ChrisluvHoward Barker directs his latest play
Posted on 21/10/2004The unique collaboration between acclaimed playwright Howard Barker and the ground-breaking theatre company The Wrestling School reaches a new high on Wednesday 27th October when Loughborough University's Drama Centre presents Barker's new work Dead Hands, directed by the playwright himself.
Dead Hands powerfully shows how Death can also transform the living. A young man learns that his father is dying. He drives furiously to reach the bedside but arrives too late. The dead man's mistress shows him to the room where the body lies and leaves him to his grief. Later his younger brother appears. He was present at the death but his attitude is strangely ambiguous. He seems reluctant to engage with his elder brother, who immediately suspects him of a guilty secret.
How far did the dead man plan these encounters? Are the actions and thoughts of the bereaved all part of an elaborate scheme thought up by the dying man? And what are the mistress's intentions towards the surviving sons?
In the hands of theatre company The Wrestling School, Dead Hands promises to be a very special theatrical event. The Wrestling School was established specifically to act as a focus for the work of Howard Barker, whose highly distinctive style of writing is renowned for exploring power, sexuality and human behaviour with a poetic language of ideas, beauty, violence and rich, dark comedy.
The company was established in 1988 by actors from the RSC and the Royal Court and is made up of actors, musicians, designers and directors who share a commitment to Barker's demanding but rewarding texts. The company has quickly established a reputation for mounting outstanding productions of these challenging works and has drawn highly enthusiastic audiences into the text. Their work has led them to being called "the most important buildingless company in Britain". They have now presented many productions of Barker's texts as well as workshops, readings and public discussions to over 56,000 people in nine countries.
Dead Hands is an intimate, emotional piece, showing how the silence of the recently deceased can provoke a strained and bitter dialogue among the survivors. Paranoia, suspicion and guilt build a powerfully tense and destructive atmosphere. Howard Barker directs his play in the distinctive Wrestling School style, working with the team that created the highly successful productions of 13 Objects, Gertrude and He Stumbled.
Dead Hands can be seen at The Drama Centre, Loughborough University on Wednesday 27th October. The show begins at 7.30pm. To book tickets or for more information just ring 01509-222899 or e-mail to V.Green@lboro.ac.uk
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