Suspect Culture is Ten
The idea behind Suspect Culture was founded in early 1990s by Graham Eatough (now Artistic Director), Daivd Greig and Nick Powell (both now Associate Artists). The aim was to combine the best traditions of British and European theatre working with text, but giving equal weight to visual and musical elements.
In 1995, Suspect Culture based itself in Glasgow and secured funding for its first annual production. One Way Street, set in East Berlin, explored the expression of personal history through geography. It toured in Germany the following year.
| The production marked the start of their commitment to collaborative work in an international arena, with practitioners and venues from around the world. Their continued international work has brought Suspect Culture around the world. They have worked in ten different European countries as well as Brazil and Canada. |
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Rehearsals have just started for our new show, A Different Language, which will tour Scotland in February and March. And since 2005 is Suspect Culture's tenth anniversary year, an exhibition of their work will accompany the opening of A Different Language at The Tron in Glasgow. It will offer a chance to look at how far they have come in that time.
Suspect Culture is made up from a small team of four, plus a team of associate artists. Together, they share a collaborative and exploratory way of working.
Their ‘collaborative approach’ means giving text, design, music and performance equal weight in all their work. The director, writer, designer and composer are involved from the very beginning of each new idea. It is then developed through a process of workshops and rehearsal before being presented to an audience. This emphasis on collaboration is reflected in their accreditation, which is always shared among the artistic team.
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This month Suspect Culture present A Different Language, a co-production between Suspect Culture and il Rossetti, Teatro Stabile di Friuli-Venezia Giulia, in association with the Tron Theatre, Glasgow.
It explores ‘relationships in a world where it's supposed to be easier than ever to communicate with anyone anywhere, but somehow it doesn't always feel that way’.
It is performed in English and Italian and tours nationally from 23rd February 2005 before embarking on a tour of Italy later in 2005. |
| For more information about A Different Language and their tenth anniversary exhibition at the Tron, visit the Suspect Culture website. |
As well as their productions, creates the annual symposium, Strange Behaviour. The series of symposia seeks to explore the relationships between theatre and seemingly unrelated disciplines. There are no products, results or measurable educational goals of the events. The aim is simply to see ‘what happens when two worlds of knowledge and experience, briefly collide’. ‘There is no point’ other than the enjoyment of exploration for its own sake. Previous subjects have included Theatre & Sciences of the Mind, Theatre & Divinity and Theatre & Mathematics.
Projects in development include:
Houdini's Box
A co-production with Tramway, the play is currently in workshop stages of development, to open at Tramway in January 2006. The artistic team for the project includes Laura Hopkins (design), Nick Powell (music) and Ian Scott (lighting design).
Strange Behaviour 2005
The Gallery Project
Graham Eatough and visual artist Graham Fagen are developing a new piece that will explore the connections between theatre and art, practitioner and viewer, form and content. A development with Katrina Brown, Curator of Dundee Contemporary Arts, the piece is likely to be presented in late 2006.
The Global Revue
All Suspect Culture's associate artists will come together to present a new piece for 2006/07 that draws on the music hall and cabaret genres to explore the nature of our contemporary world and current global economic realities. |