Glorious

helena — Mon, 28 May 2012 08:23:06 +0000

Glorious

2009

2012

helena Mon, 28 May 2012, 10:23am

Banality, the basic matter of our everyday lives – the breakfast parties, the arguments with our children, the shops on our streets, the political anxieties, the houses we've lived in for years, the cemeteries in which we'll end – is transformed and transcended ... Those lives we were glimpsing? They were our lives. Those parties and arguments and anxieties and houses are ours ... that is what Shah shows us, and that is the gift she offers us. Don't be frightened of life, she reminds us. It's all we have.

- Maddy Costa, review

From 2009 to 2012, Rajni Shah and collaborators created and toured Glorious - a haunting and unusual new musical. Each time Glorious was performed, the company worked with a new set of musicians and local residents - dismantling, reinventing and re-assembling the raw material of the show over a few weeks. The show was centered around people, what it means to live in a place, and what it means to gather together in a theatre.

In many ways, Glorious was an attempt to create something that only existed in the moments when it was being made. We have, however, made a beautiful publication of responses to the work, which is available here.

From 2010 to 2013, the project was accompanied by a ning website which provided an online space for participants, supporters and other family to gather and share photos, blog posts, snippets of music and memories. Some of the material from this online network (including extracts from the different versions of each song) has now been translated into a timeline, which is publicly accessible here.

Tour dates

Live at LICA, Lancaster (December 2012) - read a review

PULSE Festival, Ipswich (June 2012, Write a Letter to a Stranger intervention only)

Un Pas de Trop, Maison Folie, Mons, Belgium (May 2012 - french) - read an interview with Rajni or watch a rehearsal on webeatv or a segment on Télé MB

Wunderbar Festival in Northumbria University Theatre (Stage 2), Newcastle (November 2011)

SPILL Festival world premiere at the Barbican, London (April 2011) - watch an extract on SPILL TV

Dance4's NottDance Festival, Nottingham (February 2011)

InBetween Time festival in Bristol (December 2010, a capella songs from Glorious)

Chisenhale Dance Space in London (December 2010, Act One of Glorious)

Performance and Cocktails at Duckie (August 2010, first song as part of evening event) - watch video here

See full list of show credits here.

Related materials

Glorious People online community Archive (2D/3D, using tiki toki)

Glorious Evaluation (interim and final version) by Elizabeth Lynch

Beyond Glorious: the radical in engaged artistic practice symposium 2013

Glorious lyrics - French and English versions

Glorious description, sound and images (from 2011 Glorious presenters pack)

Glorious credits (shows only - complete project credits available as part of Dear Stranger, I love you)

Dear Stranger, I love you - book + DVD (£15.00): Dear Stranger, I love you brings together four ways of looking at Glorious: a short film made in response to six performances of Glorious; a music video shot in and around Lancaster and Morecambe; a critical overview of the process behind two iterations of the project; and The Glorious Storybook, edited and contextualised by writer Mary Paterson. Buy now from Unbound >
>

Dear Stranger, I love you

rajni — Wed, 03 Feb 2016 09:36:26 +0000

Dear Stranger, I love you

2013

rajni Wed, 3 Feb 2016, 10:36am

Glorious

writing

Dear Stranger, I love you: the ethics of community in Rajni Shah Projects' Glorious
Lancaster University and the Live Art Development Agency, 2013.
Comprising: two books (120 and 40 pages) and DVD (32 minutes), all housed in a card envelope. 140 × 210 × 20mm
ISBN: 978-1-86220-306-8
Design by Studio Hato. Printed by Hato Press with soy based inks on recycled paper using an environmentally friendly stencil duplicator.

Dear Stranger, I love you offers an in-depth exploration of artist Rajni Shah’s Glorious, an experimental performance project that began with a series of conversations between strangers and ended in a large-scale theatre production involving local residents and musicians in each location where it was presented.

