This is an exploration of the history of masculinity in some ways throughout the 20th century as
it was expressed through the form of physical culture, sport, fitness and performance.
There was something unique about how we approached it, as performers, as directors, as practitioners.
We approached things in ways we were comfortable with.
Going into this we went in with those ideas but it came out with something completely different.
I'm just very, very lucky and very fortunate to be a part of it.
I feel very grateful that he's included us.
It's a really interesting mix of theatrical but with some really serious points being made as well,
especially about masculinity, how a man makes his way through the world now.
What are they expecting? They're not coming to see a musical or a play.
They're going to see this expose of really interesting things.
So I think they'll be surprised.
I only played video games or wrestling so I used to really be into that and create my own characters.
But it's nice to then be involved and be showing the music to yourself.
I hope that it's a performance that challenges people's preconceptions about the sport
and physical cultures and fitness.
I was looking at the history of physical culture for an AHRC research project called Dynamic Tensions.
One of the things that I wanted to investigate was the connections between physical culture and fitness cultures and the theatre.
What I really found was that a lot of what we know today as fitness comes from the theatre originally
and the argument that I make is that if we don't acknowledge that kind of theatrical side of things
then we're missing a huge part of what fitness culture is.
So I wanted to bring back a type of performance that existed in the early 20th century and the late 19th century
and not to do it as like a recreation but actually to take some of the same ideas in a modern version
and begin to explore the ethos of that form.
To me, Phoebe and Jack were all in it because of performance research. We did a module that Broderick led.
Which we sort of looked at like masculinities and femininities throughout the years and years of sports.
We're put into the Edwardian musical group for our performance and that's what we had to do like a 10 minute performance on
to do around whether we'd done weightlifting, wrestling, clowning.
We focused on like the vaudeville-esque kind of era.
We did a little bit of hardcore as a Christmas special lesson.
When we were kind of looking at masculinity in the Victorian era, we were kind of putting on these big masculine poses
like Eugene Sandow.
We found out that they admired Greek statues a lot so we posed as Greek gods
and we sort of subverted the male-female roles within that.
And then so for our final project.
Me, Adam and Jack and another guy called Anthony who's unfortunately not being able to be in the performance.
These three students were looking at the Victorian era and they worked on the idea of the music hall in the Victorian era
and so some of the same ideas were there.
But Broderick asked at some point over the summer he contacted us and said
would you be interested in kind of redoing bits of the performance, bringing them and doing some music.
I never really wanted it to be set in the Victorian era when it came to putting in things like music
I immediately thought of them because they brought so much talent to the process
but also they brought a real sense of the style.
We were just fortunate enough that Dan Lyon Broderick asked us if we'd like to
kind of incorporate that into the performance.
So even if we're not kind of creating a pastiche of the music hall they can bring little moments of flair.
They think it can be called London and we went oh okay and then it's turned into this big thing that we're involved in
which is really nice.
And so it's great to work with them, it's also great to work with Sally who I've collaborated with for a long time
and her piano and her music ability it just gives like extra colour and texture to the performance.
And then Jonathan was interested in coming on to the project as a placement student
so he was at the time when we started he was completing his master's degree at Rose Broughford.
Someone on my MA course last year sent me a link to Dynamic Tensions Workshop in April and I contacted Broderick.
We met up and immediately hit it off.
Started talking to him about if I could come on to the project.
So he's really been like my right hand man behind this whole process because he's kind of been there as a kind of assistant director
bouncing ideas and...
Involves things I'm really interested in.
Exercise, sport and it's something that I've never seen before in performance.
Philip I met in a wrestling workshop which I think he mentioned.
Wrestling came about as part of a workshop that was being done and then from there he was just maybe looking for a wrestler
or something that would be involved in that project.
I knew that he was a professional wrestler so I was always interested in incorporating that as part of the show.
Really taken by the sense of movie and physical theatre with performance work
and also how bodies are used in performance got in touch with Broderick
and we started discussing maybe a collaboration and it all built from there.
Secondly he has a background in performance art.
Works and some ideas of training up when we first maybe just did some weightlifting training together.
Started seeing what bits would work, what bits wouldn't work and develop them.
There seemed to be just what would fit into the piece but without having to try and force anything
so the things that have stuck, the things that have become interesting have been developed further
and things that just weren't really working got pushed to one side but not in any sort of like
this has to be the way it's all felt very organic and very natural.
Pete I met because I used to train at a gym in Vauxhall called the Iron Club
which has become a different name now and he was working there as a personal trainer
so we just got talking and then we've kept in touch for a long time
and I was always talking to him about this research that I was doing
and because he's an actor when it came down to putting together this show I immediately thought of him.
I'm looking forward to seeing Peter because I've seen Peter once already obviously
but I'm looking forward to seeing the horseshoe gets there.
And the steel bar get bent over some guy's head.
A guy that's going to come and break apples.
I'm so excited.
I think that a lot of the time, especially when you think about physical culture in relation to gender
or in relation to masculinities and femininities, there's a lot of stereotypes that come into play
and I think that that's pretty, it's unhelpful in getting to the truth
and really what is positive or negative or being critical about what physical culture can do for us.
For me it's a bit weird because I look around and I notice I'm the only girl on stage.
Because you just kind of go okay, so I don't know what that means
and how I fit in physically with this and you know.
Very different representations of masculinity, representations of how a man is perceived in the world
and how the world perceives them, how through a sporting contest or physical theatre, theatrical contest
how their perspective of masculinity is represented as well.
I really want something that complicates those kind of simple narratives
and for people to come away with thinking differently about it
because it's being presented to them in a completely different form that you would usually see.
I've really enjoyed the process. I hope that it's enjoyable for the audience.
It's been very interesting not knowing where we were going with any of these bits
and then finding that together.
I'm very, very excited but when it comes to that I'm sure I'll be very, very nervous
but now I'm really looking forward to it because it's kind of like a step forward
maybe it's like a practitioner and a divisor sort of thing.
Yeah, I am. Especially after today I'm really looking forward to it.
Do you think my dress is a little bit, just a little bit, not too much of it?
It's an interesting piece and I want it to come together really nicely.
I'm really excited.
There are points where the pants one ends.
I had my head split open in wrestling as a thing called blading.
And this is a very, very true representation of myself and what I have suffered
and what I've felt for 22 years and hopefully that will come across in the work as well.
I've got someone coming to watch it who doesn't know what to expect
and I'm sure a lot of the audience aren't going to expect what we actually give them
so I can see their reaction.
I'm hoping for an enjoyable performance
but also one that challenges people's thinking.
Never served any jail time.
They had to pay fines of $3,000.
So this is what an Asian life is worth.
Thank you.
