live scripted performance | 2010

The five performers sit apart among the audience in a cafe, gallery or bar. One stands and points at another across the room. She seems to recognise him and offers a name. The man rises as if exposed and found out. A question becomes a statement. He reluctantly accepts the name and diverts attention by naming another performer.

The performers give each other names in this way and an increasingly complex network grows up as they invent  relationships. They have to remember the connections that tie them together. It gets worse as they attribute a second name to one another, which no longer respects the gender or age of the performer. The invention of a third identity begins to mark the end. Names are lost, connections are broken and they stand, regarding one another in silence. They slowly sit in isolation before becoming part of the larger group once more.

Performed by Florence Peake, Isabel Carr, Cindy Oswin, Barnaby Stone, John Hale and Gary Stevens.

Photo: Paul Machado. Production photo: Hugo Glendinning.