A “Play”By 9 Writers

Inspired by 11 Artists

At the dawn of creation, Iris, the winged messenger to the Gods, is asked to live through the history of the Earth. As a symbol of the rainbow Iris will observe the emergence of humans, rationality, religion and robots through a journey that will test her sanity as well those she meets…

Produced by Chris Soul

Directed by Jono Ayres and

Rachel Winfield

Cover design by Jenny Lewis

NEW STAGES 2008Saturday 1st March

4pm- 5pmStage1

stage@Leeds

TALES OF IRISAt the dawn of creation, Iris, the winged messenger to the Gods, is

asked to live through the history of the Earth. As a symbol of the rainbow Iris will observe the emergence of humans, rationality,

religion and robots through a journey that will test her sanity as well those she meets…

Produced byChris Soul

Directed byJono Ayres and Rachel Winfield

Stage Management:Helen RolfeDesigners:

Erin Maddocks, Sarah O’Brien, Sophia Mason and Kaylie Black

WRITING TEAMJono AyresIngrid BoydLynne EvansAdam LoweHelen LyttleKatherine MannChris SoulLeila de VitoJustine Warden

CASTJono Ayres

John DavisonLaura Deacon

Carl Lawrence HarveyLela MoutsakisSophia Pearson

Emily SlatterSarah UptonShan Yaping

ARTIST TEAMTaneesha AhmedKimbal Bumstead

Lucy EccelshallJenny Lewis

Heather JonesRachael Panter

Chris SoulLaura Thomas

Sam WalkerLorraine Yeung

A collaboration between the School of Performance and Cultural Industries and the School of Fine Art, History of Art and Cultural Studies

Festival Director: Jonathan Pitches Festival Secretary: Anita Fridlington Theatre Manager: Jess Hodgson

INTRODUCTION

Tales of Iris' can be best described as a collaboration of the imaginations of nearly twenty creative individuals. It started with an idea of basing a play around the

practices of selected artists from the School of Fine Art. Artists were simply asked to freely submit any artwork they would like to see used within a theatre space,

offering up new interpretations of their practice. A board of writers then came together to select particular artworks and to base a narrative around them. The

idea of Iris observing the history of the Earth was reached: an ambitious idea. Each writer then wrote a scene around their chosen artwork with Iris as the protagonist. The production is thus about re-interpretation and re-interpretation. I like to see it

as a performed gallery exhibition. It is not conventional in its form. It is an ambitious, experimental, colourful and random project showcasing the talents of

new and upcoming artists, writers and performers here at Leeds University.Chris Soul, Producer

ALL THE COLOURS OF THE RAINBOWPicture a wonderful arcOf green racing across centuriesGenerations; and beings,And the pink orb of Mother NatureGiving birth to the story,Follow Iris;Capture the lightness of yellow and livelinessOf orange expectant tomorrows,Add blue ingredients of action through experience,Combine red stakes raising modernity,And the darkness of purple somewhere in between,Form yearnings and meanings, and leanings mixed,Like all the colours of the rainbow,To understand, first you must see.

Lynne Evans

CAST AND PRODUCTION TEAM

Chris Soul is a recent FineArt graduate from Leeds University. He hasproduced paintings, animated paintings anddocumentaries, including an animated ‘dayin the life’ of a painter. Last year heexhibited at ‘States of Art’, a massiveexhibition of nearly 70 artists spread overLeeds University campus. He is currentlytaking an MA in Writing for Performance andPublication, which has included writing,producing, organizing and exhibiting artworkfor ‘Tales of Iris.’ His research interestsinclude alchemy, mythology, memory,painting and experimental writing. Out ofuniversity he enjoys recording songs. Hehopes to set up more creative collaborationsin the future as well as find time to finishand publish a couple of novels. “Tales of Irisstarted out as just a small idea I had untilthe idea got off the ground and I wassuddenly collaborating with so many people.It’s been fantastic to be involved withtheatre in all aspects from the first writersmeetings, the festival committee, to the firstdrafts, to working with artists and sitting inon some interesting rehearsals.chrissoul@hotmail.co.uk

PRODUCER, WRITER, ARTIST

Jono Ayres has been involved in theatreand performance since his very first day ofsecondary school, except he was once King 2in his infant schools production of theNativity. However his passion for the stageonly began to grow when he hit his teens andhas since performed in all possible styles ofperformance including; Musicals, Dramas,Comedy, Shakespeare, Physical, Post-Modernand even spent 5 years training andperforming as an ice figure skater. He thentrained as an actor at Leeds University’sBretton Hall Campus, receiving a high 2:1Degree on the Acting course. Following thishe continues his theatrical education and iscurrently studying towards his MastersDegree in ‘Writing for Performance andPublication’. Jono says “It has been awonderful experience being involved in theNew Stages Festival. Not only has it given methe chance to truly flex all my performanceskills, but I have been able to work on theatrefrom the production side of things too, bytaking on directorial roles and being amember of the fest ival committee.”

