THE NARRATOR
PREMIERED AT THE 4TH VALMIERA SUMMER FESTIVAL PRESENTED BY VALMIERAS DRAMAS TEATRA AND ISTABAS TEATRIS.
CONCEPT AND DIRECTION: Jessica Wilson
DRAMATURGE: Anci Muižnieci
SCRIPT DEVISED BY: Jessica Wilson, Anci Muižnieci, Mārtiņš Meiers
DESIGN: Pamela Butāni
MUSIC: Jēkabu Nīmani
PERFORMERS: Mārtiņš Meiers, Eduards Johansons, Klinta Leja
Assisted by the British Council / Latvia photos by Gatis Melnacis-Priednieks.
PRESENTED IN DREAMBIG 2021
PRODUCING AND DIRECTION: Jessica Wilson
SCRIPT DEVISED BY: Jessica Wilson, Marcia Ferguson and Zak Pidd
MUSIC: Jēkabu Nīmani
PERFORMERS: Zak Pidd, Antoine Jelk and Katherine Sortini
SOUND DESIGN: Roger Alsop and Terry McKibbon
Supported by the Australia Council for the Arts / Australian photos by Catherine Leo.
In 2019 Jessica collaborated with a group of Latvian artists for just 3 weeks to make her first work on board a bus for children. Premiered, and at the invitation of the Valmiera Summer Festival and titled Unwanted the work used the small city of Valmiera as the backdrop for a story about rejection, betrayal and saying sorry. With a cast of only 3 performers including an onboard narrator, Mārtiņš Meiers, and a handful of voluntary extras, the bus became a moving theatre and the outside streets, its animated film.
The Narrator experiments with jumping time and space, panning beside moving characters, close up and distant imagery and text descriptions of un-seen action taking place outside.
The Narrator was mapped onto Adelaide for DreamBig festival and as a showcase for APAM in May 2021 with Zak Pidd as The Narrator.
“The technically complex show happened with such ease that I allowed myself to dream and believe in miracles ... the bus drives another bend, around a new atmosphere-saturated corner, and the narrator cuts in again filling the bus with a story that evokes strong feelings – akin to first love. ”
“...rediscover that childlike sense of wonder and imagination.”
“In the painful story of the city’s memory and broken friendship, the exquisite technical choreography was realised by just a few actors running behind the window of a massive bus full of spectators.”
“The moment the audience steps onboard, the line between fictional and reality is blurred. Played on many levels, it evokes deep heart feelings and leaves a lasting emotional impression.”
“Glimpsing the performers either from a distance through the window and sometimes up close, made me feel as though I was really watching real-life play out.
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