The Event:
How Shall We Begin Again? was a live installation about the body, returning to the body.
It took place across 10 hours from 11am-9pm on Saturday, 18 March at the Key Theatre in Peterborough. 35 people gathered for a full-day performance where each moment was different.
The live installation was about returning to the body, returning to ourselves. Each person gave an interpretation of this opportunity. Taking up space, being seen, being present and, for some, it was simply about liveness: the act of being in the moment.
Participants were welcome to attend for 15 minutes, the whole day, or anything in-between.
“How can I describe the performance… a collective action; between portraiture, protest and something like a prayer. Just a moment, to be in the moment. ”
Below: Photos of the Event by Lauren Irving
Participants:
This event was created and performed by:
Amee Garala, Anamika Ghosh, Bo Li, Chloe Akasha Carson, Chloe Wilmot, Claudio Keita, Diane Goldsmith, Ekta Patel, Eleanor Gibson, Elina Akhmetova, Emily Bowers, Emily Steele, Emma Dalton, Emma Gibbons, Faustina Yang, Gemma McDowell, Grace Gigner, Ian Tennant, Isabella Westveer de Mul, Jay Yule, Jo Fong, Kate Hall, Kim Coley, Leah Jackson, Leanne Moloney, Lolita Akopianaite, Louis Lindsay-Timmins, Louise Murray, May Fadiora-Runsewe, Rhys Bowyer, Sarah Saxby, Sonny Nwachukwu, Shivaangee Agrawal, Snow Snieguole Maliavskaja, Tessa Lynn, Zak Woolsey.
Thank you for being a part of this event.
“Dance this bold, cuts to the humanity in us all.”
Image by Lucas Chih Peng Kao
If you were a participant in the project, please use the button below to access the private participant page, the password has been emailed to you.
Image by Simon Banham
About Jo
Jo Fong is a Creative Associate with the Wales Millennium Centre. She has been dancing and making for 30 years and began her career with Rosas, Rambert and DV8 Physical Theatre to name a few.
Jo lives in Wales and her creative work reflects the need in these times for people to come together. Her artistic practice is an evolving, collaborative approach which puts ideas around belonging or forming community in the forefront.
In February this year, Jo gathered 14 artists and their guests for a two-week shared residency, Ways of Being Together Toynbee Takeover, London. Ways of Being Together has evolved into an artist-led community creating space and time to reconnect, repair, replenish and explore performance making and co-creation. The annual convergence is layered, centring learning, support, coming out and actioning
Event Accessibility:
It was important to us and Jo that How Shall We Begin Again? was available and inclusive for all who might be interested. Below are some of the ways we worked to achieve this goal.
Access Information
We invited people to get in touch to discuss how we could support them.
Costs: Free Tickets for Disabled People, their Support Workers and people under the age of 25. (The price was otherwise £5.) Individuals could select the ticket type from a set of options when booking on the Key Theatre website.
Parking: There was a pay-and-display car park just outside the main entrance. This car park had accessible spaces.
Age Recommendation: Any age but we made attendees aware that some sections may contain strong language and/or emotive topics.
Wheelchair Access: The Key Theatre Main Space was wheelchair accessible at the time of the event from the back of the theatre. People could enter through the main door into the foyer where there was a lift that could take them to the first floor which had the bar and doors to the Main Space.
Toilets: There was an accessible toilet on the ground floor.
Audio Description: There was live audio description between 2pm-5pm, members of staff could be asked for headphones to access this. The audio describers were Shivaangee Agrawal and Elina Akhmetova.
BSL: There was live BSL interpreter between 4pm-6pm. The BSL interpreter was Kirsty Dorkenoo.
Hearing Loop: There was a hearing loop available in the Main Space.
Relaxed Performance: How Shall We Begin Again? was a relaxed performance. The seating area was lit and people were welcome to move around and leave the space whenever they wanted to.
Information was provided in an audio format that could be downloaded before the show.
The Event Invitation
The invitation for the event was created in multiple formats. This was so there would be a wide range of ways for interested people to learn about the session in as inclusive a way as possible.
Please feel free to access the invitation across its formats below.
The Invitation in BSL by Leah Jackson
The invitation in Lithuanian and Mandarin and English
With thanks to our partners and funders…
With thanks to Jo’s partners in Cardiff and London who have supported the development of How Shall We Begin Again: NEUROLIVE, Wales Millennium Centre, Siobhan Davies Studios and Striking Attitudes.
