Must
A poetic journey unearthing stories hidden deep inside flesh and bones
Journey through the hills and valleys of one woman’s body, unearthing stories hidden deep inside flesh and bones. Adventure across ice caps, mountains and oceans.
A collaboration between Peggy Shaw and Clod Ensemble, Must is a poetic look at what it feels like to have a body. It excavates memories and images contained in the joints and layers of bone.
Inspired by images from Gulliver’s Travels, Hildegarde von Bingen, The Elephant Man and everyday experiences of the medical profession, Must is a hard stare at the medical gaze and the assumptions people make about each other’s bodies.
Must was written for the Art Injection series, the performance platform for Clod Ensemble’s Performing Medicine project.
Suzy Willson - Direction; Paul Clark - Music; Hansjörg Schmidt - Lighting; Sarah Blenkinsop - Design
Performed by Peggy Shaw
Musicians: Calina de la Mare - Violin; John Paul Gandy - Piano; Lucy Shaw - Double Bass
Wellcome Collection, London, November 2007 & 2008; The Royal London Hospital, March 2008 & 2009; The Bernie Grant Arts Centre, London, March 2008; The ShowRoom, Chichester, February 2009; The Junction, Cambridge, March 2009; Leeds Metropolitan University Studio Theatre, March 2009; Anatomy Lecture Theatre, University of Edinburgh Medical School, August 2009; Under the Radar Festival, Public Theater, New York City, January 2010; Scottish Arts Council Arts and Health Symposium, March 2010; Newcastle Science Festival, CultureLab, March 2010; Oxfordshire Science Festival, Oxford University Museum of Natural History, March 2010; Behaviour Festival, The Arches, Glasgow, May 2010; Queer Up North Festival, The Library Theatre, Manchester, May 2010; Mayfest, Bristol Old Vic, May 2010; AMH Conference 2010, Peninsula Medical School, Plymouth, July 2010; The Nuffield Theatre, Lancaster, March 2011; The Basement, Brighton, March 2011; Imperial College School of Medicine, London, March 2011; University of Massachusetts, Amherst, April 2011; Anatomy Theatre, King's College London, November 2011; Creative Space, Western Infirmary, Glasgow, February 2012; Anglia Ruskin Drama Studio, Cambridge, February 2012; The Martin Harris Centre for Music and Drama, The University of Manchester, March 2012
A Wellcome Trust People Award; Arts Council England (as part of the Performing Medicine project)
