The Everyday Olympians
I must admit I've never really got into the Olympics very much, I'm not a bit athletics fan, but the some of the cultural side events that have been funded as a result of London 2012 have been quite interesting and another one is happening soon in the Southside.
"Olympians. They may be physically impressive specimens,
sure, but why do we laud someone for jumping over a bar or chucking a discus,
when often the real challenges that people face in life go unacknowledged?
The Olympics of the Everyday,
a new multi-media theatre, film and music piece from Ankur, poses that
question. While the eyes of the world are on the London Olympics, a cast of
thirty young performers (drawn from refugee and asylum seeker groups, BAME
communities, and culturally diverse areas across Glasgow), working with
professional musicians, writers actors, designers, and video artists, are preparing
to take over Bellahouston Leisure Centre and celebrate your
achievements."
The show is a series of site-specific narratives by playwright Jodie Marshall using sporting events and the awarding of medals to tell stories of 'mundane' everyday events. The info we've been sent promises bike rides in the Spin Room, a locker door orchestra and a lighting design that will transform the Bellahouston Leisure Centre into a theatre with red carpets and rovign reporters.
It also will in some way involve the talents of beatboxer Bigg Taj, who we last saw in the Queens Park Cafe as part of the Glasgow International, and he is well worth going to watch.
We are hoping to get a little interview with the director Shabina Aslam to find out a bit more about the show but if you want to get a little sneak peak of what it may entail then wander around Hampden before the football on Saturday 28 July as the cast will be performing "on the road to Hampden" to entertain the crowds.
Olympics of the Everyday, Bellahouston Leisure Centre, Glasgow
The main show runs Thu 9 - Sun 12 August at 4pm
Tickets cost - £2.50
Box Office: 0141 276 0767Labels: Bellahouston Park events, theatre events