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Two of London’s biggest dance houses, Greenwich Dance Agency and The Place Theatre will be presenting work by choreographer Gary Clarke this friday. This will have the choreographer heroically hurtling back and forth, in a whirlwind of madness from one end of the city to the other. Which had me intrigued… Two Shows. One Night. Madness, surely? So I caught up with Gary earlier this week and asked him about it. Here’s what he had to say…

So two shows on the same night – is that a bit controversial?
No- it’s great! I love the idea of trying to put on two shows at the same time: such completely different pieces in totally different dance venues that are at opposite spectrums of the city. I thought what a fabulous challenge. Pulling this off will be like spinning plates and I am really excited to see what is going to happen on Friday. I will be updating both pieces so they’ll feel new and fresh.


So what’s Cameo Cookie all about?
Originally commissioned by Brighton Gay Pride in 2013, Cameo Cookie looks at the gay pride movement, and is being performed on Friday as part of a triple bill at Spring Loaded.  It’s a really theatrical show and what’s interesting is that it is a very political piece that is about a female gay activist around in the 70’s who thought all gay men were disgusting and should be shot. It is based on her downfall and death and we were making it at the time that Thatcher died. We were rehearsing and considering ‘Ding dong the Witch is dead’ for the closing bows of the show and when Thatcher died a week later, the song went to the top of the charts. So the parallel between the two is highly provocative. It is a political rant. It is a camp, yet courageous take on a woman who led a homophobic crusade, and yet ended up as the name of a cocktail in gay bars all over America.


And the other show?
2 Men & a Michael is showing at Greenwich Dance Agency Cabaret on cabaret to celebrate Greenwich Dance’s 20th anniversary. I have quite a long relationship with Greenwich and they sent the piece to Bulgaria to be part of a cabaret over there, so now we are reviving it. It’s quick funny sharp piece and its not too precious. The concept of the work came from years ago when I first made the piece: one of the dancers got food poisoning so they couldn’t perform the work. So I called my friend Kath Duggan and she learnt the piece in a few hours, as the piece looked at comedy anyway and in particular stand up and the failure of it. So putting Kath on stage was brilliant - she didn’t know what she was doing but created this amazing tension that you can never get with rehearsed work. I thought, what an amazing concept! What happens if every time we do the piece, two people learn it in just two days?


So it has a constantly changing cast and if the dancers get too comfortable with the material, then I will add or remove sections to the work. So for example, literally seconds before one of the dancer’s went on stage, I asked her to perform a famous, award winning tap dance. She didn’t know how to tap dance. So for this event, I have invited Rachel Krische and TC Howard back and they will perform it together for the first time. They are wonderful performers and I just know they will be fabulous. New Art club are compering the event at Greenwich and they have also danced Two Men and a Michael, so there is a nice link there.


What’s next?
Buffalo. It’s a duet on two men but one is dressed as a woman. It is a response to the photographic series called ‘Men in the Cities’ by Robert Longo that looks at how being shot makes the body jerk and spasm in a particular way. I have designed Buffalo to gatecrash other people’s performances: set to the Clash music, it ‘pops up’ and shouts at you. I love the idea that it can just turn up, overwhelm and scream in people’s faces. The whole evening on 1st June in the Royal Vauxhall Tavern will be trashy loud and ‘in your face’, and this perfect for a show like Buffalo. It is also the first time I have been at Duckie at Royal Vauxhall Tavern with my own work, so it’s very exciting!


Last thoughts?
In the light of Thatcher’s death, Coal, my piece about the miners is on my mind. I have always wanted to revive it for the 30th anniversary of the miner’s strike – which is next year – but on a bigger, grander, more supported scale. Now that Thatcher has died, it just seems the right moment to do it. A lot of things need to be in place first though, so we shall see what happens with that one.
 

Two Shows. One Night. Which will you choose? And will Gary Clarke pull off his mad dash across the city? If it’s possible, he’s the man to do it!

If you'd like to see Cameo Cookie: www.theplace.org.uk/17235/whats-on/spring-loaded-amy-bell-valentina-golfieri-aoife-mcatamney-gary-clarke.html

If you'd like to see 2 Men and a Michael: greenwichdance.org.uk/dance/article/special_cabaret_to_celebrate_greenwich_dances_20th_birthday
 

2 Men & A Michael


Cameo Cookie