Tag: Zoo Southside

DON GNU premieres WALK-MAN at Edinburgh Festival Fringe

WALK-MAN by DON GNU at Zoo Southside


You will never cross the street in the same way again!

DON GNU digs into the tediousness of everyday routines in search of poetry and humour in a performance with muscular physicality and edgy stunt tricks.   

One ordinary day, four ordinary men take a walk through a city. They readily follow unwritten and strict rules of good behaviour and norms of social etiquette until one of them suddenly decides to rebel … 
 
With trademark DON GNU “everyday stunts” and raw physicality, WALK-MAN is a performance in which the ground is literally swept away from under the feet of four men walking. In a world where rules, norms and routines no longer apply, a pedestrian is not simply a person crossing the street and common understanding of “good behaviour” falls apart. You will never cross the street in the same way again!

WALK-MAN is the first performance of a trilogy about the extraordinary experiences of ordinary life.

DON GNU guarantees physical action theatre and dance combined in a playful and poetic man-power universe!

The company was founded in 2010 by the two choreographers Jannik Elkær and Kristoffer Louis Andrup Pedersen, who also constitute the artistic duo at the helm of DON GNU. Today the company is one of the most touring companies in Denmark.

In addition to extensive tour activities in Denmark, DON GNU has also toured in all the Nordic Countries, South Korea, Canada, big parts of Europe and Cuba.

Show trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLI21MxS0G8&t=8

LISTINGS INFORMATION

Walk-Man by Don Gnu at Zoo Southside

August 14-28, 12.15 pm everyday (except Aug 21)

Tickets: www.zoovenues.co.uk

WALK MAN is part of the #DANISH showcase at Edinburgh Fringe 2022 presented by The Danish Arts Foundation and produced by WILDTOPIA.

The showcase is supported by the Embassy of Denmark in the UK.

Fringe 2022: Megalith

A wild, high-tech, rock-smashing journey to the Neolithic origins of mining

Rocks, beats and geological time: this is a violent, fun, loud and lyrical experience, with projection design from award-winning Limbic Cinema. Copper mining has fuelled the growth of human civilisation for the last 10,000 years.

In Megalith a silent physical performer and digital sound artist explore the ever-growing trajectory of mining and technological development, and what it means in the 21st century. 

Playfully duetting to Deep-Time techno, metamorphic soundscapes and the Internet of Things, performers Charles Sandford and Xavier Velastin journey deep down to the origins of mining. Harnessing Neolithic tools to smash up to 250kg of rocks, Herald Angel winners MECHANIMAL explore the mysterious activity of bashing stone and getting metals.

‘Beautiful, contemplative … a remarkable and urgent show’ Guardian (Vigil 2019)

Every piece of technology we own has come from rock. 

But copper (the first metal to be mined) has a vital role right now. In transitioning from fossil fuels, global copper production (concentrated in Chile) must sky-rocket to make the batteries and cables for electrification. But does more extraction continue a questionable trajectory of more manufacture, more stuff, more economic growth… and thereby more inequality and waste? What of alternatives such as ‘urban mining’ (recycling of metals from tech waste)?

Rather than being an info-heavy show, Megalith views these issues through metaphor, creating a simple theatrical poem. The Neolithic culture that started mining also created stoneworks consisting of a single line leading into concentric circles (eg Stonehenge).

Megalith explores thisline-into-circleform: how might it offer a timely metaphor, when the need to shift from an extractive, linear relationship with Earth’s resources is ever more urgent? 

The show was developed in collaboration with researchers from Bristol University and The Natural History Museum and made through research journeys to Neolithic copper mines and stone circles across the UK. All rocks, technology and other materials used in Megalith will be effectively and responsibly recycled.

MECHANIMAL’s Director, Tom Bailey, said ‘Copper is a vital but little-known part of the present energy and ecological crises, and even the Russia-Ukraine war. We look to find creative and fascinating ways of engaging people with this.’

‘Memorable, a requiem against a clock counting down’‘★★★★ Scotsman (Vigil 2019)

MECHANIMAL won a Herald Angel in 2018 for Zugunruhe. Bristol-based, the company’s work explores life on a changing planet. It tours performances (created with a range of artists and researchers) both nationally and internationally.

‘Extraordinary … moving and enlightening’ New Scientist (Zugunruhe 2018)

Listings information: 

Megalith

Venue: ZOO Southside (Venue 82)

Dates:  5-13, 21-28 Aug (first review date 7 Aug)

Time: 12.15 (5-13th) / 16.00 (21-28th) (60 mins)  

Tickets: £14 – £17 (previews 5-7 Aug: £12)

Venue Box Office: 0131 662 6892

www.zoofestival.co.uk