DIRECTOR, WRITER, ACTOR

Sarah O'Brien is a first year Performance Design student who enjoys the overall process of Scenographic techniques. This is her first time working on a play and hopes to gain experience to help her in future performances

Rachel Winfield graduated from Bretton Hall University in 2006 with a degree in Acting.Before attending university and during her time there Rachel took part in many productionsboth as an Actor and Director. Theatre credits include Nancy, Oliver (2000), Nikki, SweetCharity (2001) Gloria, Return to the Forbidden planet (2002), Rosalita, West side story (2002)Hepzabah Green, Carries War (2002)Helen, Deckchairs (2002), Old Woman/Budda, Passion(2004) Old Woman, Duchess of Malfi (2005), Alice, Two (2005),Bash, Four Prats and a pigeon(2006). Directing Credits include Dracula Spectacular (2002), Muppet Christmas Carol (2003)Little Shop of Horrors (2004), Return to the Forbidden Planet (2004) Fame (2005). Rachel Co-runs Exadus Theatre Company which has been touring to the Edinburgh fringe festival since2004 Theatre Credits include Jeanie, Hair (2004) Crystal, Little Shop of Horrors (2007) DirectingCredits Riddance (2006)

DIRECTOR

Erin Maddocks is a first year student on the Performance Design course and comes from a background in art. Following a course in art foundation, she decided to specialise in performance design, and is interested in costume design and construction. In the next months she will be working on a big budget production of 'The Mabinogion' in north Wales, and a performance for the Edinburgh fringe festival. Dwi'n gobeithio y mwynhewch y sioe! =)

DESIGNERS

Sophia Mason. It wasn't until GCSE that I really persued mypassion for the performing arts. After working at BBC TelevisionCentre in London, I realized my interest was not being on thestage but behind the scenes. So in 2006 I did a work experienceplacement in Nantes, France, as a backstage assistant for atouring company. After taking a year out to travel around SouthAmerica, Australasia and South East Asia; I moved up here toLeeds to take Performance Design, BA at the University. Thecourse so far has been very interesting to me as a designer and Ihope it wi l l continue to benefit me in the future.

Helen Rolfe graduated from Leeds in June 2007 with a BA (Hons) in Arts Management. Since leaving university she has worked as a Stage Manager for Gawsworth Hall, Slung Low Theatre Company and Sheffield Theatres. Whilst studying Helen was involved in numerous productions and undertook various stage management positions including Company Stage Manager on 32 Mystery Plays To Do Before You Die. She also completed work experiences with Compass Theatre Company and Sheffield Theatres.

STAGE MANAGER

ARTIST

Sam Walker has contributed with sceneryartwork, which is shown on the back projector.University of Leeds, Fine Art - BA Hons Final YearStudent. Published Works: Untitled 161 (VolumeM a g a z i n e : I s s u e 3 , F e b 2 0 0 8 )w w w . v o l u m e m a g a z i n e . c o m

PERFORMERS

John Davison graduated from Bretton Hall in 2007 with a BA (Hons) in Acting and is

currently working as a freelance actor in and around Yorkshire. Born in Norwich in 1985, John has been acting, singing and performing for the last 15 years and is proud to have appeared in the world premier of Sir John Tavener's Let Us Begin Again. Recent productions for John include; touring Cyprus with a new adaptation of Sophocles' Ajax, directed by PCI tutor George Rodosthenous as part of the International Festival of Greek Theatre 2007, playing the role of Mr Smith in The Bald Prima Donna, playing Vasques in 'tis pity she's a whore, and leading workshops as part of the National Acadamy for Gifted and Talented Youth Acting Summer School. John is currently working at management level for Leeds University Union and is actively seeking representation as a performer.Roles in ‘Tales of Iris’: Male God, Benny, the Minister

