2010 NEWS/UPDATES
Tmesis speaks!
Tmesis Theatre's new production, 'The Dreadful Hours' opens in February from the 11th- 13th, 2010 at Liverpool's Everyman Theatre.
"The Dreadful Hours" is the company's first scripted production and an exciting collaboration with Javier Marzan from Peepolykus, award winning writer Chris Fittock and the Everyman Theatre.
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2009 NEWS/UPDATES
(6/7/09)
Tmesis Theatre
would like to pay their respect to the amazing
Pina Bausch
who left us so unexpectactly...
She has been an amazing inspiration to so many artists including ourselves. She will always be loved and remembered.
We are sending all our love and support to the company.
Yorgos Karamalegos
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We have a new name.......
We are now TMESIS THEATRE
We have decided to rename the company Tmesis Theatre, after the title of our first piece (Tmesis) which strongly carries the essence of our work. The new name contains a deeper essense of ourselves, work and ethos.
Both of us would like to thank everyne who supported us in a positive way through this big transition.
Big thanks to Liverpool's unique community ethos and support.
Thank you!
Please spread the word for the new name.
Yorgos and Eli
Artistic Directors
Tmesis Theatre
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Dreadful Hours -Tmesis Theatre/Everyman Project
Tmesis Theatre collaboration with the Everyman Theatre will continues in 2009 in two phases: work in progress and production.
A successful work in progress was presented on Friday 3rd of July 2009 as a part of the Everyword Festival @ the Everyman Theatre and the piece will continue its development in the autumn and pemiere in the Spring 2010.
Dreadful hours is about the fatigue of bombardment‚ whether that is something as generalised as our bombardment by the white noise of modern living, or something more personal (though still universal) such as the bombardment of love, that is, having, in a relationship, continually to renew that contract of loving and being loved every single day of your life. The piece is looking at the crisis of language and the moments where language breaks down into pure sound and silence. Some things/words do well, some things/words do not do well.
photo by Alexandra Wolkowicz
2008/EVENTS/NEWS/UPDATES
A farewell to 2008!
This year has been an exciting and life changing opportunity for the city of Liverpool and its inhabitants.
The 2008 mission has been accomplished successfully with a large number of unique events that transformed the city, created new opportunities, changed people’s perception about the city, and gave Liverpool the national and international exposure it deserves.
Tmesis Theatre are proud to have been a major part of the artistic programme 2008 with a number of projects: Liverpool Commission: Anima, the annual physical theatre workshop festival Physical Fest, the Everyman Theatre project “ The Moment” which will be developed in 2009 as well as “Time”, a pushing boundaries cross art form project commissioned by Hope Street Ltd.
Here is to a great 2009 that will pick up the strong momentum 08 has gained.
Re-launching of Tmesis in 2009
Early in 2009 Tmesis Theatre will be re-working their first production Tmesis that was premiered in 2003 from Kate Cave, Yorgos Karamalegos and Elinor Randle. The piece will be reworked for two performers (Yorgos and Elinor) and will re-launch as a part of Physical Fest @ Unity Theatre on the 28th & 29th of May 2009.
The company is looking forward to starting work on this piece as it is a very personal performance, whose simplicity had a strong emotional impact on audiences nationally and internationally.
Striking visuals, acrobatics, movement and music combine in this beautiful ancient Greek story of the origin of love and the reason why we search for our other half. Tmesis takes you back to a time when there were three sexes; the man, the woman, and the hermaphrodite; two headed, eight limbed creatures who dared to challenge the Gods, creating disruption in a previously harmonious world. A journey from the ancient Greek years to modern man based on Aristophanes speech from Plato’s symposium.
Winner of Best New Show 2003, Annual Daily Post Key Awards
An astonishing work- Manchester Evening News
A tale of universal significance - The Stage
Rarefied…intriguing…pure and beautiful- The Guardian
Tmesis will be available for national and international bookings from June 2009.
Physical Fest
21st-30th of May 2009
Physical Fest will take place from the 23rd-31st of May 2009 at Hope Street Ltd.
Tmesis Theatre are happy to continue to deliver the festival in association with Hope Street Ltd.
The company will re-launch their first production "Tmesis" on the 28th and 29th of May. More info on Tmesis here.
The big master of theatre Yoshi Oida will be visiting the festival for a second time to present his solo performance Interrogations (words of the Zen Masters, Köan) on Saturday the 30th of May 2009 @ Unity Theatre. This a Physical Fest exclusive
Full festival schedule coming soon...
Interrogations - Yoshi Oida
Photo : Pascal Victor / Maxppp
The Koan is a collection of « words » written by Zen Masters and conserved in Chinese monasteries between then 11th and 13th centuries. We can find such “words” in the writings of Wou-Wen-Kouan, Lin-Tsi-Lou, and Pi-Yen-Lou. In Japan today, Zen Buddhism continues, manifesting in the traditions of two major sects; Soto and Rinzai. In both sects, spiritual training involves the practice of meditation, but in the Rinzai sect, such meditation may also utilise the Koan. In this case, the Master will ask questions based on the “Words” of Koan, and the student will hold these in his mind during the meditation. The “words” themselves aren’t logical, and there is no clear and coherent answer to the questions they pose. The student must look beneath the surface of the phrase. To find a response to a question may take several years, may be even a lifetime…
During the early 1960s, I travelled the world with Peter Brook’s experimental company, encountering audiences of every type and culture, in Iran, Africa, and the USA, as well as in Europe. Always asking key questions : “What it Theatre ?”, “What is an Actor ?”, “What is the relationship between the actor and the public ?” Over the years the company attempted to construct a theatre that was vibrant and direct, a theatre that united the performers and the audience. As Peter Brook stated, “an empty space”, where every element – object, gesture, sound – stimulated the imagination and allowed the audience its own role in the creative process. With Interrogations, I am returning to the spirit of those years of travelling, encountering, and creating, using the texts of the Koan as a starting point.
During the performance of Interrogations, I ask the audience questions from the Koan. In this case, there is no spiritual or philosophical objective, only an entertainment base on the gap between word and thought. As in the writings of Beckett or Ionesco. Obviously, there is no need for anyone to find the “right” answer, but the questions act as a thread linking the audience with the two performers. They join us together, they create a sense of connivance, and cooperation, allowing us to move together towards a moment of shared delight, towards a living theatre.
As the great Noh actor Zeami once said : “What we call “Art”, since it calms the spirit of all human beings, and produces emotion in everyone, great and small, could become the point of departure for greater health and happiness, and a means of lengthening life.”
