Reflective Participant: Looser

I went to see Looser at the Nuffield tonight..mixed feelings about that. There were moments of pure stunning brilliance but overall it did not gel for me. I will not totally go into that now but I will talk about some things that struck me about the show:
There were moments when they would let the audience in, when we were invited to take part in the work, to help them build the work but then they would push us out again, push us back.
There were other moments when we could not hear what they were saying, when they excluded us completely.
We got to eat drink and chat as part of the work.......The dripping water fascinated me, drip, drip like a slow erosion from the minute she was gone.
The after show talk:
I asked- How far and to what extent do you consider the audience in the making process?
They said- The audience is integral but the story comes first and then they think of the best ways for the audience to experience that story,,,this is what inflects their making process.
I asked-What was their intention and what did they hope to achieve by our participation in the work?
They said-They use participation a a way of injecting spontaneity into the work. To draw us into the story and as a way of breaking down the fourth wall. they want to include us and make us a part of the fictional world, blurring the lines between fiction and reality. They are interested in sharing a dynamic relationship.
I asked-did they intend to with-hold from us at certain points, to shut us out?
They said-There was no intention behind that but that it was an interesting observation that they had not considered before.
I also met another doctorial student from Solent uni, called Matt Fletcher....such a small world, turn out he did his MA at Exeter with Olu my supervisor. He is also looking at participatory work but from a live art and performance art perspective rather than theatre. We have swapped details and agreed to keep in touch....always good to find someone toiling away in the same field, I am sure this will be the start of a very fruitful scholarly relationship.
Blimey I am bushed now..bed for me.....up early tomorrow to get right back to it. I am hoping to get the 3rd text written tomorrow.