Emily Slatter 1st year Theatre and Performance student, so far enjoying the course and love studying in Leeds. Before university I took a gap year travelling and so this is the 1st play I have been in for over a year and I am excited to be part of it. Previously I have been in performances back home in Leicester at The Little Theatre including Catherine Cooksons, The Fifteen Streets. I used to perform at the Leicester festival each year in the solo acting and completed LAMDA exams for acting and for speaking of verse and prose. Roles in ‘Tales of Iris’: Iris 1, a robot

Lela Moutsakisi am a 3rd year BA (HONS) Theatre and Performance student. My taste in theatre is eclectic, ranging from classical drama, like Greek Tragedy and Shakespeare to site specific and interventionist performance. However my passion lies primarily in Physical theatre (dance, mime, clowning etc.) where the emphasis is on actor-as-creator rather than actor-as-interpreter and that the body is the sole mediator in performance. After graduating I would like to pursue further training in physical theatre and corporal mime in either London or Paris. Acting Credits, from the most recent: Lady Bracknell and Jack Worthing In Oscar Wilde's The Importance of being Earnest (2008). Servant and Gypsy Chorus in Euripides' Helen (2007).Nancy in Ann Jellicoe's The Knack (2007). Madamne De Rosamonde in Christopher Hampton (2006). Claire in Jean Genet's The Maids (2005). Goody in Carol Churchill's Vinagar Tom (2004).Herdsman and Bacchaic dancer in Euripides' The Bacchae (2003). Dancer In Cabaret (2002).Roles in Tales of Iris: Iris 2, Moon Unit (the cat)

Shan Yaping (Yvonne)Prior to starting on her MA in Performance Studies at the University of Leeds, Yvonne studied at the Central Academy of Drama in China. Whilst there her experiences were diverse, ranging from acting to scenic assistant and producer. Performing roles have included parts in West Side Story, The Lion King. As a Stage Manager she has been involved in shows/events such as the Beijing International Symposium on Actor Training and Theatre Show, The Memory of Two Monday and Angel Came to the Babylon·Emperor Romrose, along with many others. Yvonne worked as producer on the short film Children’s Day, Let’s Perform the Comic Dialogue which was awarded the Most Excellent Short Film in the Chinese Academician Drama Festival. She also worn an award in the First Dramatic Opusculum Competition of The Central Academy of Drama for her scenography work on the musical Dream of Mosquito. Alongside her theatrical work Yvonne also worked as reporter, anchor person and editor for a program of Qingdao TV—Report of the Metropolis and Life Online . Roles in Iris: Socrates

Carl Lawrence Harvey is currently in the third year of his BA (Hons) in Theatre and Performance. Whilst studying for his degree Carl has been involved in numerous productions including undertaking the role of Menelaos in Helen of Troy which was recently performed at the Stage@leeds. Other credits include roles in 32 Mystery Plays To Do Before You Die, The Birthday Party, portraying the role of Stanley Webber, Full Monty: The Musical and Ralph Clarke in Our Country’s Good.Roles in ‘Tales of Iris’: Ribohuggle (tiger), Adam, the Masked Avenger, Robot

Sarah Upton: 1st Year BA Hons Theatre and Performance, Leeds University. Sarah is

currently working towards her BA (Hons) Theatre and Performance degree at Leeds University. Previously she has taken A level Theatre and Performance at Altrincham Grammar school wherein she took part in both devised and scripted performances. She also ran a Theatre workshop with the younger years and has reached her grade 7 singing exam which she hopes to use within her degree. She took a lead role in "The School for Scandal" and enjoys the devising and physical aspects of theatre having taken part in workshops with companies such as "Out of Joint" and "Frantic Assembly". Aristotle, ‘John’ the artist

Laura Deacon is a first year Theatre and Performance student at Leeds University and this is her first public performance since starting Uni in September. She studied A Level Drama at Poynton Sixth Form and Performing Arts College, where she gained experience in both performing and managing performance. As well as enjoying acting, Laura is a keen athlete, having travelled as far as Tokyo to compete in both national and international Cheerleading competitions. It is in fact a combination of the acrobatic nature of Cheerleading and movement workshops, led by companies such as Frantic Assembly, which sparked her interest in various aspects of physical theatre. Roles in Iris: Eve, Dea the dinner lady/ granddaughter

