A new question, a consequence, a soul seeking an audience.
We would love for you to collaborate with us on our exciting new platform #InSouliloquyRevisited – this is a fabulous chance for us to connect with other artists and also to explore different meanings and interpretations of our texts.
Please drop us a line for more info – in the mean time have a look through our previous cycles and see if anything jumps to mind?
We’d love to work with you!
Tilly and Victorine x
As a writer tackling classical work and characters I’ve not had a problem feeling a contemporary resonance in the words, performance, character, form of anything we have produced. Yet, with Jessica In Spring I specifically wanted to address the tone, vitriol and horrendous narrative that has become a part of our politics, our media and our life over the past few years.
Brexit, Trump – 2016 was a year that apart from anything else legitimised voices that Othered. ‘Us’ and ‘Them’ – let’s blame poor people, people with a disability, different gender, immigrants, those who do not look like us. Let us not turn in and look at ourselves, let us not look to work together; let us point fingers and be rude, because that is Presidential, isn’t it?*
So Jessica came out of this place, of giving a voice to this Other – to someone who is Othered by circumstances, birth and also in her choices. Her choice to convert and marry out of her religion gives her some level of acceptance in society but she can never truly become part of the world she has made the choice to ‘join’ because she knows it for the sham it is. Like those of us who are Othered, she knows much more of the world and her place in it than someone who has never been in that situation. I wanted her to articulate the fierceness that comes with this knowledge.
The concept of privilege is interesting to me because awareness has some bearing upon it but also those who are resolutely unaware often have the most. Jessica is privileged in some ways but she’s also Jewish and a woman in a time where she was legally a chattel of first her father and then her husband. It her experience as the Other experience that rounds her person into who her husband fell in love with – she dares the listener and him to accept her for all she is, shadows and all – rather than a beautiful construct of a good little wife. Ultimately that’s who we all are. People. I think Jessica speaks of that.
In Spring too, we have all these connotations of ‘new life’ and ‘rebirth’ of the year but this can be sad too. She is someone (in our version) who actively embraces this duality. I think her words in voiceover over the moving images works really nicely to communicate this. There are layers to her that she won’t deny.
Jessica In Soulilouqy from In Souliloquy on Vimeo.
So please watch AND listen – both, together, separately. She has something other to say.
x Tilly
*FFS. No it’s not and I know Orange McOrangeFace won’t read this but omg, ew, what an awful excuse for a human.
For the past few months I’ve been re-releasing our Souliloquies on my personal blog with some notes on the writing, performance, process etc. It’s nice to take the time to not only share a bit more of the process but also think back and reflect on the intensity of production and how far we came across the four cycles.
Today I shared Don John our final souliloquy from the 4 2016 Cycles – it feels appropriate to mark the occasion with a reflective blog because it is pretty momentous. We produced 24 original new pieces of writing in 6 months! From the idea right through the writing, casting, direction, filming, editing, release and all the associated social media and admin – that is a lot of work. It’s quite satisfying as a writer!
You can check out the blog about Don John here – and click on through for other insights about the other characters across our 4 cycles – they’re all there!
Interestingly, Don John was a character I had expressed an interest in writing way back in Cycle 1 but he kept getting bumped down our spreadsheet. He doesn’t say much and the productions I had seen pitted him as a very panto villain but we were determined to do him at some point and this was last chance saloon.
Boy does he kick down those doors and hold you up!
Thanks to everyone who has watched our 2016 Cycles – here’s another chance to dive in and sample a few more – discover new sides to loved characters or find out about someone you didn’t know existed.
Tilly x
Happy Halloween/ All Hallows/ Whatever pagan ritual you might be celebrating this evening. Here we share our production meeting funtimes and also a little selection of some creepy characters for you to indulge your inner scaredy cat!
“A dark tale of blood in the night” indeed!
Lady Macbeth
Lady Macbeth In Souliloquy from In Souliloquy on Vimeo.
Richard III
Richard III In Souliloquy from In Souliloquy on Vimeo.
Lady Macduff
Lady Macduff In Souliloquy from In Souliloquy on Vimeo.
Yorick
Yorick In Souliloquy from In Souliloquy on Vimeo.
Abhorsen
Abhorsen In Souliloquy from In Souliloquy on Vimeo.
Cassandra
Cassandra In Souliloquy from In Souliloquy on Vimeo.
Enjoy your fear responsibly dearest audience!
In Souliloquy Bloopers – Cycle 2-4 from In Souliloquy on Vimeo.
We are delighted to share a little of the behind the scenes work (fun) that has gone into this project! Please come and share a laugh at the various antics edited together for your viewing pleasure from our resident wonder Victorine.
In Souliloquy 