound score by sound artist Zoe Irvine. Exploring issues of religion, in particular religious art, alongside questions regarding judgement of bodies and quality of life, the work takes the form of a series of tests. Tests of body and of faith. For the artist it is a study in the notion of empathy. Give Me a Reason to Live is dedicated to the approximately 70,000 disabled victims of the Nazi Aktion T4 euthanasia program and exists as a live memorial to these individuals and the current disabled victims of the present UK governments so-called 'welfare reform'. With this work she has been consciously pushing the subject matter away from autobiographical material - looking to create connections with other people and issues, to find new methods of researching and devising material - such as the use of duration, methods of working alone and of creating shared artistic space. Give Me a Reason to Live is a stripped bare, physically powerful work -consciously engaging on a political level, and thereby raising questions of the environments the work should be placed in in order to engage more widely, or to create more resonant contexts. | |
| 23 Nov 16 | Unity Theatre, Liverpool :: V539 listing details L1657739970 |
Give Me a Reason to Live - T01047654846This solo performance by one of the UK's foremost artists is inspired by the medieval Dutch painter Hieronymus Bosch and the role of beggars and cripples in his work. Through a series of tests, it explores religion, religious art and how we judge the body. Glasgow-based choreographer Claire Cunningham is an artist whose work is rooted in the use and misuse of her crutches, exploring her own physicality while rejecting traditional dance techniques and the attempt to move with the pretence of a body other than her own. Stark yet humane, Give me a reason to live is a live memorial to the estimated 70,000 disabled victims of the Nazi's Aktion T4 program, and today's disabled victims of the UK government's 'welfare reform'. | |
| 4 May 16 | Dundee Repertory Theatre, Dundee :: V596 listing details L01702847190 |
| 19 May 15 to 20 May 15 | The Old Market, Brighton :: V1008189979 listing details L0796800795 |
| 5 May 15 to 6 May 15 | The Tramway, Glasgow :: V621 listing details L224100272 |
Guide Gods - T791770386Acclaimed performer Claire Cunningham goes on a perilous quest to explore how the major world faiths view deafness and disability. This witty and illuminating new show uses dance, live music, humour and interviews with religious leaders, academics and deaf and disabled people. Claire is disabled. Is it the will of a higher power? Is she paying for the mistakes of a past life? Is it a test for her, or a punishment for her parents? Could she, should she, be healed? Is she welcomed by all faiths or will it all prove just too inaccessible? | |
| 4 Feb 16 | Beacon Arts Centre (formerly Arts Guild Theatre), Greenock :: V1047 listing details L871455989 |
Guide Gods - T01097077633Acclaimed performer Claire Cunningham goes on a perilous quest to explore how the major world faiths view deafness and disability. This witty and illuminating new show uses dance, live music, humour and interviews with religious leaders, academics and deaf and disabled people. Claire is disabled. Is it the will of a higher power? Is she paying for the mistakes of a past life? Is it a test for her, or a punishment for her parents? Could she, should she, be healed? Is she welcomed by all faiths or will it all prove just too inaccessible? There is a chance afterwards to have some tea, chat and to ponder your own beliefs (will Karma catch up with you if you help yourself to too many biscuits?). Running time: 1hr 10mins | |
| 2 Sep 14 to 3 Sep 14 | Southbank Centre, West End :: V423 listing details L599472950 |
Menage a Trois - T0862542646In a dark, private chamber, a lonely woman begins to craft the perfect man out of the only thing she knows - her crutches. A hauntingly beautiful study of love, obsession, loneliness and manipulation, Menage a Trois is a visually stunning new piece of dance theatre from award-winning performer Claire Cunningham. Exploring Claire's twenty-year relationship with her crutches, this darkly humorous and deeply personal portrait asks if it's possible to find love when there are already three of you in the relationship. Menage a Trois has been commissioned by the Unlimited Cultural Olympiad programme and is part of the London 2012 Festival. Unlimited encourages collaborations and partnerships between disability arts organisations, disabled and deaf artists, producers and mainstream organisations to celebrate the inspiration of the Olympic and Paralympic Games and to create original and exciting works.Producer National Theatre of Scotland. Choreographer Claire Cunningham. Director Claire Cunningham. Director Gail Sneddon. Design Gail Sneddon (video). Music Matthias Herrmann. Design Rachana Jadhav. Lighting Karsten Tinapp. Costume Kevin Pollard. Other Steve Tiplady (puppet consultant). DramaturgDavey Anderson. Other Bruce Cameron (animator). Performer Claire Cunningham. Performer Christopher Owen. | |
| 6 Mar 13 | Southbank Centre, West End :: V423 listing details L0757372788 |
| 19 Sep 12 | Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh :: V605 listing details L427480277 |
| 11 Sep 12 | Eden Court Theatre, Inverness :: V626 listing details L811824143 |
| 8 Sep 12 | Southbank Centre, West End :: V423 listing details L0934275443 |
| 31 Aug 12 | The Mac (Metropolitan Arts Centre), Belfast :: V2073141420 listing details L01295583431 |
| 24 Aug 12 to 25 Aug 12 | The Tramway, Glasgow :: V621 listing details L01645119277 |
ME (Mobile/Evolution) - T0524438672Claire Cunningham in association with Jess Curtis/Gravity. A double bill from award-winning dancer/choreographer Claire Cunningham showcasing her exceptional dance technique and impressive power. ME (Mobile/Evolution) is a show woven from humorous stories; about doctors and dancing, bikes and ballet; all threaded together and balanced upon, hanging from, spinning on and swinging on crutches. Any possible sentimentality is undercut with a healthy dose of Scottish sarcasm. Audiences for this critically acclaimed production, seen at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2009, have been delighted, as well as provoked into questioning their ideas of aesthetics and dance.Producer Richard Wakely. | |
| 7 May 11 | Lemon Tree, Aberdeen :: V587 listing details L01998543886 |