Sophia Pearson: 1st Year BA (Hons) Theatre and Performance, Leeds University.Sophia is currently working towards her BA (Hons) theatre and performance degree at Leeds University. On her gap year Sophia worked in Malawi, East Africa leading drama workshops for local children, using drama as a tool for self expression. This is an area of theatre she is very interested in and hopes to pursue throughout her degree and in later life. She has also been a member of the Bristol Old Vic for four years prior to her coming to university. Roles in Tales of Iris: Female God, Dr Clarence

TALES OF IRISSCENE BY SCENE

SCENE ONE- CREATIONSCENE TEN- THE END

WRITTEN BY CHRIS SOULPAINTING-ANIMATION BY CHRIS SOULCharacters: MALE GOD, FEMALE GOD, IRIS AND ENTIRE CAST AS ‘PUPPETS’“CHAOS! CHAOS! CHAOS!”

“Originally when the writing team firstgot together to discuss all the artwork Idecided to include my own animation Ihad produced in my degree. Some of thewriters suggested this should frame theplay, the beginning and end, with itsnarrative of creation and falling back intochaos. The animation was inspired byOvid’s passage ‘Creation’ in his‘Metamorphoses.’ The animation is alsobased on alchemy in its process andimagery. Alchemy, in both spiritual andphysical aspects, describes creation asarriving at the philosopher’s stone, thephoenix from the flames or gold fromthe mud and chaos of nothingness, aswell as from the fusion of male andfemale principles: the Male and FemaleGod. In both process and content theplay as a whole is also based on alchemy,producing narrative threads, meaningand imagery from the chaos of so manycreative individuals. The directors havedone a brilliant job of making thebeginning and end very physical anddynamic. In terms of writing thesescenes I had to introduce Iris as well asconclude upon her random experiences.It goes full circle, from creation to theend of time and back again, like a snakeeating its own tail.” Chris Soul

‘Of bodies changed to other forms I tell;/ You Gods, who have yourselves wrought every change/Inspire my enterprise and lead my layIn One Continuous song from nature’s first/ Remote beginnings to our modern times.’ Ovid

SCENE TWO- THE ERA OF THE TIGER

WRITTEN BY LYNNE EVANSARTWORK BY TANEESHA AHMED

Lynne Evans is a Castlefordian who resides inBridlington. She has been a heritage poet for overtwenty years. She is currently studying an MA in Writingfor Performance and Publication at Leeds University.

“I wrote this scene to illustrate a parallel world: a newera. The tiger artwork appealed to me from the verystart for it depicts the cat in both positive and negativeforms. In mythology, the cat symbolises rain in a newdawn. Rain dampens the spirit in the negative form butbrings forth new birth in the positive form. Iris themessenger is poetically applied to the rainbow, and thearchway of tomorrow. The rainbow coat symbolises thearchway of tomorrow and guides and protects Iris onher journey ahead.” Lynne Evans

WRITER

ARTIST

Taneesha Ahmed.

I am currently completing a fine art degree course, and my art practice ranges from performance based situational art to screen printing. The original ideas concerning the artwork submitted for ‘The Tales of Iris’ was in relation to the themes of mapping, identity and diaspora. The tiger in a sense, is a representation of the other, primal exotic and wild, in which by capturing her, she is entrapped by the eye that sees her.

SCENE THREE- THE REDEEMERS

WRITTEN BY KATHERINE MANNANIMATIONS BY LORRAINE YEUNG

Katherine MannDeakin UniversityMelbourne, AustraliaBatchelor of Arts (Professional Writing)2001-2004Deakin UniversityMelbourne, AustraliaPost Graduate Diploma in Literature2007Leeds UniversityMasters: Writing For Performance and Publication2007/08

WRITER

Lorraine Sue-Fern Yeung's work stems from her preoccupation of the cadaver andmacabre. In looking at her own personal and private rituals she looks at the darker side of herown obsessive and compulsive behaviour in her own attempt to overcome the abject. Herwork has predominantly included video installations of animated fingernail sculptures andphotographic portraits of her own collected hair and skin. With a quality of being bothbeautiful and yet slightly disturbing, inanimate object are given life and purpose through herown intervention and desire to redeem herself. Where previously only visible behind the artobject she now begins to emerge from hiding to becoming an art object through live artperformance. Lorraine is currently affiliated with the LFA group whose recent exhibition washeld at Arts@Trinity, Leeds, and TapedDUCK, a Leeds based live performative group.www.lorraineyeung.com“My work deals with the bodily abject, the things that our bodies expel daily in order to live,and in my practice I use such human and bodily remanence. I believe the human body is asignifier of earth, mortality and flux that is destined for death to return to the earth. Myintervention with my physical and earthly preoccupations and compulsions in order to redeemmy earthly and mortal qualities, to bring out of darkness and death, light and life.”

