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Drunken Chorus

DRUNKEN CHORUS

  (2005 - )
Nationality:    British
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Drunken Chorus Arts Collective was set up in August 2005 by Emma Buck and Chris Williams. Drunken Chorus is a contemporary performance company working across a variety of forms, including theatre, installation, cabaret events and durational pieces. Whilst the company's work often changes dramatically from one project to the next, it has at its core a strong visual style. The work often plays with theatrical landscapes through text, soundscapes and movement sequences. Drunken Chorus are constantly seeking to explore new ground, to find new ways of making work - from text-based comedy, to a wordless horror performance - nothing is ever off the table!

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below is a list of Drunken Chorus's plays - click on a Play Title for more information

         And Hell Followed With Them         Bright Lights and Golden Sands         Drunken Nights         How to Be a Screen Goddess (in the darkness of outer space)         I Never Told A Joke In My Life         Just Like Larry Walters         La Noche Oscura Del Alma         lost & found (or the friend we never knew)         What Do You Think Of It So Far? - (A solo double-act)         Your Guide to Death (is beautiful)

And Hell Followed With Them

Synopsis:
Taking inspiration from Tobe Hooper, Chuck Palahniuk and David Lynch, AND HELL FOLLOWED WITH THEM is a haunting piece of theatre, exploring the formal structures that exist to create tension and suspense within the horror genre. Drunken Chorus descend into a dark and disturbing world of fear, violence and torture. Packed with rhythms, repetitions and motifs, the performance merges nightmarish visions with grotesque movement and gallows humour. It is a performance that explores our perceptions of horror; a performance full of darkness and silence; a performance that lies always in the shadow of some horrific act.

Notes:
Devised & performed by: Chris Williams, Nicki Hobday and David McBride

1st Produced:

Organisations:
Drunken Chorus

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
piece

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Bright Lights and Golden Sands

Synopsis:
In April 2012 Drunken Chorus collaborated with performers from More Dukes Youth Theatre in Morecambe, where they spent a week making a new multi-media work about the town. An attempt to re-imagine the town and bay as if it were a far-off land. By drawing on family holidays, music videos, cinema, novels and oral histories, the group explored the endless narratives and landscapes from coastal towns around the world. The performance addressed our relationships with where we live: how we yearn for other places when we are young; how we reminisce about our childhood surroundings when we grow older. This young people's project was a collaboration between Live at LICA associate artist Chris Williams (Drunken Chorus) and The Dukes. With filmmaker Sheena Holiday. Over two weeks, performers from More: Dukes Youth Theatre worked with theatre director Chris Williams, and filmmaker Sheena Holliday. To begin with, the group explored their favourite places around the local area - Happy Mount Park, the stone jetty, the beach, the statue of Eric Morecambe. They then went out into the town to begin filming these places, each having the opportunity to operate the camera, and each featuring in one shot disguised as a horse!! They then began to think about what these local places remind them of - stretching their imaginations as far as they could, until the Superbowl became Las Vegas, Eric Morecambe became the Statue of Liberty, the Polo Tower became the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Through improvisations and devising sessions, the group then layered their imagined places over the top of the video footage of the real places that inspired them. The resulting performance was full of material created by this passionate group of young people. Above all it was a fun exploration of the performers' attitudes towards the places they live in, and the places in which they long to live. Professional theatre companies can sometimes spend years making a piece of work, and yet these performers had a total of just 7 days to make the show. They have shown a great deal of commitment, hard work and talent, and can be incredibly proud of what they have achieved.

Notes:
devised by Beth Bailey, Alistair Burton, Kirsty Burton, Jodey Priestley, Yasmin Reade, Lauren Walsh, Emma Kelly, Rebecca Rawcliffe and Jess Riley

1st Produced:
The Hot House / More Music, Morecambe    Apr 2012

Organisations:
Drunken Chorus

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
piece

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  6            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Drunken Nights

Synopsis:
DRUNKEN NIGHTS is a series of performance events in pubs. Each night features a range of live artists, who have taken inspiration from the traditions of the Great British pub. Featuring unexpected theatre, off-beat stand-up comedy, experimental dance  and maybe even a good old fashioned sing-song. DRUNKEN NIGHTS is all about exciting contemporary performance in pubs  we throw out the rule books of theatres and galleries, and guarantee you a night of surprising, unexpected and extraordinary performance on tap. All of the acts take place in the main bar area so you can enjoy the evening from the comfort of your own bar stool with your tipple of choice.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
The Trafalgar Arms, Tooting, London    2012

Organisations:
Drunken Chorus

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
piece

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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How to Be a Screen Goddess (in the darkness of outer space)

