Originally conceived for the eve of the 2015 UK general election, Cock & Bull sees three female performers—Nic Green, Laura Bradshaw, Rosana Cade—convene to perform their own, alternative, party conference.
Exploring power, voice, agency and sustainability, they use the most heard phrases from Conservative governmental rhetoric, to dismantle and redress dominant paradigms of power and Politics. Responding to the meaninglessness and repetition of empty political promise, the privilege of the governmental elite and the deep discontent of an increasingly disproportionate and divided society, this work is part protest, part catharsis, part exorcism. It becomes, in part, a demonstration of togetherness. Cock and Bull is a transforming choreography of words and a passionate speech of the body, underpinned with the real-time energy of political dissatisfaction and tory tongue-speak.
For the Toronto premiere of Cock & Bull, two iterations are performed: the original short version (60 minutes) and the long version, lasting the length of an average sitting of the House of Commons (over 7 hours). Presented as bookends in the first week of Progress, audiences are afforded the unique opportunity to investigate the performance’s structure and form as it expands (and contracts) over time.
“A quiet, luminously brilliant, meditation on politics and pain.” Exeunt Magazine
★★★★ “A blistering, beautiful act.” What’s On Stage
★★★★ “Astonishing…Unforgettable performances.” The Scotsman
Winner of the Total Theatre Award for best visual/physical theatre, Edinburgh (2016)
CREDITS
Curated and Presented by FADO Performance Art Centre
Conceived and Directed by Nic Green
Created with Laura Bradshaw and Rosana Cade
Performed by Laura Bradshaw, Rosana Cade and Nic Green (short version)
Performed by Rosana Cade and Nic Green (long version)
LX design Eleni Thomaidou
Technical support Murray Wason
Production Manager (Toronto) Deb Lim
PERFORMANCES
January 30, 2019 @ 7:30pm (60 minutes)
February 2, 2019 @ 2:00pm (7 hours & 41 minutes)
This year’s Progress, international festival of performance & ideas takes place between January 30–February 15, 2019. Progress is collectively curated by FADO Performance Art Centre, F-O-R-M, Native Earth Performing Arts, SummerWorks, The Power Plant, the red light district, The Theatre Centre, Uma Nota Culture and Why Not Theatre. Produced by SummerWorks in association with The Theatre Centre.
© Nic Green, Cock & Bull. Photo Manuel Vason.
