CREDITS
CHOREOGRAPHY & DIRECTING:
Becka McFadden, Daniel Somerville
CONCEPT & SOUND DESIGN:
Daniel Somerville
PERFORMERS:
Becka McFadden, Daniel Somerville
DRAMATURGY:
Sodja Lotker, Markéta Hrehorová
LIGHT DESIGN:
Filip Obermajer
COSTUMES:
Vojtěch Hanyš
PRODUCTION:
Kateřina Kubíková, Anna Kuřátková
SUPPORED BY:
Prague City Hall, State Culture Fund of the Czech Republic, Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic, Venus in Švehlovka / Backstage, z.s., Worcester Theatres, University of Worcester
ABOUT SHOW
In Baroque Walks, Beautiful Confusion turns a queer lens on Baroque aesthetics. Particularly in the Czech Republic, the Baroque is everywhere. Often, we are literally surrounded by it as we walk through the events of our everyday lives. Hiding in plain sight, the Baroque only needs a little encouragement to reveal its camp delights. That is if you can get through all the religious references. And the cherubs. Just what is up with the cherubs anyway?
Becka McFadden and Daniel Somerville – the team behind Black Dress (winner of the 2023 Thalia Award in the Alternative Theatre category) – offer a playful and penetrating walk through the Baroque. Drawing on their complementary movement practices and shared butoh vocabulary, they invite you on a flourish-filled stroll through Baroque music, architecture, sculpture, painting and landscape. Embracing the theatrical gender play of the period – epitomised by figures like the castrati or male actors of women’s roles – they reimagine the Baroque as a nonbinary playground full of larger-than-life personalities, exuberant decoration, queer pathos, the tragi-camp and a healthy dose of euphoria.
ABOUT AUTHOR
Becka McFadden
An independent artist, dancer, performer and artistic director of Beautiful Confusion Collective. She won the 2023 Thalia Award for her performance in Black Dress. Becka holds a doctorate from Goldsmiths, University of London. With 20 years of experience as an artist and producer in performing arts, her work is rooted in movement theatre, contemporary dance, butoh, and live art.
Daniel Somerville
An independent artist, performer, dramaturg, academic researcher, and educator at the University of Worcester, UK. He holds a PhD from the University of Wolverhampton. Daniel studied butoh with Marie-Gabrielle Rotie. His performances, featured at UK festivals, combine butoh with a focus on autobiography and operatic movement, based on a unique understanding of gender and queer theory.
Markéta Pščolková
A physical theatre performer and multidisciplinary dancer from Prague, trained at Accademia Dimitri, Switzerland. She focuses on theatrical inclusivity, ensuring diverse representation among actors and audiences.
Filip Obermajer
A concert and theatre lighting technician and designer with experience from major theatre productions in London and European music festivals. He collaborates with theatre companies from Prague and other cities, especially in alternative and movement theatre.