ARTIST

“This piece was intended on a play on Christian religious ideologieswithin the frame work of Greek mythology. In particular, the inclusionof notions of destruction being a form of creation was influenced byLorraine’s work with animation, where she gave life to inanimateobjects, lost hair and dead skin, to create something new. The piece isalso a comment on the notion that morality is relative and thereforeslippery. Instead of living with his past, the main character, Benny,decides to recreate himself and begin again with a clean slate,convincing the easily corrupted Iris to assist him.” Katherine Mann

SCENE FOUR- ADAM AND EVE

WRITTEN BY JONO AYRESVIDEO ART BY HEATHER JONES

Recent exhibitions include:

01/2008 “LFA”, Holy Trinity Arts Centre, Leeds, England09/2007 “Sway”, Analix Forever Gallerie, Geneva, Switzerland06/2007 “Barbie tue rock”, ève, Grenoble, France02/2007 “Les Impromptus”, Lieu d’Images et d’Art, Grenoble, France01/2007 “Art in-pg”, ève, Grenoble, France10/2006 “Light Night”, Holy Trinity Church, Leeds, England03/2006 “Sortie”, VOG, Fontaine, France05/2004 “Neither/Nor”, University of Leeds, Leeds, England

ARTIST

WRITER

“I was immediately drawn to Heathers workbecause of its performance based practice. Havinggraduated from an acting degree where one of mymajor interests had been ‘physical theatre’ Iinstantly felt a connection with certain pieces ofHeather’s work. It all seemed to fit perfectly as Iinstantly began plotting a physical piece of theatrein my head for two performers based solely on theclips of work I had seen, then when the runningtheme of ‘creation’ was decided, it was an easytransition to adapt my idea to that of ‘Adam andEve’, which Heather’s work coincidentally leantitself to quite appropriately as well.” Jono Ayres

Heather Jones is a young artist wholives and works in between France andEngland, seesawing backward andforwards between the two. Her work iscurrently video and performance based.“I like to play with opposites, personalversus impersonal, familiar versusunfamiliar, big versus small, detailversus context. In my work I try tocombine these to create an equilibrium.This leads to a fragile tension that holdsthe work together. In my most recentwork, I’m exploring these abstractconcepts through experiments withbodies in space. I like the fragility of thehuman body, and how it responds tobeing put into different situations. Myperformances are recorded in digitalmedia, and part of my research is intoways of documenting that create arelationship between the action and itsdocumentation. My work will becomethe scenery for the fourth scene of“Tales of Iris” written by Jono, in whichAdam and Eve explore the confines oftheir garden of Eden. Three filmedperformance pieces will be shown,which Adam and Eve start to interactwith as they discover their world. I’mreally interested in the relationshipcreated between the performers onstage and the performers inside. Adamand Eve are trapped in the garden, myperformers are trapped within thescreen; both are dealing with thefeeling of confinement and imposedconstraints. I’m excited to see whathappens when you put mediatedperformances back into a live context.How will my surrogate performerscompete for “stage presen ce”?

SCENE FIVE- IRIS AND THE GREEKS

WRITTEN BY CHRIS SOULANIMATION BY JENNY LEWISSCULPTURE BY KIMBAL BUMSTEAD

WRITER

“All logic has gone out of the window forthis scene. Iris finally cracks, bringing downthe whole foundation of westernrationalism. It is a kind of tongue in cheekscene really, poking fun at story structureand logic, which for me is what this play isall about. It should allow us to forget aboutlogic and meaning for the rest of the play,and just enjoy Iris’s episodic adventure. Itwas interesting writing with the two artist’swork in mind. For me Kimbal’s sculpture-head became a vessel in which to think,detached from the world. Jenny’sanimation depicts the Greeks spinning outof control in a universe they really don’tunderstand.” Chris Soul

ARTISTS

Artist: Jenny LewisBA Fine Art, University of Leedspast exhibitions: LFA Contemporary Art Exhibition, Holy Trinity Arts Centre, January 2008. “Look, But Don’t Touch” is a sarcastic, dystopic prophecy for future art viewing and criticises how we privilege physical space over digital, psychological and spiritual space. As the medium is rendered obsolete in digital imagery, Lewis raises questions regarding which aspects of “Look, But Don’t Touch” can be defined as sculpture and animation. Through her art practice, the artist is interested in exploring how conflicting spatial realms affect both the viewer’s and the artist’s relationship to art. Jenny also designed the front cover.

