GIVE ME A REASON TO LIVE

Claire Cunningham

11 Feb–6 Mar 2016 | perthfestival.com.au

Co-presented by Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts

CREATIVE TEAM

Choreographer and performer Claire Cunningham

Lighting designer Karsten Tinapp

Sound designer Zoë Irvine

Cellist Matthias Herrmann

Additional music Nesciens Mater – Jean Mouton,

Den Tod – JS Bach

Costume designer Shanti Freed

Mentors Kristin De Groot (Bosch project)

Janice Parker (Scotland)

PRODUCTION TEAM

Executive producer Nadja Dias

Technical manager Gregor Knüppel

Assistant producers Daisy Douglas

Sheena Khanna

No one could defeat death

among all humanity,

this was all because of our sins,

no innocence was to be found.

Therefore death came so soon

and took power over us,

held us captive in his kingdom.

Hallelujah!

MUSIC

BWV 4 Cantata Christ lag in Todes Banden

Den Tod niemand zwingen kunnt

Bei allen Menschenkindern,

Das macht’ alles unsre Sünd,

Kein Unschuld war zu finden.

Davon kam der Tod so bald

Und nahm über uns Gewalt,

Hielt uns in seinem Reich gefangen.

Halleluja!

Cover image: Maria Falconer

PICA, PERTH CULTURAL CENTRE Wed 2–Sat 5 Mar

This performance runs for 40 minutes, no interval

GIVE ME A REASON TO LIVE UNITED KINGDOM

Claire Cunningham Creator and performer

Glasgow-based performer, Claire Cunningham, is one of the UK’s most renowned disabled artists. Her work is often rooted in the study and use/misuse of her crutches, and the exploration of the potential of her own

specific physicality. She consciously rejects traditional dance techniques developed for non-disabled bodies, as well as any attempt to move with the pretence of a body or aesthetic other than her own. Cunningham’s work combines multiple art forms and ranges from intimate solo shows to large ensemble works. She is a former artist-in-residence at the Women of the World Festival at Southbank Centre, London, and the Belfast International Arts Festival at Queens University, and will be this year’s associate artist at Tramway, Glasgow.

clairecunningham.co.uk

CLAIRE CUNNINGHAM ON GIVE ME A REASON TO LIVE

‘Give Me a Reason to Live was created out of a project which looked at the works of medieval painter, Hieronymus Bosch. Some of his works depict beggars as ‘cripples’ and vice versa, and an academic had suggested that these figures might symbolise sin. I became fascinated with that potential reading of disability.

Exploring the issues of religion (and religious art, in particular), alongside questions regarding the judgement of bodies and quality of life, this work takes the form of a series of tests. Tests of body and of faith. It is, for me, a study in the notion of empathy.

Give Me A Reason to Live exists also as a live memorial to the disabled victims of the Nazi Aktion T4 euthanasia program, and the current disabled victims of the ongoing ‘welfare reform’ in the UK’.

Image: Hugh Glendinning

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We Believe Innovation Starts with InspirationChevron Australia is proud to be the International Excellence Partner of the 2016 Perth International Arts Festival

For the 2016 Festival, PIAF has invited Claire Cunningham to be artist-in-residence. As well as her two performance works, Claire will lead a week of artist workshops and spend the duration of the Festival in Western Australia.

PIAF has a commitment to presenting work by artists with disability. This commitment addresses a core value of its artistic vision – to celebrate diversity and difference. Over the next four years, in partnership with DADAA, PIAF will create opportunities for a dynamic exchange of ideas and practice between visiting international artists with disability, our arts community and audiences across Australia.

PIAF Connect is the new program through which Perth International Arts Festival is fostering the development of local artists and industry. Through bespoke partnership projects, the program connects WA’s creative community with the Festival, as well as international artists and producers. Visit perthfestival.com.au for more details.

A PIAF project presented in association with DADAA

PIAF ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCE:

CLAIRE CUNNINGHAM

Image: Brian Hartley

CREATIVE TEAM

Creator and performer Claire Cunningham

Composer and musician Derek Nisbet

Designer Karen Tennant

Lighting designer Brian Gorman

Captioner Louisa McDaid

Audio describer Christopher McKiddie

Mentor Tom Rodan

Theatre musician understudy Jennifer B Banks

PRODUCTION TEAM

Executive producer Nadja Dias

Technical manager Robert Watson

Stage manager Marisa Ferguson

Assistant producers Daisy Douglas

Sheena Khanna

CLAIRE CUNNINGHAM ON GUIDE GODS

‘The idea for Guide Gods was triggered by my research in Cambodia, where I was looking into landmines and meeting landmine survivors. When I was there, I encountered this individual – he was a disabled man who had polio as a child and was now a teacher in a school for disabled children. But he had been a Buddhist monk and there were two things of interest with his story – firstly, he attributed his disability to karma. His belief was that he had done something bad in a previous life and, therefore, he was disabled in this one. I felt, somehow, that that reflected on me in a judgement – had I done something, therefore, in a previous life, in his opinion?

The second thing that he suggested was that he wasn’t supposed to be a Buddhist monk – he wasn’t allowed to be a Buddhist monk, as a disabled person, which was not something I’d ever heard and that piqued my curiosity. It made me want to find out more about faith and beliefs around disability, and made me aware of my own vast ignorance around religions, generally. It made me want to ask what perspectives different faiths might have towards disability.’

Claire Cunningham Creator and performer

Glasgow-based performer, Claire Cunningham, is one of the UK’s most renowned disabled artists. Her work is often rooted in the study and use/misuse of her crutches, and the exploration of the potential of her own

specific physicality. She consciously rejects traditional dance techniques developed for non-disabled bodies, as well as any attempt to move with the pretence of a body or aesthetic other than her own. Cunningham’s work combines multiple art forms and ranges from intimate solo shows to large ensemble works. She is a former artist-in-residence at the Women of the World Festival at Southbank Centre, London, and the Belfast International Arts Festival at Queens University, and will be this year’s associate artist at Tramway, Glasgow. Cunningham is artist-in-residence at the Perth International Arts Festival.

clairecunningham.co.uk

Derek Nisbet Composer and musician

Derek Nisbet is a composer, musician, sound designer and theatre/film-maker who specialises in creating music for unusual situations. He is co-artistic director of acclaimed

theatre experimentalists, Talking Birds. His work with leading artists and companies, including Claire Cunningham, Ockham’s Razor, Untied Artists and Orchestra of the Swan, has been performed at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, the National Theatre, the Royal Opera House and Sadler’s Wells in the UK, as well as in Russia, Canada and Sweden. His music has been broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and BBC Radio 4.

dereknisbet.info

VICTORIA HALL, FREMANTLE Thur 11–Sun 14 Feb

BURT HALL, ST GEORGES CATHEDRAL Wed 17–Sun 21 Feb

This performance runs for 70 minutes, plus a post-show tea and chat

GUIDE GODS

Cover image: Brian Hartley

UNITED KINGDOM

GUIDE GODS

11 Feb–6 Mar 2016 | perthfestival.com.au

Claire Cunningham

Supported byInternational Excellence Partner