About
Written and directed by: Julia Lee Barclay . Performed and created by: Bill Aitchison, Zoe Bouras, Rachel Ellis and Birthe Jorgensen. Special Guests: Lukas Angelini, Fred Backus (NYC), Alison Blunt, Boris Kahnert, Theron Schmidt. Assistant director/production manager: Lucy Avery. Producer: Clare Moloney
AFTERSHOW DISCUSSIONS:
12/2: Hosted by Dr. Kelina Gotman of Kings College. Will discuss the relation of theatre to philosophy in general and in relation to this show: where does the soul come from and can you find it in the theatre.
19/2: Hosted by Piers Bannister of Amnesty International with a focus on the politics of torture.
26/2 Hosted by Matt Ball of Camden People's Theatre and will address the issue of the accessibility of experimental theatre to more general audiences.
The Lorem Ipsum Gallery, in association with Camden People's Theatre, presents Apocryphal Theatre's new production: Besides, You Lose Your Soul, Or The History Of Western Civilization. The performance will be accompanied by a series of after-show discussions and an exhibition of photographs by Apocryphal Theatre's live visual artist Birthe Jorgensen.
Besides, you lose your soul is the last line of an interview of a U.S. Army officer from a New Yorker article about the inefficiencies of the use of torture for gathering accurate information. Besides, you lose your soul, or the History of Western Civilization attempts, with the humour that results from certain failure, to search through the remnants of Western Civilization in order to find out who's to blame for the creation of the individual soul, that apparently can be lost or recovered, and which can lead to those we do not recognize being branded soul-less. What is this soul? Did we discover or invent it?
Apocryphal Theatre began as an experimental theatre laboratory in 2004 led by Julia Barclay, with the mission to explore how we construct the world around us, listening for the voices which have not yet formed and experiences we have not yet named, with a focus on how we create sacred and secular spaces. Apocryphal Theatre consists of performers, musicians, visual artists and dancers. The company, which continues its ongoing lab process, also produces shows, most recently The Jesus Guy, which was funded by The Arts Council England, premiered at Camden People's Theatre in 2006 and has since toured the UK. Other work includes: Heart Oven Falling: Gotcha! (2004 Rules and Regs, 2005 Chelsea Theatre and UK universities), An Apocryphal Mini-Festival (2008 Lorem Ipsum Gallery) and many laboratory showings at various venues such as The Tate Modern, Chelsea College of Art, Lorem Ipsum Gallery, Camden People's Theatre, and internationally. Apocryphal Theatre has also worked extensively with London's art radio station Resonance FM.
Besides, you lose your soul, or the History of Western Civilization is sponsored by: Arts Council England, Camden Council, Royal Victoria Hall Foundation, Lorem Ipsum Gallery, Rose Bruford College and the Peggy Ramsey Foundation.