Kimbal Bumstead is a visual artist who

works with performance, video andphotography. His work is involved with issuesof the body, de-humanisation andobjectification. His work is audience basedand consequently interactive, recent workhas been based around life-drawing and thebreaking down of traditional roles andstructures within that context, where theroles of audience and performer arechallenged. He has recently exhibited as partof the LFA group at Arts@Trinity and at STARTevent Trash Bar. www.kimbalbumstead.com

SCENE FOUR- IRIS: A REDNECK REBIRTH

WRITTEN BY ADAM LOWE AND HELEN LYTTLEARTWORK BY JESSICA WILKIN

Adam Lowe is Editor-in-Chief ofPolluto: The Anti-Pop CultureJournal and Features Editor ofBent. He runs Dog HornPublishing with the aid of an oxand a frozen banana. He haswritten 'From Wings toCyberspace: Teledildonics & theGendered Body' for the Universityof Texas' book Queering theFantastic, and has released a hardhouse single with DJGRH. Hecurrently lives in a squat with afallen angel named Zippy, sixlovers, a pet mango tree and thewreckage of the Roswellspaceship in his front room.www.mag.bent.com,www.polluto.comwww.dogpublishing.com

Helen Lyttle lives in Starbucks and is currently runningfor the title of 'Britain's Tallest Female Writer'. In anattempt to avoid getting a real job, she earns her pocketmoney by tutoring high school students, editingdocumentaries, and making really interestingspreadsheets about golf. One day she hopes to live inParis and spend her days writing in cafés, thus becominga poverty-stricken romantic cliché.

“I made the images of the Virgin Mary inorder to create contrasts andjuxtapositions which would question therole of religion in contemporary society,as well as the nature of blasphemy. Thereare two texts which surround the imageof Mary, one is an article about childabuse cases in the church, and the otheris an adapted passage from the novel'Gods Behaving Badly' by Marie Philips, inwhich she describes a sex scene betweenAphrodite and Apollo. I used the sametext, but switching the names to Mary andJesus.” Jess Wilkin

ARTIST

WRITERS

Jess Wilkin is currently studying for her final year of aFine Art BA at Leeds University. Her practice is focused intwo areas at the moment, firstly with investigation intothe place of religion in contemporary society bothvisually and culturally. And secondly a project involvingcollecting in all forms, particularly book collecting. Shealso make artists books, but her practice mostly takes thef o r m o f p r i n t m a k i n g o r p h o t o g r a p h y

SCENE SEVEN- THE ARTIST’S MODEL

WRITTEN BY INGRID BOYDPHOTOGRAPHY BY LUCY ECCLESHALL

WRITER

Ingrid Boyd is a native of Leeds, but has lived at varioustimes in Glasgow, London and New York. She is a Graduateof Westminster University film department. Jobs toonumerous to list include wardrobe slave, flatmate finderand cocktail shaker. Last employed at the English NationalOpera. Recently involved in script development, assistantdirecting, and directing with Dark Edge Theatre, London.Wants to write for TV ‘ cos baby needs a new pair ofshoes.

Lucy Eccleshall first became interested in photographywhen she took the subject for A Level. Her main area ofinterest is black and white imagery and uses a darkroom todevelop and print all of her photographs manually. In July2005 Lucy won the “Inside Out” Art competition for thePsoriasis Association and her work was exhibited in theImaginations Gallery in London. As well as being a practisingartist, Lucy also works as a photographer taking publicity andwedding photographs. Now in her final year, Lucy studiesFine Art at Leeds University. Her work has developed overthe three years to include digital photography as well asfilm. She is particularly interested in issues throughout arthistory involving the female figure as a subject of the malegaze. Her series of self-portraits explore the relationshipbetween subject, photographer and spectator. “The femalenude removes the body from the specificity of time.Unclothed, it belongs to the past, present and future. It isclassless, without culture, unhindered by language and asubject everyone can relate to. I am particularly interested inhow women are typically objects rather than possessors ofthe gaze and how the relationship between object of visionand spectator can be manipulated. The photographs I havesubmitted are amongst a series of self-portraits, all with a re-occurring theme of stairs, doorways, corridors and a stronglight source (often a window.) The photographs depict afragile young body caught up in the vastness of space andtime. The vulnerability of the subject is emphasised by thestrength of the objects around her.” Lucy Eccleshall

ARTIST

WRITTEN BY JUSTINE WARDENDRAWINGS BY RACHAEL PANTER

Justine Warden previously studiedat University of East Anglia for aDiploma in Creative Writing. As aself employed plasterer, she decidedto take a year out and continue herstudies at Leeds on the MA Writingfor Performance and Publication.

