all images © Lisa Peachey 2015. Work © Bettina Strickler

Where the light was less

Bettina Strickler invited me to work with her on the set design for her finalist submission to The Place Prize called ‘Where the light was less’.

The work explored the random but significant moments of life, with a theme of memory and loss amongst the detritus of a life now passed on, involving an actress (Irene Hardy), a singer (Claudio Girard), a musician (Simon Redfern), each of whom also danced, together with Elisabetta D’Aloia.

Bettina had committed to the raw material of the set – moving boxes. After various discussions both before and during the rehearsals, what came out was a desire to suggest both the disequilibrium of moving, and the solidity of the objects that make that journey with us. The boxes were cut and set at angles so that they portrayed an uneasy movement; a saucer and taps were added precariously to one or two. As an intimate piece, Bettina’s desire was to bring the audience closer to the action without the use of video feeds, and so a large lens was used to both enlarge and distort the emotive faces of the dancers.

2008