THE SHOW
Based on Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night”, Viola is an exciting new aerial theatre work exploring our heroine’s strengthening, fracturing and evolving psyche, using aerial and acrobatic movement to challenge and expand our understandings of gender performance and mental health. We had a fantastic premiere at the Scottish Mental Health Arts and Film Festival 2019 and are now seeking £3500 to help us cover transportation, artist accommodation and fees for our upcoming tour of Lowland Scotland and London.
Stretch Goal: We have had additional requests to perform Viola at the Mareel Theatre in the Shetland Isles, at the Comar Theatre on the Isle of Mull, and in Elgin in northeast Scotland! For these more remote venues we require an additional £5000. Help us get genderbending circus to the far corners to Scotland!
ORIGINS OF VIOLA
Charlotte McKechnie (Creator/Director/Producer): I created Viola whilst studying the play as an actor - I was particularly struck by Viola’s sudden, unexplained silence in the finale when Duke Orsino commands her to return to her women’s clothing. In many ways, the character of Viola fits Shakespeare’s heroine mould: noble-born, loquacious, quick-witted. But she also offers us a deeper glimpse into the darker side of Shakespeare’s work: the isolation, grief, and mental fracturing of an artist who suffered such extreme personal trauma in parallel with his meteoric success.
Choreography, dance and aerial became the perfect mediums to explore with the body what could not be expressed verbally, and they opened avenues to challenge our understandings of masculine or feminine movement and of how a ‘healthy’ or ‘anxious’ mind behaves. After recrafting a new script and storyboard, I formed a team of fellow Glasgow-based artists - Adam Wright (Choreographer, Performer). Rufus Huggan (Cellist), Zak Hassan (Violinist) – to bring the work to life. With a development period at the fantastic Aerial Edge circus school in Glasgow, we premiered Viola in the Scottish Mental Health Arts and Film festival to rave reviews (you can read one here!) and glowing audience feedback.
NEXT STEPS
We are now bringing Viola to venues in Glasgow, Edinburgh and the Scottish Borders (with “stretch” goals of the Shetland Isles and Elgin!) and then London. Along the way we are reaching out to schools by our venues to offer free school workshops that teach dance, circus and theatre skills and bring exposure to the arts to children with no other access.
9th October – Mac Arts, Galashiels
10th October – Platform Theatre, Glasgow
11th October – Assembly Roxy, Edinburgh
Further afield - Stretch performances at Elgin Town Hall and Mareel, Shetland!
15th February 2020 – Jacksons Lane, London
WHAT WE NEED
We have already raised £6000 from generous funding from Split Infinitive, Hope Scott Trust, Cross Trust, Labyrinth Foundation, the Eglinton Arms Hotel, the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland Diversity Fund, and supporters who attended our Spring Fundraising Dinner!
We need another £3500 to pay for transportation of our rig and artists, accommodation during the tour, promotional video and completing our artists fees. Every pound raised will be crucially helpful in getting our show on the road and ensuring that we are able to pay and house ourselves.
WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT
- Seeing LGBTQ perspectives at the centre of a narrative and discovering new ways of thinking about ourselves and our movement
- Offering new ways to understand Shakespeare: We don’t “dilute” Shakespeare- we have chosen key sections of the text and use the music and movement to make it accessible and enjoyable to everyone, regardless of previous enthusiasm for The Bard (I am a big fan - I realise not everyone is: but you might be after Viola!)
Most importantly, the Viola/Cesario story, though made singular in our story by exploring the genderqueer nuances of their identity, touches upon universal questions and fears: Who Am I? How do I engage with the world around me? Will people accept me? Everyone can - in their own way- relate to the idea of identity and roles in our community being tenuous or broken.
Our Viola story seeks to humanise the struggle to belong and to accept ourselves, coming to terms with the “Poor monster” inside us all.
WHY WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT
As budgets continue to shrink, arts funding has never been harder: in previous centuries, creation has been facilitated by monarchs or religious institutions. In 2019, it increasingly falls upon the artist to self-fund despite high artistic quality and experience.
In this climate, being funded by five separate competitive funds is unusual and testifies to the belief committees have had in what Viola can offer. But it still is not enough to cover the full cost of this rewarding yet financially costly artform
We will still go on the road even if we fail to meet our goal, but we will not be able to reach as many schools and would not be compensated for the hundreds of hours that have gone into creating the show. But the show is here; we know how much audiences love it and are determined to share this story and the joy of physical theatre and music with as many people as we can!
OTHER WAYS YOU CAN HELP
If financially contributing just isn’t something you can do right now, we understand! (We’re starving artists - we really understand) BUT you can still hugely help us by spreading the word about this campaign and our show:
1) Share this campaign with friends, family and co-workers
2) Like our social media pages and share our posts! Follow us on Instagram (@CirqueViola) and on Facebook (@CirqueViola) - each new follower and post engagement helps new audiences find us!
3) Finally, come to our shows! Tell your friends, family, bitter enemies about the wonder of this exciting, challenging new work.
WHO WE ARE
Charlotte McKechnie – Creator, Director, Producer
I am a Scottish theatre maker, producer and soprano based in Glasgow. Originally studying History & Literature at Harvard University and training as a soprano at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, as a creative entrepreneur I now focus on illuminating unheard stories and perspectives with emphasis on female-identifying creators and narratives. After working in the States as a producer & director (including productions at American Repertory Theatre and National Opera Center and Managing Directing Juventas New Music), I came back to Scotland and formed New Voices Theatre (originally Opera Eos) to stage female-written historic and contemporary opera and theatre works that have been lost or ignored. Viola is an exciting new branch for the company into physical theatre.
Fun fact: I met Adam while he was throwing me off a flying trapeze board. It was not friendship at first throw.
Adam Wright – Choreographer, Performer
I am a circus artist from Glasgow and a graduate of the National Centre for Circus Arts in London, where I specialised in corde lisse (or ‘rope’!). I continue to perform internationally and teach throughout the UK and Europe while moving back to Scotland, so I share what I learned and grow circus in my hometown. In my choreography, I’m particularly interested in analysing, blending and breaking the boundaries of gender, sexuality, dance, theatre and circus.
Fun fact: I do not remember throwing Charlotte off the board.
And meet our amazing musicians!! -
Zak Hassan - Violinist
Zak is an Irish/Iranian Violinist currently in his second year at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, studying with Tamás Fejes. He grew up in Northern Ireland and began taking lessons at the age of seven. By the age of eleven, Zak was winner of Northern Ireland’s Primary School Musician of the Year and was invited to perform in the House of Commons in London as a result. He made his Concerto debut at the age of sixteen, playing Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in E minor with his local community orchestra. Since moving to Glasgow, Zak has had the opportunity to play alongside the RSNO and has been involved in performances in venues such as The Glasgow Royal Concert Hall and City Halls.
Rufus Huggan - Cellist
Rufus Huggan is a cellist and composer living in Glasgow. A graduate of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, he has performed for audiences internationally as well as touring extensively across the UK with his dynamic, rhythmic style.
As a composer, Rufus’ music has been played on television and radio across the world. As a recording artist he has worked with an eclectic selection of musicians and performers, collaborating in a dense mixture of styles and genres.
