Experiments in sound

This evening I was presented with a unique experience, in the form of Sally Doughty and Craig Vear's Archipelago. I had never attended any kind of performance art before, so I really didn't know what to expect.

I was bewildered at first, confronted with strange mixtures of French sound clips and erratic, unnatural dancing. As the show went on, I became more engaged with the piece, often finding myself thinking about the nature of the sounds and visuals I was presented with, and what they may have represented.

At last I found myself really engaging with the performance. There were genuinely funny moments too - a fake beard, a monologue about drum solos, and clarinets all drew humour from a place I didn't know existed.

As a fascinating exploration of narrative form, and how audio and image can be manipulated, Archipelago has to be experienced to be understood.

Gabsy Davis-Marks

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it's Sally Doughty

Sally Doughty's solo dance performance showcased a beautifully choreographed contemporary story which initially reminded me of swan lake. Sally, a dance teacher at De Montfort University, danced elegantly in an all black number. It was up to her to connect with the audience and she held their attention throughout.

 

I began to feel I was part of the performance.  I made me want to get up and dance, even though there was no music apart from Sally's singing - was it in Latin?  I also enjoyed her humorous interpretation of 'hockey pockey', as she repeatedly said "now you see me, now you don't" whilst elongating her legs in a perfect ballet position.
 

I loved every minute of Sally's hour-long performance and l was pleased I had booked to see her with Craig Vear at 6pm on the following day.



Georgina Walters

I am the magpie

Andrew Davies is coming to Cultural Exchanges! This is the event I am most excited about for Cultural Exchanges. He wrote the screenplay for one of my favourite films, Bridget Jones's Diary, with Helen Fielding and Richard Curtis and then he wrote the screenplay for the sequel with Helen Fielding so of course I’m going to go and see him talk.

Screenwriting interests me anyway, so going to hear someone talk about his adaptations of Bleak House and some of his other classics is like dangling some shiny jewellery in front of a magpie (If you haven't guessed already, I'm the magpie in this scenario.)

I may not be looking forward to everything that Cultural Exchanges has to offer, but that's just as well.  I couldn't attend everything and some of the events aren't really my cup of tea. Dance, for instance - but Sally Doughty's dance performance was the first event to sell out so there's plainly an eager audience. I suppose some other people probably aren't as keen as I am to hear Andrew Davies.

Cultural Exchanges probably has a little bit of everything for everyone, which is probably what it was designed to do.  You can book your tickets HERE.


Charis Wakeford