Getting the pedals turning...

Things are starting to take shape for the tour of Voices of Dissent next year, albeit slowly and in unpredictable ways. I've been given the support of a great organisation in North Devon called Beaford Arts, who are not only offering me space to rehearse the show in Spring but promotion to their rural touring networks in Devon and Cornwall and connections to other venues in the area. So the idea is to start the tour in the South West, before heading over to London, up to East Anglia and back to the North West via the Midlands, possibly ending up in Newcastle. By bicycle. And, realistically, one or two trains - though we're aiming to keep them to a minimum. Anyone who wants to join us for any of the legs would be most welcome. Particularly if you have a portable sound system...

Beaford are also interested in me developing a new piece of work there in response to the region being a UNESCO Biosphere reserve, and possibly in collaboration with other European or international partners. But more of that as it develops...

For now I'm working on getting the tour booked, re-working the script, and writing the obligatory funding applications. And with the help of my renewable technology expert Charlie Baker, and designer Dan Steele, we're trying to develop a system to power the whole show self-sufficiently, through pedal power or other renewable means. So far I think we have the lighting sorted, barring some re-design of the pedal generator Charlie has created and sourcing of the right sort of lights at the right price, but we still have a little way to go on powering our own sound renewably. Rocks in (recycled) oil barrels anyone?

Above are some pictures and below is a video clip of the pedal generator. The video made me laugh an inordinate amount. (I am easily amused).

Eloquent Protest, Effective Protest?

For the past few months I've been involved with a production called Eloquent Protest, which was first produced by Feelgood Productions three years ago and is now in its third incarnation. The piece was conceived as 'an artist's response to the human cost of conflict' and contains a lot of powerful and moving material. I was honoured to be able to perform in the West End show this year, and also to be part of the version of the production that made its way out to Nepal at the Kathmandu International Festival. I've written a bit more about both experiences here but what I want to write about pertaining to this blog, is about the effectiveness of this sort of artistic protest, and whether it is possible, in a world choking on carbon, to justify flying halfway across the world to make these sort of statements.
I think the London production was a very effective piece of action/protest, albeit a quite comfortable, middle class one. The West End venue and high ticket price (though 15 pounds is quite cheap for the West End) might lead to accusations of elitism, but war veterans were given free entry, the performers gave their time for free, and all the proceeds went to Medecines Sans Frontieres, an organisation for which I have a great deal of respect. Some may question how much sitting in a theatre and listening to songs and poetry can achieve in resisting current or future wars, but there is a certain power in gathering together and remembering and reiterating artistic statements against conflict - they are a strong and important part of the culture that leads people to protest.
As for the production in Nepal, I wondered what we really had to say to a country that is still suffering the legacy of civil war, and I know a lot of the complex literary language was lost on a predominantly non-English speaking audience. The same questions remain for me about the effectiveness of this form of protest, but coming to Nepal made me realise the power of theatre in the context of revolution. The theatre school we were performing at was a focus of action during the uprising against the monarchy here, and street theatre was an important mobilising tool. Also, the director of the Thai company at the festival said our production had inspired him to write about the economic conflict occurring in his own country, the takeover of Tesco in Thailand and other such issues. This is the sort of cultural exchange and cross fertilisation that an international festival can bring about, and I've certainly taken away a lot of ideas for my own work.
I suppose the main problem I feel with being here is the paradox of being an artist making work about humans' impact on the environment flying to another continent to perform in a festival. It's not a direct hypocrisy I suppose, as our piece was about war rather than ecology, but how many wars, past, present and future were, are or will be fought for control over earth's dwindling resources? And yet, despite my pledges to my myself not to fly any more, I feel visiting other countries is more and more important in my understanding of the world, my ability to be able to make informed statements about my own and other cultures, and my own personal development and fulfillment. But how can I say my work is so important that I deserve to fly, at the same time as campaigning against airport expansion and increasing carbon emissions? How can I possibly be so self-important?
Part of the answer is that you don't have to fly in order to travel, and my next bike-based theatre project (once I've finished my long over due tour of Voices of Dissent) is to join the peace ride from London to Jerusalem and perform a piece of theatre in refugee camps in Palestine.
But meanwhile, I now have contacts and invitations from companies in Thailand, Bangladesh and others. I can't cycle everywhere, so do I take it on myself to sacrifice my wander-lust in order to practice what I perform, or do I just hope that rising oil prices and financial depression make flying prohibitively expensive for everyone (except the super rich), to public detriment and planetary benefit?

