Glitch = my first solo visual black comedy wordlessly performed as my alter ego Lois of the Lane to a continuous soundtrack featuring voice over, music and sound effects: a thirty minute black comedy for the automated generation.
Welcome to Room 8933 and the new 'Stay Safe!' Character Vetting Process!
'Stay Safe!' marks the dawn of a new era of security at Passport Control. A few minutes and a short digital questionnaire later: you're free to continue your onward journey.
Quick, simple efficient and painless:
'Stay Safe!' - for you, for us, for everyone.What could possibly go wrong...?
A lone woman traveller finds herself trapped in a holding cell during a routine security check. Rather than succumb to the increasingly totalitarian surveillance, she attempts to outwit the machine and make a bid for freedom - hopefully in one piece…
I wrote, marketed, produced and performed Glitch initially as a very last minute affair amidst the furore created by the proposed introduction of ID cards into the UK. It fortunately turned out to be a rewarding gamble: I managed to persuade Richard Hurst to direct a few days before my performance and Glitch is still (unfortunately) relevant today.
The Scotsman:
"This timely black comedy is woven from several strands of bitter contemporary malaise: the encroachment of government surveillance into our private affairs; the intrusion of marketing strategies into every transaction we undertake; and the infuriating inhumanity of automated customer service networks."
It's pretty much just me, my soundtrack and a chair and it's always great fun to perform.
Glitch performances so far:
Pleasance
during the last week of the Edinburgh
Festival Fringe
August 2006
Etcetera Theatre
sell out successes!
January 2007 and January/February 2008 for a few dates
The British Library
as part as the Taking
Liberties exhibition
January/February 2009 for 20 performances
Waterloo
East Theatre
the first ever show in this venue
July 2010 for 2 nights
The Lexington
and the Holloway
Arts Festival
One off performances
June 2011
Voices (in order of 'appearance'):
Male Announcer on Airport tannoy – Tim
Frost
Female Announcer on Airport tannoy – Dorota Józefowicz
Default Computer – Sarah
Nield
Section Announcer – Jae
Kerwood
'Stay Safe!' Advert – Paul
Zenon
All other Adverts – Paul
Garner
'Technical Problem' Guy – Glen
Strachan
Warning Announcements & Final Computer voice – Lois Tucker
Rebooted Computer – Giuseppe Rella
Computer you wouldn’t mess with – Matty
Mitford
Jo Public – Katie Marsden, Richard
Crawley, Alex Cottrill, Enzo Appetecchia, Lisa Carpendale, Julia
Sandiford, Paul Engers, Alex Bowley & Jamie Janson
Soundtrack spliced together, recorded & mastered by: Hottie
Redfoot at Glendale Studios
Additional Sound Engineering: Fat
Gianfranco
Original Outside-Eyer / Direction / Welcome Advice: Richard
Hurst
Glitch Re-boot Direction: Jamie Rocha Allan
