What do you get when a performance artist, writer, phenomenal singer and drag queen who has been the recipient of a Genius Grant (aka Taylor Mac) collaborates with an astonishing costume designer (Machine Dazzle), an incredible composer (Matt Ray), a 22-piece orchestra and a team of extravagant ‘Dandies’ (among others)?
A 24-hour durational piece tracing the history of popular music in America. An hour for each decade, from 1776-2016. Divided in eight three-hour instalments. If you manage to catch part 1, part of the Barbican’s ‘The Art of Change’ season, here’s what to prepare for:
- Six people knitting on stage for three hours
- Lots and LOTS of glitter
- People taking off their shoes in the (Barbican’s) theatre
- Audience members putting on pieces of drag costume
- Sipping free cans of beer and playing beer pong with 1000+ others
- A rain of shredded historical texts falling down on you from the upper circle
- Nudity
- 1000+ people biting an apple at the same time
- Adults having fun like kids
- Absolutely lavish costumes and a flamingo shaped pool
- A marriage of folklore and queer stories
- A history lesson
- Gender bending
- Incredible singing and (live) music
- Audience members sharing their best puke stories
- A few memorable gems of wisdom
- An extraordinary feeling of community
- Fun
- A rowdy audience
- Water pistols
- Stories about chicken wings and vaginas
- Comfort
- Discomfort
- An unforgettable, highly impressive, multi-disciplinary, super original and very ‘extra’ show.
Not for the faint of heart. Not for the uptight. Not for conformists. But for everyone who believes we should worship verbs instead of nouns.
Merel van ‘t Hooft.
