twiceness

Two performers are present, in the space, as themselves, and as participants in an act of communication. Blocks of information, of narrative, of action, combining the found, the given, and the made, are built into a sequence of telling and showing. The performance questions interaction, engaging with gesture, with doubling, with repetition, with exchange. Underlying the performers’ relationship is awareness of loss and gaps, what is missed or missing, what doesn’t carry across.

The work asks questions that the performers unpick, rework, worry at. How do we tell each other things? How do we know we mean the same? How do we move between registers and codes, adapting and adjusting to fit, to ease, to stick? What happens if we try to do it again? Moving between choreographed passages and improvisation, the piece engages the audience with consideration of what it takes to get along with each other.

‘twiceness’ is a new performance by Shelley Hodgson (writer/sound artist) and Mark Leahy (performer/writer). The two have been aware of each other’s practice for some years but had not found a way to work together. This piece arises from collaborative working, the joint development of ideas, and finding a form for live presentation.

SHELLEY HODGSON is a sound artist and writer. She has developed a wealth of collaborative making and producing experience across the UK and further afield over the past decade. She studied BA Performance Writing at Dartington College of Arts, and was awarded Distinction in MA Performance Writing from Falmouth University. She works as a freelance Creative Producer, and has overseen projects for Soundart Radio, Take A Part, Far Flung Dance, among others. https://www.instagram.com/plinthart/

MARK LEAHY is a writer and artist working with text, image and performance. From Ireland, he now lives and works in Southwest England. He makes solo and collaborative performance works that use language, gesture, and digital interfaces to examine how individuals are shaped by cultural and social forces. He has presented live work in Plymouth, Exeter, Falmouth and other locations in the UK and Europe. He is active in peer-networks supporting arts activity in his region, teaches part-time at University of Plymouth and Falmouth University, and works with a number of arts and creative organisations. markleahy.net.

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