It’s been a great easter weekend: we’ve just got news that the Fidelio Trust have pledged £3500 in support of Unleashed – a really generous sum and the full amount we asked them for. Can’t wait for more trusts to get involved!
Thanks very much Fidelio.
A short video by Sebastian Schmidt with new music by Philip Venables, for viola and tape. This new soundtrack was performed live with the video for the first time at the British Film Institute in December 2011 by Ensemble Amorpha.
Here’s two videos of performances of concert pieces incorporating text, by Philip Venables. Numbers 76-80 : Tristan und Isolde, performed at the Southbank Centre in London in September 2011, and Numbers 91-95 performed by Ensemble Adapter at Wien Modern in Vienna in November 2011. Both pieces use existing poetry by british poet Simon Howard.
This short extract from the libretto presents “It” on a date with a woman from work – uninterested, uninspired, underwhelmed. She is unaware that her date is owned by “its” master in a gay bdsm.
Blonde. Petite. Chirpy. Big smile. Very big smile. Hi. Clearly happy to see me. Blonde. Red lips. Kiss, kiss. Too loud; too close to my ear. Sticky lips. Sitting down. Something about traffic and rain. Traffic… Rain… Dark roots. I nod and smile; terrible weather. Thanks. The menu’s avalanche of small letters. What do you want to drink? Just water. Something about recovering and remembering the weekend and a hen party. I nod. I smile. Hens… All flocking into the city centre, loud clucking wobbly breasts. Strappy glittery high heels with blackened muddy toes peering at the end. No starter? That’s good news. She’s counting the calories. Don’t be silly, you have an excellent figure! She wants to become a vegetarian. I wanted to be a pilot when I was a child. She laughs. Chicken for the lady (really?), and for me the beef. The stain on the waiter’s collar is screaming at me. Can’t seem to take my eyes off it. And the hypnotic swinging motion of the bow on his apron as he wiggles off with our order. Left, right, left, right… Oh, sorry… no, just a bit tired, that’s all. You too?… Her boss is a bitch and she’s overworked. Or maybe her bitch is bossy… walks in parks late at night. The Heath. Long time. Her blouse reminds me of it. Dark green, steep terrain, unexciting secrets under the foliage. The sudden rain as she tries to speak and drink at the same time. Powder her nose… I now understand the expression. What does she look like under that thick mask? Maybe she’s a man… drag queen… at least that would be something. I smile as she walks back towards the table. It works. She smiles back thinking I’m happy to see her. We eat. Her family. The Holidays. She talks. And chews. She talks as she chews. The silent ballet of the waiters’ bows… the promise of flesh. So often a disappointing promise. The bill. The coats. The walk to the tube. She leans. I look at her. I pity her. I pity myself for pitying her. I wish I could feel something in the stickiness of her lips. Strawberry. I wink at her. She giggles. She walks down the stairs towards the underworld of public transport. It is beginning to snow.
Fuck forever from Philip Venables on Vimeo.
(Philip Venables 2011)
Jorge Balça 2010
BDSM is well enough understood in modern times to constitute numerous articles, informative descriptions and photographs over the internet. Whilst hardly suggesting some kind of global acceptance of the phenomenon, it at least presents a healthy, vibrant culture – a community of like-minds. After several hours of internet research, it was one page in particular that stood out as quite exceptional, and particularly interesting in relation to Unleashed.
Life of a Slave is a hyper-detailed identity performance of a gay-BDSM relationship. Its main focus is a journal, an all-inclusive account of the slave’s life including commutes to work, television shows watched, and days since last ejaculation. The complete contract of the slave’s voluntary submission is available for viewing, and a 3,000 word account of the slave’s progress towards this way this of living.
Two things are particularly striking about this particular site, the first being the site’s personal performance. 21st century tolerance has certainly improved the number of outward manifestations of sexual preference, and personal profiles in the instance of BDSM are not unusual, but complete openness is still a rarity. ‘Slave Matt’ has a whole page devoted to a remarkably thorough personal description, including quantity of teeth, pubic hair,scars, allergies and lengthy detail on personal temperament (humility,adaptability, loyalty) and experience; yet his true identity always remains hidden. This exhaustive presentation expresses total confidence and understanding of one’s own identity and sexual behaviour, but a lingering reluctance to make this public – perhaps for risk of social stigmatisation.
The second thing that strikes me is the almost obsessive documenting of everyday routines. There is nothing especially unusual about a man in an office job engaging in BDSM, but the almost daily accounts of routine mundanities suggest an intentional, or at least proposed correlation between the boredom of normal life and the excitement of BDSM. This theme is closely related to Unleashed - a chasm exists between day-to-day boredom and submissive sexual thrill, and the latter prompts the character to seek the former as a form of escapism.
Read about Slave Matt here! www.lifeofaslave.org
We are delighted to confirm that baritone Omar Ebrahim will be taking the lead role in Unleashed. Omar has great experience with contemporary music, particularly contemporary theatre, and will make an awesome addition to the team.
Read more about Omar on our Biographies page.
Welcome to Unleashed, a provocative new opera exploring the fascinating world of sexual torture.
This collaboration of dance, theatre and music portrays a modern man – desperately escaping the mundanity of his everyday life by seeking out extreme sensual experiences: queer, violent sexuality and consensual submission.
Use this site to keep up to date with the latest news about the project, explore ideas behind its conception, and read about the artists involved.
