A collaboration by Judy Gordon and David Barnett

Somewhere in the future a woman examines her place in society. From tender remembrance to frustration, fantasy and oppression, Lightlines follows a woman's struggle to find her place in a modern world. Through examining rigid perceptions and expectations of a woman's image and behaviour, her relationship to society and her own self are revealed and then distorted to reflect the ideal versus the real. Lightlines, a live digital art/performance piece, is Montage Theatre's first production and is a collaboration between performer/director Judy Gordon and digital artist David Barnett.

Part choreographed, part improvised, the piece involves the interaction of live digital art, movement/dance, video and animation, music, sound and song. Lightlines explores the ideas surrounding Jeremy Bentham's Panopticon.

The Panopticon

Proposed originally by Jeremy Bentham in early 19th century England, the panopticon was
a prison design that represented an architectural system of social discipline. Individuals would be kept isolated in rings of individual cells, all of which would be observable from a central observation tower. These individuals, who could not see their observers had to assume they were under constant surveillance. Under such circumstances, they would have to discipline themselves to follow the institution's rules at all times. It was the ghostly absence of the inspector which was to ensure order. Conscience replaced corporal punishment. We have
used the panopticon as a metaphor to describe the modern disciplinary power apparatus
based on isolation, individuation and supervision. Today we are aware that we are monitored by the visible, as well as the invisible, such as hidden surveillance cameras, many without film. Not only do we struggle with these external confines, but also with our own inner constraints, bringing about questions of reality versus the mind.

 

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Choreography and Text: Judy Gordon

Video/Audio Production,Live Art, Web: David Barnett

Costume Design: Naomi Purkiss

Costume Maker: Lisa Clark

From an original work-in-progress with Cheryl Law and Victoria Hainsby.

 

 

Performed nationally in 1999: Wandsworth Arts Festival, BAC; New Works Festival '99, Phoenix Arts Centre, Leicester; Chichester Festival Fringe; FIELD 22, Fabrica, Brighton; At the Interface, Chisenhale Dance Space, London; Age Concern Fund Raising Event invited by Counsellor Bob Harris, London; The Lewisham Theatre Studio, London; Volcano Film Festival, The Oval House Theatre, London

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