The publication brings together four ways of looking at Glorious: a short film made in response to six performances of Glorious by filmmaker Becky Edmunds; a music video shot in and around Lancaster and Morecambe by Lucy Cash; a critical overview of the process behind two iterations of the project by Elizabeth Lynch; and The Glorious Storybook, a collection of memories from throughout the process, edited and contextualised by writer Mary Paterson.

The publication is designed to reflect a process of letter-writing between strangers that lay at the heart of the project, and is packaged within a cover that can be posted directly to each recipient, resulting in a uniquely personalised book cover each time it is sent out.

£15+postage

Buy now from Unbound >>

“Glorious was a strange and beautiful show, different each time it was performed and growing organically over the course of its three years. Here and there, in the hearts of the hundreds who took part and the thousands who encountered it, Glorious is growing still. For those who didn't, there's a lovely lo-fi record of it in the form of a DVD, a book of essays and images, and a critical evaluation. It's a pity more arts projects don't produce documentation of this quality that in their physicality reflect the character of the work. I feel lucky to have seen Glorious. I'm impatient to see what Rajni Shah and her collaborators will make next.”

François Matarasso, freelance writer, researcher and consultant

“A beautiful boxful of memories, perspectives, evaluations and brave ideas that makes a substantial and vital contribution to current debates about socially engaged arts. Each page and every movie frame responds to the simple proposal and significant challenge of making contact with strangers - and celebrates the gutsy vulnerability required of those who rise to meet that challenge.”

Dr Helen Iball, Lecturer in Theatre Studies, University of Leeds

“This lovely publication Dear Stranger, I Love You, in all its compactness, and the project Glorious, in all its roaming and inviting expansiveness, seem now to share between them a particular quality of analysis, a way of seeing-in-several, a sort of compound eye for the many elements, not least the coming and going, self-asserting, intermingling human elements, that together make an identity, a place, an action, an idea. Fascinating.”

Professor Joe Kelleher, Head of Drama, Theatre and Performance, University of Roehampton

“This beautifully designed and eloquently written publication not only offers its readers an exciting package to unwrap and explore, but also stands as a testament to an inspirational participatory performance project. Offering multiple perspectives on Glorious, across writing and film, the publication reflects on the fertile possibilities for long-term artistic community engagement.”

Lois Keidan and CJ Mitchell, Directors, Live Art Development Agency (co-publisher)

Rajni Shah And The Musicians Of Glorious With Phil Minton And The Feral Choir

rajni — Wed, 28 Jan 2015 16:13:28 +0000

Rajni Shah And The Musicians Of Glorious With Phil Minton And The Feral Choir rajni Wed, 28 Jan 2015, 5:13pm

Screening of 'Distance and Nearness' by Becky Edmunds

rajni — Wed, 28 Jan 2015 16:07:05 +0000

Screening of 'Distance and Nearness' by Becky Edmunds rajni Wed, 28 Jan 2015, 5:07pm

Beyond Glorious - the radical in engaged practices

rajni — Wed, 23 Oct 2013 15:04:38 +0000

Beyond Glorious - the radical in engaged practices

2013

rajni Wed, 23 Oct 2013, 5:04pm

Glorious

producing & curating

research

Beyond Glorious: the radical in engaged practices

Thursday 30 May to Sunday 2 June 2013, Birkbeck College and Artsadmin, London

What is the place of art in acts of social re-imagination and repair?
What languages can be found to articulate such practices?
Is it possible to break new ground within the realm of engaged artistic practices?

Beyond Glorious: the radical in engaged practices was a symposium that marked the end of Rajni Shah Projects' Glorious. It brought together people from different spheres of life to discuss and experience the meanings, methods and effects of art in relation to engaged and radical practices. Using Glorious as a starting point, events explored the potential of engaged artistic practices, not in terms of a reductive understanding of the ‘efficacy’ of art in the world, but as a complicating, delicate, nuanced, uneasy journey towards new ways of thinking.

Film

Watch some of the films that were shown during the symposium and read about them on the Contemporary Theatre Review website here.

