Relative
Co-Devised By Niki McCretton & Kathy Hinde
Performed By Niki McCretton
Multimedia By Kathy Hinde
Commissioned By:
The Nuffield Theatre
(A Nuffield New Works Project)
Supported By:
The Merlin Theatre
Dance South West
Take Art!
Suitable for Ages 11 to 111
Show Length: 75 Minutes
"Nobody can do for little children what grandparents do.
Grandparents sort of sprinkle stardust
over the lives of little children."
--- Alex Haley, Author
"Perfect love sometimes does not come
until the first grandchild."
--- Welsh Proverb
A touching and intimate work, Relative captures the stardust and embraces the perfect love in the special relationship and bond between grandparents and grandchildren - a relationship that nurtures both sides, but is especially important for children. Over several months, Niki and her collaborator, multimedia artiste Kathy Hinde of Bristol UK, worked with grandparents and grandchildren in Morecambe and Lancaster in Lancashire to discover the crux of their relationships - the differences, expectations and unforgettable moments that solidify them. Their efforts culminated in a unique piece of live theatre - an entertaining physical, musical and visual jaunt - integrating films of real grannies with the artists' own experiences as grandchildren.
Niki’s performance captures the changing pace of life on our journey to old age and the quirky differences in how we use our bodies at different stages in our lives. The music composed by Kathy combines the beautiful sounds of mechanical music boxes with songs and sounds gathered from Morecambe using a range of recording techniques to offer a fresh and ancient sound world for the show.
Relative takes the grand-pairings' experiences and shapes them into an unusual piece of physical theatre set amidst lines of backyard washing. These washing lines divide the space on which is pegged crisp white linen - vintage and modern. Films of the grand-participants are projected here as characters in the show, on the wind-swept Morecambe Promenade and within the faded grandeur of Morecambe's Victorian musical hall - the famous Winter Gardens.
Niki performs her trademark mix of striking physicality, text and humour as seen in her award-winning international festival hits Worm-Hole and Heretic. Meanwhile, Kathy plays the character of The Projectionist: the controller of the performance - with all the means to sabotage, project, mix and interject. Using low-and-high-tech means such as cine film, vinyl, video, toy piano and even mouth trumpet, Kathy creates an ever-shifting sonic and visual environment.
Relative received its Official Stage Premiere at the Nuffield Theatre in Lancaster on 15 October 2005. It toured during the 2005-06 UK Theatre Season and performed at the 2006 Recklinghausen Fringe Festival in Germany. Visit the Relative News Articles webpage for articles and press releases which provide further detail about the project. Also visit the Morecambe Debut webpage to read about a special site-specific outdoor version of Relative held in April 2005.
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"Relative Promo" (Top) by Mark Passmore
"Relative Logo" (Middle) by Kathy Hinde
"Relative Promo" (Bottom) by Kathy Hinde
