Manchester has always had an edgy and exciting literary scene. From Marx to John Cooper Clarke to Carol Ann Duffy; you’d be an idiot to think anything less of Madchester than a continually evolving hub of rich culture, literacy and history. Therefore it seems a perfect fit for Adam Thirwell and Hans Ulrich Obrist, co-creators of Studio Créole, to present this experimental new performance in collaboration with Manchester International Festival.
Studio Créole is a laboratory of seven newly commissioned stories presented by seven leading authors from around the world presented in seven languages. The authors are: Adania Shibli (Palestine), Dubravka Ugresic (Croatia), Sjon (Iceland), Alejandro Zambra (Chile), Patrick Goncourt (Martinque), Sayaka Murata (Japan), and Ngugi wa Thiong’o (Kenya).
Upon entering the large, minimalist, cold traverse space each seat had a set of ‘Bone Conducting’ headphones. What are those, can I buy them off Amazon? It means the headphones send low frequency vibrations directly to the bones in your skull, you don’t place the headphones directly onto or into your ears, they simply sit in front of your tragus to find a “sweet spot”. There seemed to be a lot of people faffing about with these headphones. Technicians had to double check audience members weren’t inserting them into their ear canals.
An immense white circular table occupied the wide corridor on stage. Embedded in the audience were stylish pink benches for the authors and translators. All armed with microphones, headphones, books, notepads and water. It was an intimate and investigative performance where the author began reading, followed by their translator, and then the solo performer, Lisa Dwan, offering a performative interpretation.
Each author had their time in the spotlight. Each story was delicate, evocative and profound. Funny, witty, courageous and tackling issues faced in their own lives.
Shibli’s story explored her unruly hair coupled with subtle racism she confronts herself with in Palestine. Ugresic’s story is about her disconnection to cities whilst travelling, but how she orientates herself via tailor's shops. Sjon's story covered a long bus ride to nowhere and discovering a zoo. Zambra explored taking a trip to Amhurst, New York and meeting someone special in a graveyard. Goncourt explores the poetics of the labels and habits we endure since the dawning of time. Murata explores the identity of homogeneity and engaging in new cultures by taking risks, but also the brutal addictive nature it has too, and finally Ngugi wa Thiong’o with a story for his grand and great grandchildren encourages a naked bird to dress itself like a rainbow to bring the rains to an arid village.
Dwan performed each story with elegance, whilst maintaining the integrity and personality of the writer. She was a mystical and light performer.
The sound design, by Ben Williams, was exquisite with hints from the text and the mixing of languages. At first it was disorienting, but eventually one began to zone in and out of each element becoming relaxed with rhythms. The lighting design was sophisticated, yet simple, uncomplicated.
The seating at this venue was a disaster. I almost thought it was an adaptation of a Chinese torture method. Long wide carpeted benches with a foam square to sit on. There was no back support and after half an hour the audience was irritated and fidgety. Shame. I was beginning to think this was part of the performance, a sort of restless frustration when being confronted with a new language, but I was really disappointed that I had to sit hunched over for 2 hours.
Overall this is a wonderfully Mancuian and international performance presented by the authors and the curators. The uncomplicated formula presented for each story brought all the elements together very nicely. The ingredients of this show compliment the simplistic, structured and unique experience presented and I would recommend this show for those who are interested in exploring the complex web of world literature, preservation of mother tongue and representation of aesthetics and translational space.
Reviewer - Susanna Amato
on - 12/7/19
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