WRITER

“The scene covers the cycle of life and death withinthe Creation story and focuses on two dinners ladies asthey prepare for the lunch time rush at school. Dea, amother of two and a woman who feels she has yet toachieve her goals in life, is comforted by Iris as shepasses away and is shown that thecontributions she has made in her life are valid. Thequality of Rachael's line drawings allowed me toconstruct a scene to compliment the character anddisposition of the people she portrays. I took thetheme of her dinner lady sketches and adapted itwithin the Creation story of the play. Her honestportrayal of ordinary people in their workingenvironment lent a normality to the script and I havefound the collaboration process very beneficial.”Justine Warden

Rachael Panter’s character based works come froma lifetime love of drawing and a fascination withhuman interaction. Born in Market Harborough,Leicestershire in 1985, Rachael went on to complete anArt Foundation course at Loughborough University andis currently in her final year of a BA Fine Art course atLeeds University. She has experimented with variousmediums including making stained glass windows,gaining experience with animatronics at FarmerStudios and painting in oils, but her passion fordrawing is at the core of her practice. Often workingfrom life or photographs, Rachael tries to capture aninstant from the everyday and manipulate the image tocreate a more character based narrative. Using basicmaterials such as pen and watercolour on paper, thispreferred medium allows for a spontaneousinterpretation of her subject, adding to the almostillustrative insight into the life of a dinner lady.Rachael’s fascination with dinner ladies stems from hero w n e x p e r i e n c e a s a w a i t r e s s .

ARTIST

Rachael was interested in how a uniform creates an association with a specific space, especiallyservice areas and counters. It was this negotiation of space between dinner ladies and how otherpeople reacted to them that led to her exploration through drawing. The scene highlights thisidea of social and class negotiation. Iris reflects on her life as a dinner lady and how an educationmight have allowed her to fulfil some of her dreams and aspirations. It is a compassionate tale ofo n e w o m a n ’s p u r s u i t o f l i fe f ro m t h e o t h e r s i d e o f t h e f o o d c o u n t e r

SCENE EIGHT- IRIS AND DEA

SCENE NINE- NATURAL SURGERY

WRITTEN BY LEILA DE VITOPROP ARTWORK BY LAURA THOMAS

On a beautiful July morning in 1984, Leilade Vito was born in the county that neversleeps (in its own bed): Essex. After ahappy childhood spent talking to a stoneowl in her back garden, imaginativelynamed ‘Owly’, Leila decided that sheneeded to get a life and, subsequently,ventured up north to the tropical city ofHull. Here she embarked upon a degree inphilosophy and grew a long white beard.Leila is currently studying an MA in Writingfor Performance and Publication at LeedsUni, which she is absolutely loving andhopes that it will help her achieve herdream of becoming a professional writer.Then she and Owly can finally marry.

WRITER

Laura Thomas is an artist in her third year atthe University of Leeds studying fine art. Recentlyshe has exhibited at Situation Leeds and will beexhibiting later this year as part of the ‘Hot DinnerMonday Club’. Her current work combines herpassion for maths and wool. She producescarefully handmade crochet objects which arefirst mathematically calculated using diagramsand graph paper. The misappropriation of thistraditional craft produces interesting results,recently she has produced a fabulous pair ofwearable crochet breasts and a pod to clamberinside in moments of distress!

ARTIST

“Laura’s boobs – the crocheted ones –immediately made me think of plastic surgery and rows of identical manufactured breasts on a production line. As all the writers had discussed touching on creation theory and alchemy in our early meetings, I decided to try and turn plastic surgery on its head and use Laura’s boobs as a natural pair in the piece that, rather than becoming an unnatural addition to a human’s body, became a natural addition to a mechanical body in the future. As the whole play starts very naturalistically, I wanted to try and use the boobs to bring it full circle. As for the Brucey bonus…I have no idea where that came from, but if anyone is still going to be on television in three hundred years; it’s him! “Leila de Vito