Reasons I don't write this blog

1. I'm too lazy.
This isn't entirely true. Sometimes it is, but I'm generally a pretty active person. I even get up and go swimming some mornings. When I think about it, most of the time what I feel is laziness is actually apathy , lethargy or despondency caused by some of the other reasons given below.

2. I'm too busy.
Again, this is only partly true. I am involved in a lot of other things than this project, and have to be in order to stay afloat as an artist living in a market dominated society. But I'm also getting a lot better organised, and could write more regular blog posts if I gave myself the opportunity.

3. Other people are writing much better blogs about the environment.
Now we're getting to the roots of things. It's so easy to look at the reams of writing out there that deal with these issues from a much more informed and active point of view, and just think 'what's the point?' I can't add anything to the 'debate' apart from opinions I've received from other writers, most of whom know more than me, or are doing much more about it than writing poems and making theatre pieces noone comes to see. But if there's anything interesting about this blog, I think it will be just that - a pretty ordinary sort of artist trying to make sense of a lot of overwhelming scientific evidence and political opinion, trying to make entertaining performance work about it, whilst dealing with the apparent contradictions of the urgency of the situation we face, and the sort of reflective work I think is necessary in order to consider where we are, how we got here, and where we need to go...

4. No one will read it anyway.
Well, that's as maybe. But you won't know until you start doing it more reguarly than every three months. And I learned recently, from my girlfriend (whose excellent blog you can read here) that the way to increase your readership is to read other people's and comment on them. Which concerns me slightly as I find it hard enough writing my two blogs, and all the creative stuff that they're supposed to be about, but I think if I stop letting my insecurities and self-doubt get in my way, I should free up some time to be interested in what other people are writing.

5. I should be going out and taking action, rather than sitting at home writing about it.
This is partly true, and being at Climate Camp for a few days this summer (which I haven't yet written about, because as soon as I started looking around for what other people had written so I didn't duplicate too much information, I immediately felt innadequate and got put off. See above.) has reignited my taste for being involved in direct action and protest. But it's important to reflect on the nature of that action, what the motivations are, how effective it is etc. So whilst I am going to be involved in more actions in future, and continue to make theatrical/literary work about it, this will also be the space where I will write about being involved in both of those processes. It's all about balance...

6. We're all f**cked anyway, what's the point writing a blog about it?
Yeah, it's easy to look at the evidence laid before us and give up all hope, but the truth is that's just not as much fun as trying to do something about it! My experiences over the last few months - at Climate Camp, at the Permaculture Convergence, at various theatre events - have reminded me that being engaged in creative grassroots movements - be they trying to shut down power stations, or getting involved in community urban gardening projects, or performing to people in fields on bike powered sound systems - is loads of fun! Much more enjoyable than sitting around all defeated, or going out and hedonistically burning as many fossil fuels as possible while we still can (which sounds fun, but had you the least conscience or understanding of the likely impacts, would be impossible without releasing simultaneous plumes of guilt).
I'll end this little public session of self-therapy with a quote I found in my notebook as I was desperately scouring around for some inspiration. It's by Howard Zinn, from the documentary You Can't Be Neutral On A Moving Train (which is quite apt in itself...):
'The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now, as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvellous victory.'

Butterflies Effect

Well it's opening night tomorrow at Contact for Voices of Dissent, and I've so far failed to post anything about the rehearsal process. I don't feel that's actually much of a failure though as I've realised that documenting something like this as you go along isn't necessarily the best course, and is probably best done in retrospect. Without wanting too sound to artsy and pretentious the creative process can be a fragile thing, and not necessarily something you want to share publicly while you're in the thick of it. And this has definitely been one of the most painful births of a piece of work I've experienced. I wasn't really happy with the writing I had going into rehearsal, which meant doing a substantial amount of re-writing as I was going along - not ideal for separating the jobs of writer and performer that I've learned is essential from previous projects! But sometimes that's just the road you get given to walk and you have to make the best of it, and I feel we have. And I've learned alot about my self and the way I need to work in future through the process, pressured though it has been. I still feel like there's a lot of room for development/improvement in the piece but I think it'll evolve as it goes along, and I've always wanted it to be the sort of piece that can respond to new events as they arise. Public attitude to environmental issues has changed a lot even in the three years I've been working on Changing Cycles, and they'll continue to, increasingly, I think.
It's actually Earth Day today, which is why I felt like I had to post something, even though I'm tired and have got a massive day ahead tomorrow. Earth Day is a US creation that begin in the 70s as a series of grass-roots teach-ins and now seems to have been embraced by politicians and corporations keen to promote their green credentials. I didn't actually know about it until I got home tonight and read about it on Grist. I'd like to think it passed with little mention here in the UK because we don't go in for dubious tokenism and are too busy considering the earth the remaining 364 days of the year, but I suspect that's not the case. Still, to mark the occasion I thought I'd share one of the best motivational quotes I've been reminded of over the last few days, wrongly attributed to Goethe (see here for why): Whatever you can do, or think you can, begin it; Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.

