Sadler's Wells Digital Stage

Friday 29 May Sadler’s Wells Digital Stage Gravity Fatigue Hussein Chalayan A Sadler’s Wells production. Hussein Chalayan’s first theatrical work Gravity Fatigue, received its world premiere at Sadler’s Wells in October 2015. Gravity Fatigue combined the visual creativity of his artistic concepts with contemporary dance, realised in partnership with award-winning choreographer Damien Jalet (Vessel, Babel(words)), Yeast Culture's Nick Hillel, sound illustrators MODE-F and lighting designer Natasha Chivers, the production takes its inspiration from themes of identity and displacement, and the disconnection experienced in public spaces at moments of transition. GRAVITY FATIGUE © HUGO GLENDINNING Artistic Team Artistic Director and Designer Lighting Designer Hussein Chalayan Natasha Chivers Choreographer Assistant Director Damien Jalet Melih Yoru Video Designer and Projection Mapping Choreography in collaboration with Nick Hillel / Yeast Culture Dancers Aimilios Arapoglou, Amy Bell, Navala ‘Niku’ Sound Illustrators Chaudhari, Aliashka Hilsum, Edouard Hue, Lisa MODE-F Kasman, Stephanie McMann, Erik Nevin, Inpang Ooi, Mickael ‘Marso’ Riviere, Louise Tanoto, Majon van der Schot and Jack Webb For Sadler’s Wells Chief Executive and Artistic Director Producing and Touring Assistant Alistair Spalding CBE Georgia Kersh Executive Producer Marketing Manager Suzanne Walker Lucy White Producer Press Manager Ghislaine Granger Caroline Ansdell Artistic Programmer and Artist Development Eva Martinez Technical Team Production Manager Production Electrician / Programmer Adam Carrée Will Frost Company Manager Head of Video Marius Arnold-Clarke MJ Holland Deputy Stage Manager Video Programming and Projection Mapping Maddie Cupples Andy Coates Assistant Stage Manager Sound Engineer Laura Stevens Oscar Lisshagen Head of Wardrobe Set Construction Roxanne Armstrong Tandem Scenery Wardrobe Assistants Midi Rope Construction Sharna David and Alice Smart MJ Holland Hair and Make-up Bunnice Allen Costumes made by Chalayan Team Erin Adair, Helena Bean, Katarzyna Borowicz, Stefania Daskalaki, Beverley Eaton, Iwona Garaszczukowska, Aneta George, Sandra Goldmann, Zosia Goluch, Izumi Harada, Aya Hosokawa, Maki Johnson, Seuk Lee, Lynn Mackay, Elzabeth Nsubuga, Avyn Omel, Lynne Robertson, Virginia Roffino, Nana Saito, Zyta Torochow, Riyo Yokoi and Pollianna Zoche Hussein’s Press Team SPRING Team Phillip Bodenham, Sam Coates, Olivia Cordwell, Nerea Echebarria, Michelle Ewin, and all the team at SPRING London. Thank you to the Fashion Council of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston for supporting the realisation of the Possessed Dress in Word Dictators. Thank you to Wolford for sponsoring the knitted bodies for all the performers. Special thanks to Grit Seymour. Thank you to Adam Wright for the mechanical design of the Possessed Dress in Word Dictators. With thanks to Sevil Ozel – Hussein’s mother – who sang the classical Turkish song Bakışı Çağırır Beni Uzaktan especially for Arrival of Departure. Thank you to Rebecca Lowthorpe for her voice over on Nude Catwalk. Thank you to Central Saint Martins’ Platform Theatre for providing rehearsal facilities for three weeks. GRAVITY FATIGUE © HUGO GLENDINNING Music Biosphere Extraction 2 by Chukhung: Courtesy of Sony / ATV by Frank Tovey & Boyd Rice: Courtesy of Mute Song Limited Consumed by The Haxan Cloak: Courtesy of Beggars Music and Fly Away BMI by Tosca: Courtesy of K7 Music GmbH Under The Flag Closing Theme by Fad Gadget: Courtesy of Mute Song Limited by Benjamin Blower: Courtesy of David Benjamin Blower DPM by Vessel: Courtesy of Mute Song Limited Framboises by Nikita Quasim. A Wooden Box by Factory Floor: Courtesy of Factory Floor The Overview Effect by Slop Shop Uni Rec by Alva Noto: Courtesy of Alva Noto and Budde Music Mehanik by Gultskra Artikler: Courtesy Told and Collapsed of Miasmah and Gultskra Artikler by Raime Havana Dub Le mari soupçonneux, Danse de by Sabo: Courtesy of Will Sabatini la Guedra and Chant berbère by Local Traditional Artist & Gerard Kremer Who wants to be a Millionaire by Matthew Strachan: Courtesy of Sony Pictures Threading the difference Entertainment by MODE-F: Courtesy of MODE-F (Alexander Maxwell / Nano de CLausel / Laurent Ballot) Egyptian Samba by El Darbak & Djamel Mellouk: Courtesy of Djamel Valgeir Mellouk by Architecture of Loss The Golden Emperor The Library by Jupiter Lion by Nico Muhly: Courtesy of Wise Music Group Ludepre Travellers 1,2,3 by Francesco Tristano. by Meredith Monk. REM Bitter Branches by Pearson Sound: Courtesy of David Kennedy by PJ Harvey: Courtesy of Kobalt Do Right Music in Circles Pt II by Cabaret Voltaire: Courtesy of Mute Song Limited by YMusic I Can Feel Love Blue Hawaii by FM Belfast: Courtesy of Morr Music and FM Belfast All Star Hawaiian Band: Courtesy of Sony / ATV