Writings

Diana Damian, Exeunt magazine:

Glorious might have touched or at least interfered with people’s lives and communities; Beyond Glorious sought to extract something equally valuable by moving outside of the project, and attempting to think collectively- it is a gently radical event. There is something very candid about a symposium that in its structure and ambition, might be able to communicate symbolically. If it emerges as anything, Beyond Glorious seems to be a form of occupation... [more]

Mark Trezona, Performance Marks:

I remember the repeated joy of surprise encounters. Sometimes these came from extended conversations with the people I was working alongside to make the backroom support. Sometimes this was a stranger asking me to join them for lunch and drawing me lightly into their conversation. Sometimes it was the joyful ‘aha’ of hearing the wisdom of another’s experience or the sharp brightness of their questioning inside the sessions. What made these encounters so exceptional was their unusualness – I seldom have this same experience at other events – and their frequency... [more]

Theron Schmidt (+ collected responses), Contemporary Theatre Review:

The experiences and reflections of the artists, participants, and observers gathered in the company’s publication, Dear Stranger, I love you (2013), make it clear that this place in-between conceptual frameworks was a difficult place to be, but also a rewarding one. The symposium Beyond Glorious was conceived as a way of continuing to inhabit this in-between place, seeking to bring together perspectives from related but often disconnected disciplines – artists working in social practice, participatory film, and ensemble music; scholars tracing histories of radical movements,engaging with political philosophy, or pursuing an emancipatory pedagogy; and the many of us who move in-between roles, sometimes producing arts projects and other times working as carers, or teachers, or bartenders. [more]

You can download a PDF of the full Beyond Glorious schedule and list of participants at the bottom of this page.
If you would like to order a copy of the publication Dear Stranger, I love you, which was launched at Beyond Glorious, please click here.

Credits
Symposium organisers: Elizabeth Lynch, Louise Owen, Mary Paterson and Rajni Shah
With support from: Birkbeck Institute for the Humanities, University of East London, Paul Hamlyn Foundation and Arts Council England (for Glorious)
The symposium was free of charge including all lunches

Glorious film

helena — Tue, 28 May 2013 09:18:52 +0000

Glorious film helena Tue, 28 May 2013, 11:18am

Glorious

Distance and nearness is a short film by Becky Edmunds, made in response to six performances of Rajni Shah Projects’ Glorious. Texts are spoken and music is played by local performers from all six locations.

The DVD is available from www.rajnishah.com/shop.

Download the PDF transcript here.

distance_and_nearness_-_transcript.pdf

Glorious - show credits

helena — Tue, 28 May 2013 08:56:10 +0000

Glorious - show credits helena Tue, 28 May 2013, 10:56am

Glorious

From 2009 to 2012, Rajni Shah and collaborators created and toured Glorious - a haunting and unusual new musical. Each time Glorious was performed, we worked with a new set of musicians and local residents - dismantling, reinventing and re-assembling the raw material of the show over a few weeks. The show was centered around people, what it means to live in a place, and what it means to gather together in a theatre.

For a complete list of project credits, please purchase the Glorious publication Dear Stranger, I love you.

Lancaster participants

Performers: Amy Dobbie, Brian Gilham, Stephen Grew, Bella Quinn, Ali Rhodes and Georgie Whittle

Musicians: Clayton Jackson, Nick Cooper (percussion); Steve Varden (kaoss pad); Matt Davies, Griffith Jones, James Wood, Graham Mapp, Chris Rhodes (guitars); Richard Zahler (bass guitar); Ben Agar (guitar, violin, piano); Rosa Hinksman (violin, harp, piano, melodica, voice); Sharon Moo (voice, piano), Niall Kelly (piano); Tom Burns (cello, piano); Emmy Roberts (viola); Hayley Lawson, Sarah Norman (flute); Nathan Stevenson (flute, clarinet); Andrew Goddard (clarinet); Jamie Quirk (alto sax); Paul Clark, Pete Hyde (tenor sax); Ben McCabe (French horn, voice); Tom Barnish (trombone); Steve Daly (trumpet, bass trombone); Suzie Shrubb (oboe, piano); Mary Austin (trumpet); Iain Campbell (voice and trumpet)

