A research project begun in 2014 and onwards. Creating a trilogy: Choreography of an Argument round a Table, Shelley on a Loop, and Our True Feelings.
 

A series of absurd, experimental, and theatricalised situations were designed with the ultimate aim of generating distinct and discrete situations of tension and potential crisis.

 

The project started in 2014 with residencies and presentations at The Basement in Brighton, and Camden Arts Centre, followed by a presentation of Exorcising in the usual off-centre, quarter of the way back as part of Cabaret Duchamp at Barbican and Wild Card at Sadlers Wells 

 

The next phase in 2015 - saw the creation of two new works, Choreography of an Argument around a Table created and previewed at The Yard NOW15 Festival and Shelley on a Loop, presented at JW3, Modern Art Oxford and Nottingham Contemporary after its research phase at Experimentica Cardiff.

 

Our True Feelings was the final work in the trilogy, examining emotion research through the lense of cognitive psychology. DKHP collaborated with DR Guido Orgs, neuroscientist at Goldsmiths University.

Research took place during a residency at Modern Art Oxford and presentations were shown at The Yard, Hackney NOW'16 Festival in May 2016, Middlesex University's symposium of collaboration and at Goldsmiths University. 

 

Etudes in Tension and Crisis began as a study of power politics. Political scientist Harold Lasswell defined politics as "who gets what, when, and how".

Taking the assumption that “politics starts at home” we investigated the jostles for power and negotiations of values that transpire within small groups. Inspired by territorial disputes, trade, invasion, occupation, treaties, and conflict -resolution, and the emotional fall-outs that reflect, and sustain emotional states.

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We examined scenes of tension and conflict that occur in films, arguments in news, writing and online jostles of opinion, and displays of high state emotion and asked, 'what is it to play out and re- embody these extreme states and positions?' History of drama is full of the replaying of horrors.... in order to learn, to transform, to honour the pain, as catharsis to create permissive spaces, to play?