Music Publishing GRAVITY FATIGUE © HUGO GLENDINNING Words by Hussein Chalayan Gravity Fatigue has been part of my daily life for nearly two years, becoming a gap between my reality and an imagined reality. In this performance, storytelling with the body in movement, punctuated by clothes and their relationship to space has become a new unforgettable micro geography for me. Although I have worked in many mediums over the years, Gravity Fatigue is the first time I have directed a dance piece. I am truly grateful that Alistair Spalding unconventionally approached someone with my background to direct my own piece, a preoccupation which normally belongs to the world of choreographers. Thanks to Alistair and all at Sadler’s Wells, I have had an unforgettable and incredible journey. All scenarios in Gravity Fatigue stem from my ongoing interests that I have referred to in my work many times over the years. My explorations around themes of disembodiment and its perception in different cultures, migration and its consequences, displacement, isolation, gender, religion, language, digital media, technology and generally my studies around the meaning of selfhood and perception have led to series of tableaus which either react to, or are propositions on, other ways of looking at such realities in current life. At some point I shared a self-constructed mantra with Damien Jalet, the choreographer of Gravity Fatigue, and the cast, saying: “think of gravity as a currency for perception of reality” so that this principle can manifest in everything we develop. In connection with this I also wanted the grammar for Gravity Fatigue to stem mostly from the possibilities or the restrictions of what the garment or the spatial design provided. In this light, over the last year and a half, one of the most exciting aspects of this project has to be the experience of witnessing how each performer channelled and embodied the ideas, restrictions or possibilities I briefed them on. Each performer in their own unique way helped us extend the ideas to phrases which Damien formed a daily discipline around. This process has been incredibly strenuous but also rewarding. Gravity Fatigue has been one of the most important projects in my development as a designer/artist. I would like to thank Alistair, Damien, Melih, Adam, Ghislaine, Eva, Suzanne, Nick, Natasha, Marius, Maddie, Georgia, the Chalayan team, my mother Sevil and dad Ata, Gul, Aunty Sevim, Tomur, Taiphoon, Lebibe, Zehira, Alexander, Laurent and Nano at MODE-F, all at Sadler’s Wells and lastly for the incredible brains, hearts and might of the cast: Aimilios, Aliashka, Amy, Edouard, Erik, Inpang, Jack, Lisa, Louise, Majon, Marso, Niku and Stephanie. Originally written by Hussein Chalayan for the premiere of Gravity Fatigue in October 2015. GRAVITY FATIGUE © HUGO GLENDINNING Hussein Chalayan Artistic Director and Designer Hussein Chalayan MBE was born in Nicosia, Cyprus and graduated in 1993 from London’s Central St. Martins School of Art and Design. In 1994 Chalayan started his own label. He was named British Designer of the Year in 1999 and in 2000. In his art and fashion work he uses film, installations, dance and sculptural forms to explore the perception and realities of modern life, with particular interest in cultural identity, migration, anthropology, technology, nature and genetics. His collections are known for innovative design, impeccable tailoring, drapery and an elegant minimalist aesthetic, using techniques that reference past skills and crafts combined with current technology. Chalayan’s work has been exhibited in museums such as the Palais du Louvre, London’s Design Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, Musée des Arts Decoratifs in Paris, and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Tokyo. Chalayan currently presents six collections a year and is also a Professor of fashion at HTW Berlin. Damien Jalet Choreographer Damien Jalet is an independent Belgian and French choreographer and dancer whose work has been presented all over the world. Interested in the capacity of dance constantly reinventing itself by conversing with other media such as visual art, music, cinema, theatre and fashion; his works are often collaborative. He worked as a choreographer and dancer for companies such as les ballet C de la B, Sasha Waltz and Guests, Chunky Move, Eastman, NYDC, Hessisches Staatsballetts, Paris Opera Ballet, Scottish Dance Theatre, Iceland Dance Company, Göteborgs Operans Danskompani and many more. His latest works as choreographer include: Babel(words), co-signed with Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui with a set by Antony Gormley (two Olivier Awards), presented in 2016 at the Cour d’Honneur du Palais des Papes in Avignon; Les Médusés, a choreographic installation

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