Additional music by: Darryl Shackleton, Lisa Vallente-Osbourne

British Sign Language interpreter: Janet Guest RSLI/MASLI

Mons participants

Performers: Zohra Boudari, Nicolas Diricq, Edith Desmette, Rachelle Lombart, Marine Lombart, Phil Marichal, Christiane Nys

Musicians: Jimmy Bonesso (accordion), Félice Meert (flute), Guillaume Sasserath (guitar), Anouchka Scaillet (violin)

With Christophe Canu (performer) and Sophie Grodin (public interventions assistant)

Participant costume assitance: Gaëlle Souflet

Newcastle participants

Performers: Paul Bodie, Pauline Frost, Hannah Goudie, John Paul Hewitt, Kate Taylor - with additional texts by Charlotte Bolam, Catherine Cullen and Keith Stephen Wearn

Musicians: Richard Hetherington (guitar), Stephen Oliver Jones (bass), David Marshall and Dominic Reed (percussion), Destra Orsheena Ross (voice), Mahsa Salali and Tyron Spence (keyboard)

London participants

Performers: Collin Clay Chace, Shauna Concannon, Vicky Cowell, Trixi Hartmann, Jyoti Narayan, Brian Warby

Musicians: Karina Deyanova (Violin), Nathan Gregory (Percussion), Venetia Jollands (Violin), James Leveridge (Percussion, Keyboard), Chavdar Mazgalov (Piano) , Katie Miner (Flute), Tom Murray (Voice), Lorena Paz (Voice), Kakie Taylor (Voice), Rob Wells (Keyboard)

Nottingham participants

Performers: Moira Balmer, Adam Davis, Christa Jackson, Safeeya Khan, Necia Walker, Joss[email protected]" target="_blank">
Musicians: Kieran Ahern (Percussion), Ney Corte Real (Angolan instruments), Will Flynn (Electric Guitar), Kamal Joory (Electronics), Emma Maraio (Guitar), Iryna Muha (Guitar, Mouth Organ, Jews Harp)

Chisenhale Dance Space Act One participants

Performers: Alison Andrews, Tiffany Charrington, Collin Clay Chase, Jesse Meadows, Chandrika Patel, Katherina Radeva

Creative team

Lucille Acevedo-Jones, Lucy Cash, Karen Christopher, Sheila Ghelani, Mary Paterson, Ben & Max Ringham, Rajni Shah and Chahine Yavroyan

Project Director: Helena Suarez

Technical Director: Steve Wald, with Marty Langthorne, Adam Hooper, Nao Nagai, Beky Stoddart

Musical Director: Suzie Shrubb

Documentation (film): Becky Edmunds

Producer: Rajni Shah

External Evaluation: Elizabeth Lynch

Glorious was commissioned by SPILL Festival at the Barbican, London

Co-commissioned by Live at LICA (Nuffield Theatre Lancaster), Wunderbar Festival and InBetween Time Productions

Glorious is supported by:

and many individual supporters

Other supporters:

People Show, Chisenhale Dance Space, Eldon Square shopping centre, NE1 Rangers, Diana Kaye florists, 25 Stratford Grove (25SG), The Settle Down Café, Wooda Farm, Errollyn Wallen Songclub, Dance4, Meadows Library, Whitecross St Market, Fix Coffee, Simply Flowers, Vicenzo's Coffee House

Glorious closing party - London

helena — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 19:03:31 +0000

Glorious closing party - London helena Tue, 23 Apr 2013, 9:03pm

Glorious screening, installation and book launch - London

helena — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 19:01:36 +0000

Glorious screening, installation and book launch - London helena Tue, 23 Apr 2013, 9:01pm

Songbox - a music and social event

helena — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 18:55:26 +0000

Songbox - a music and social event helena Tue, 23 Apr 2013, 8:55pm