Synopsis:
An hilarious romp through the history of civilisation and the rise of the silver screen. Having recently shown a work-in-progress at an international Theatre Festival in Poland, the company have now developed the work into a finished performance for Enterprise 08, at The Space in Londons Isle of Dogs. how to be a screen goddess... addresses the highs and lows of being a female movie icon, exploring her role within popular culture, her role within a male dominated industry, her role within a society obsessed with appearance, fixated by beauty, gripped by the fear of being alone in the icy blackness of space.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:
Drunken Chorus

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
piece

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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I Never Told A Joke In My Life

Synopsis:
In I Never Told A Joke In My Life solo performer Chris Williams recites an endless list of all the things that could happen in a comedy act - from fights with the audience, to sing-a-longs, walk-outs and on stage deaths. Drawn mostly from real incidents of failure in stand-up comedy, the show cycles through Andy Kaufman's numerous fights with audiences, Anthony Griffith's 10-minute description of his daughter's battle with cancer, and the ultimate failure of all - the death of Tommy Cooper, live on stage and television. Audience participation is a significant element of the show. Volunteers are present on the stage for most of the performance, with one becoming a 'glamorous assistant' and being given secret instructions on how to finish the show when Chris leaves the stage at the end. The show creates a troubled comedy out of the failures it describes, shifting between humour and moments of darkness. The audience are lulled into a false sense of security - encouraged to laugh, join in and even dance on stage. But from time to time the performance pulls the rug from under them and creates a dark hole in the narrative - often leaving volunteers stranded on stage without instructions, whilst some tragic scenario is described for the rest of the audience.

Notes:
Created by: Chris Williams, with Sheena Holliday

1st Produced:
STOFF - Stockholm Fringe Festival    2014

Organisations:
Drunken Chorus

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
piece

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Just Like Larry Walters

Synopsis:
In 1982, Larry Walters tied 45 helium balloons to his garden chair and flew up into the sky. We want you to imagine that. We want you to close your eyes and hold on tight, as we begin to drift up. Through tales of human endeavour, dance routines, and songs from The Greatest Ever Party Album, Drunken Chorus attempt to piece together something magical; only to find themselves surrounded by half-inflated party balloons, scraps of rubber and burst bubbles.

Notes:
Devised & performed by Chris Williams & Sheena Holliday

1st Produced:

Organisations:
Drunken Chorus

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
piece

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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La Noche Oscura Del Alma

Synopsis:
'La Noche Oscura Del Alma' is a live performance work created by Drunken Chorus. The project began as an attempt to create a piece of work that would be simultaneously both cinema and theatre. So far, what has resulted is a nightmarish performance in which fragments of a dark and mysterious screenplay begin to slowly leak out of the film and into reality. Born out of the task of trying to combine film and theatre, the lines between real-life performers, fictional filmmakers and the on-screen characters begin to blur and fade away. . .'Is this OK?... Are we still rolling??... Should I just carry on?... '

Notes:
devised by Typhaine Delaup, Eleni Edipidi and peter Hobday

1st Produced:
Shoreditch Town hall, London    May 2013

Organisations:
Drunken Chorus

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
piece

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  4            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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lost & found (or the friend we never knew)

Synopsis:
through the city, through the hills. A remapping of a handful of distant memories. A Cat Stevens song plays quietly in the background.

Notes:
Devised and performed by Emma Buck & Chris Williams, this contemporary performance piece charts the journey of two naively optimistic dreamers as they set out in search of the friend they never knew.

1st Produced:

Organisations:
Drunken Chorus

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
piece

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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What Do You Think Of It So Far? - (A solo double-act)

Synopsis:
Chris Williams attempts to resurrect the tradition of the double-act as a solo performer. Taking inspiration from Morecambe & Wise, as well as ideas from comedian Andy Kaufman and the Greek myth of Narcissus. The show explores what happens when one half of a double-act disappears, deserts or even dies. Chris Williams sets out on a series of simple, yet ill-fated attempts to reconstruct the double-act for a solo-performer (himself). The result is a piece of work that is not only funny and entertaining but that challenges perceptions of what comedy should be; of what a double-act should be; of what theatre should be. It is a show full of all the things you wouldnt expect to find in a double-act - a fight, a load of booze, a long drawn out death scene, and most importantly, only one performer.

Notes:
Devised & performed by Chris Williams

1st Produced:

Organisations:
Drunken Chorus

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
piece

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Your Guide to Death (is beautiful)

Synopsis:
A man with a dodgy bulb on the end of a wire looks to the audience for a glimmer of hope. Cut. A girl who cries too loud tries desperately to piece together fragments of something she can't be sure ever existed. Cut. A man covered in fake blood wanders aimlessly around the stage, playing out events and chance encounters from somebody else's life. Cut. Some guy in a suit shouts the odds. He likes the power. He wants to be in charge. Cut. A list of regrets. A string of random corpse positions. The flickering light at the end of the tunnel. An insight. A journey. A guide. A beautiful guide.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Leeds: The Carriageworks    25 Feb 2006

Organisations:
Drunken Chorus

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
piece

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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