Throwback Thursday: Alice Anderson

In spring 2012, Alice Anderson began to mummify all of the objects and furniture from her London studio with copper thread while inviting various performers to join her in these actions at the studio, turning the studio space into a FACTORY.

In March 2013 Anderson brought a number of chosen objects to The Print Room, these objects were part of her consciousness and memory and along with ten performers from the Artist's FACTORY wound copper thread around objects in front of the audience, showing their specific process of making sculptures live.

Guest to the theatre were also given the chance to dress in overalls and become part of the FACTORY, each taking away a completely individual experience having personal memories invoked as they wrapped their given object, whether it was an umbrella, a telephone or a guitar.

The action of winding copper thread around objects reveal movements similar to the shamans' dances, involving the essence of gestures which explore human existence and experience in relation to objects.

The entire work is inspired by Anderson's childhood. She recalls inventing games with bobbins as well as undoing threads from seams. Winding objects is an act of satisfaction, protection, preservation, reparation and resistance.

Since her time at The Print Room Anderson’s work has continued with an exhibition at the 55^th Venice Biennale until 24^th.

The Trailer

7 September - 5 October

The Print Room presents

THE LAST YANKEE by Arthur Miller

Show Information - Buy Tickets Online

Don't Call Me Bella

This week we will release a stream of marketing for our upcoming production of The Last Yankee, with posters and a beautiful trailer filmed by Nothin or Double Films.

HOWEVER, before we start hash-tagging away on social media here are some *exclusive* behind the scenes images of The Print Room staff searching for locations to film/photograph. 

The big question over our morning coffee that day was; “Where are we going to take pictures for The Last Yankee poster?” but in trying to answer the question we inadvertently created a band, (or at least the artwork for our album cover).

Our name is Don’t Call Me Bella, and our never recorded, never to be heard music can be categorised into an Indie/Blue Grass genre, we won’t be playing any upcoming gigs and you can’t buy our EP on iTunes.  Please enjoy.

Monday Afternoon Links

Monday’s are never the most enjoyable days, so we though a few procrastination links were a good way to ease into the week.

Dress Up and Dance

As tap lessons continue in the theatre today for one of the most heart-wrenchingly-uncomfortable scenes in The Last Yankee, I couldn’t help but be reminded of another fabulously crazy American, Miss Edith Bouvier Beale of Grey Gardens. 

Vivian Leigh at The V&A

The V&A has recently acquired a must see archive of the legendary British film and theatre actress Vivien Leigh with a revolving selection of items now on display in the V&A’s Theatre and Performance Galleries. 

In keeping with The Print Room’s run-up to The Last Yankee’s opening performance her is an image from the moment when two iconic Brits met two iconic Yanks.

[From Left to Right Laurence Olivier, Vivien Leigh, Marilyn Monroe, Arthur Miller]

Throwback Thursday: The Last Yankee Arrives in London 1993

Everyone loves a good comeback story, and The Last Yankee was Miller's.  Check out this Review from The Independent in 1993 when this mini-masterpiece made a smash hit at The Young Vic.

 [Zoe Wanamaker and Peter Davison in the 1993 production of "The Last Yankee"]

"HOW would America's founding fathers respond if they could see what posterity has done to their earthly paradise? That is the loaded question Arthur Miller puts in The Last Yankee, and it prompts his best play for a decade. Those who considered Miller a spent force after The Ride Down Mt Morgan must eat their words.

Like much of his late work, it is a guarded, low-key conversation piece sustained by the barest thread of plot. Plot implies that the writer knows what is going to happen. Miller pretends to no such certainty. Dialogue consists of the small change of casual meetings and domestic habit in a seemingly directionless drift, until, in each of the show's four superb performances, it abruptly ignites into powerful feeling, or snaps shut, imprisoning some victim in a verbal gin trap, and bringing the preliminaries into harsh perspective. "

Yankee Doodle is coming to town!

Yankee Doodle went to town

A-riding on a pony,

Stuck a feather in his cap

And called it macaroni'.

Having said the words ‘The Last Yankee’ countless time over the last few weeks it’s not surprising that this nursery rhyme would pop into my head, absent-mindedly humming while the cast of our upcoming production of Miller’s play rehearsed behind me I suddenly realised I had no idea what the lyrics were talking about.

What had Yankee Doodle named macaroni, the feather, his hat, or the pony?  And why was he called Yankee Doodle? 

To my surprise Mr Doodle had not named anything after a type of pasta commonly coupled with cheese.  The Macaroni was in fact a wig that came to fashion in the 1770’s, and the term quickly became adopted for describing foppish gentlemen.  So this song, sung by British military officers, is actually an attack on the masculinity of the early American colonists.

And it gets worse, “Doodle” is a word derived from German meaning “fool”, so not only were the officers having a crack at the colonialist testicularity but also they were saying that these ‘Yanks’ were so naïve and stupid that they thought putting a feather in their hats made them fashionable.

Of course it’s not surprising to find out that a nursery rhyme isn’t quite as innocent as first thought, however it’s interesting to see how it links with the Miller play.  The song is ultimately an attack on American identity, specifically New England colonists, adjacent to this we have four characters beautifully painted by Miller all struggling with their own personal identities and ancestry in American history.  

While we are yet to release the official poster and trailer for our upcoming production… why not enjoy this…