Step into an enchanting realm where physical theatre transcends boundaries, capturing the essence of a female form lost in carnality of trying to find her feet. Watch as a statue shatters its own stone, slithering into a tapestry of ever-changing, unlikely characters, in unlikely spaces. A show born between a windswept island off Ireland’s western coast and a former textiles factory in the heart of Barcelona’s industrial zone; through the universal language of gesture, this performance weaves the tender beauty of cultural heritage with a piercing critique of contemporary feminism.
´It’s a Real Coincidence´, co-devised and directed by Gráinne O’Carroll and Sophie Kasser, is a performance combining physical theatre, dance, sound and lighting. Set to an immersive musical score originally composed by Ian Nyquist, an experimental light-work developed with Odhran Duignan and Neilor Moreno that is adaptable to various spaces, and a multipurpose prop designed by Gráinne O´Carroll and constructed by Kim Van Den Belt of 4.F.Studio. This is a collaboratively built performance retelling the tale of a female body in art: From object to artist it crafts the story of life itself – from conception to death and back to conception again and celebrates the nuances and gestures of being human we pick up along the way.
For Zeitgeist Irland ´Its a Real Coincidence´ will have its German premiere including five performance in unconventional spaces: A former horse stables being transformed into a socio-cultural space in Cologne and a consumer co-operative turned gallery in Wuppertal.
July 18th & 19th: Machbarschaft Petershof, Cologne
July 20th & 21st: Verteilungsstelle Kunst, Wuppertal (ticket link)
Tuilleadh eolaisGráinne O’Carroll is an artist, director and performer making work with a compulsion towards fine details of gesture, corporeal storytelling, uncanny characters, lively engagements and converted spaces. O´Carroll’s work spans various interconnected domains, primarily focusing on performance, film, textiles and installation.
Taking a hands-on, experimental and personal approach in her works, which sees her in multiple roles from idea conception, to character design, performer, director and editor, her works often deal with embodiment – manifested through various ways – like creating surrealistic costumes that “manipulate” the wearer, converting a neglected industrial boiler room into a non-commercial experimental arts hub in Dublin’s “Silicone Docks” and thus investigating how transforming space also transforms the occupants. In 2020 she set out to create a body of work which strips back her embodiment-research to the bare essentials – in simple dress and bare space how deep can movement go.
A Bachelors in ´Textiles Art and Artefact´ and ´Art History´ at NCAD, a phase at Khib´s non-departmental fine art school in Bergen, a diploma in ´Physical Theatre and Dramatic Corporeal Mime´ at Centro Moveo represent O´Carroll´s formal adult education. Experiences, collaborators, relationships, residencies, projects and child-hood training are also paramount. In recent years she’s presented multi-media projects of various scales in Germany, France, Spain and Ireland, often gathering a unique ensemble of collaborators who co-develop the work.