Fossil Fools

All around the world people will be taking action today to remind the world that the only way to avert runaway climate change is to keep fossil fuels in the ground. Have a look here for details of what's going on in your area.

But hold the front page! News just in, looks like we're all going to be ok, following this post on Chris Arnold's blog. (I've included the text below, as I think you might need to register with Brand Republic to read it online, and that may or may not be something you want to use your time to do...)

Meanwhile, if you want a serious, impassioned speech, beautiful in its simplicity and clarity (unlike that sentence) check out David Suzuki's Commonwealth Lecture which he recently gave in London

Happy reading, and happy fooling...

Shell, BP and Esso combine to launch new environmental ‘A Fuel’ with record £5bn budget

by Chris Arnold 01-Apr-08

The big three oil companies are pooling marketing budget to launch the much talked about 'A Fuel' which will be available from 2009.The alternative fuel to petroleum is based on common sea water and produces almost zero pollutants while delivering 40% more energy.

The 3 year ad campaign will be the largest ever ad spend in history. But what has also surprised many is that the oil group has appointed an unknown Swedish agency EGG to create all the work. Media is currently under pitch.

‘A Fuels’ (alternative fuels) were originally developed during the Second World War by British chemists who needed an alternative due to limited oil supplies. Many were too poor performers to be productive but one that used salt water and a niobium nickel catalyst has undergone millions of pounds of research to perfect. The breakthrough has been the discovery of a new catalytic enhancer called ‘Pril’. When added to ‘A Fuel’ it creates a dramatic exothermic reaction that produces 40% more power than the equivalent quantity of petroleum.

Oil companies have refrained from releasing ‘A Fuels’ but due to world political pressure (it’s believed Bush has been instrumental in persuading the big three to bend) and a secret agreement in Paris last summer, they have finally agreed to launch this much acclaimed technology.

‘A Fuels’ will require a new generation of engine but they produce minimum pollutants. All the major car companies have been developing ‘A Fuel’ engines and Honda plan to launch their first later this year, with Skoda following in January. However, despite its amazing environmental benefits, Earth Watch have voiced concern over Chlorites that are produced due to the chemical reaction between the water and the Sodium Chloride. “We don’t know what the consequence of increased Chlorites are yet,” said David Greenbaugh, environmental director of the charity.

A spokesman for the oil companies said, “We are all aware that there is a finite amount of oil left. Using it to fuel cars to go shopping or to do the school run is insane when it is far better used for producing plastic products like buckets for the Third World and toys. We believe the time is right to launch ‘A Fuels’.”

The first stage of the campaign will launch on April 1st with a 6 week educational campaign on TV supported by posters and press. The TV ads feature a series of talking goldfish who mock humans for always doing the same old thing. The campaign line is “time for A change, time for A Fuels”. The TV commercial has been directed by Peter Jackson and was shot in New Zealand. The fish are voiced over by Tom Hanks and Dan Castellaneta (who also voices Homer Simpson). The commercial features a new version of Pink Floyds ‘Wish you were here’, recorded by ENO and Bono. The track will be made available to all O2 customers for free in a unique deal, but can be purchased from the ‘A Fuel’ website.

The surprising choice of the Swedish ethical specialist marketing agency EGG, has sent shockwaves through all the major groups. ”We picked EGG because of their creativity and skills at co-creation. They also have a nice sauna,” commented Kevin Woodhouse of the ‘A Fuel’s’ marketing team.

Sven Ögren, creative director of EGG just said, “this is fab, my mother was really happy for us and is baking us a cake.” (Please note this was translated from Swedish and we aren’t sure it’s accurate.)

So who would have thought, to save the planet all you have to do is add ‘pril’ to ‘A Fuel’ and you get a great reaction.

Voices of Dissent Flyer 2008

And the prize for rubbishest blogger in the world goes to...

Me!
My last post began 'so much has happened since my last post I don't know where to start...' And now, so much has happened since my last post I don't know where to start!
Well basically, to get a very long and pretty dull story short, I got the funding from the Arts Council (thanks Arts Council), and am currently furiously chipping away at the final version of the script, ready to start rehearsing on the 10th April.
Unfortunately, Dawn Walton had to pull out of directing the show as she was offered a job at the Royal Court which was a guaranteed pay cheque, whereas I was still waiting for confirmation for funding. However, the fantastic Leo Kay, who worked with me on my R&D phase has stepped in, so I'm looking forward to working with him. He co-directed I Hear Voices, a spoken word theatre piece we've just finished touring, so I know it'll be hard work physically (Leo's background is in dance and physical theatre) but I think that's what I, and the show, need.
For this stage of the show we're piloting the feasibility of touring the show by bike also, as we are taking the show from Contact, Manchester up to The Brewery, Kendal, and I have miraculously managed to find a technician, Dan Steele, who is also a cyclist and up for coming on the road with me. As well as a technician and cyclist Dan is primarily a great sound designer and worked on I Hear Voices with us, which means he'll also be bringing his audio skills to the project, adding a much needed extra dimension to make up for what we miss in lighting the show by pedal power (although I'm currently looking into having him on some sort of contraption to control the sound in the same way as the lights are controlled by my bike...).
Finally I have Sumit Sarkar in charge of Art & Design. He's designed a beautiful flyer/poster for the shows (see above) and will be directing any other design elements such as set, costume etc (though these are looking pretty minimal right now so I'm roping him into making me a website!)
Though I have my work cut out getting the final script ready, I'm going to try and post on this blog as much as possible from now on because I want people to be able to discuss issues arising from the show when it comes up, so I need to start discussing them amongst myself first I suppose!
While things have been changing and developing rapidly in my world, events have been moving even faster in the wider national and global world of environmentalism (I know that was a terrible sentence but I'm tired, please bear with me!) There's been the UK Govt Climate Change Bill, The Stern Report, The Bali conference, announcement of this year's Climate Camp at Kingsnorth power station to name but a few. Too much to go into now, but I'll try and make comment on them and new matters arising in the weeks to come...
Meanwhile, check out my lovely flyer, and book your tickets!

Next Phase...

Wow, it's been so long since my last post I don't know where to start...
Well basically, the state of play with the show is that I finished my period of research and development, which was useful, but I still feel like I have a way to go with the writing before I'm ready to do a full touring production.
However, I do at last have a bit of a team around me to help me make it happen. Ric Watts, the guy who helped me write my last Arts Council proposal has come on board as my official producer, and we've just finished writing the bid for the production next year. I've got dates booked provisionally at Contact in Manchester in April and we're looking at a couple of other venues that are interested.
My dream is to be able to tour the show by bike, though I realised I wouldn't be able to do this on my own and would have to find a technician/stage manager who was also up for cycling around parts of the country (I'll resist making a cheap joke about the physical attributes of most theatre techies I've met, but suffice to say I thought it would be a tough call!) and I've found him, in the shape of Dan Steele, who is also an excellent sound designer.
One of the main things lacking from last year's work in progress version was some strong direction, so I've got Dawn Walton, a fantastic director I've been fortunate enough to work with once before, interested in the project.
And then there's my mate Sumit Sarkar, one of the best young artists in the country for my money (don't take my word for it though, see for yourself: www.kriksix.com ) who will be designing publicity and some new set and costume elements.
Woo! Just better hope I get the funding now... Though with the current climate that's far from certain. If you're not involved in the arts you may not be aware that the government, in their boundless wisdom, have raided the lottery for money to cover the Olympics. This means that money available to people like me through the Arts Council has been cut by 35%! Boo. Still, I think it's best that we, as artists, don't rely too heavily on funding from one source, and try to create our own economy so we're not constantly reliant on hand-outs... Easier said than done.
Anyway, it's time for me to go, as even though I know no-one's reading this I don't want to waffle on too long. Now I'm getting on with the show again though I will be making regular contributions to this blog again, updating the progress of it, and dissecting any relevant topics that come up in the news as I do so... Whilst trying to be moderately entertaining.
Good luck.