The Fierce Festival kicks off this weekend with a somewhat dazzling array of events, the highlight for me being the return of Franko B with his new performance piece Don’t Leave Me This Way.
Don’t Leave Me This Way marks a challenge in Franko B’s performance practice, formalizing his recent departure from blood-based work. In Don’t Leave Me This Way Franko’s body is presented naked and unpainted. The piece is being developed in two formats in which Franko is seated on a raised plinth or altar, either in front of a mass audience or in a one-to-one encounter. A bank of bright lights will flood the audience to the point of averting their gaze. Carefully choreographed with well-established lighting designer Kamal Ackarie, this blinding technique will mimic the effect that Franko’s bleeding body has on audience members, while opening up a new range of emotional and bodily responses.
This is, by my reckoning, Franko’s third visit to Birmingham, following on from I Miss You in 2000 and Oh Lover Boy in 2001 (Did I miss any?), and takes place at the CBSO Centre on Berkley St on Saturday at 7.00pm. Tickets are a quite reasonable £8. More info on the Fierce Site.
If you like the notion of Franko B you might also like Ron Athey whose Incorruptible Flesh is on May 30th and is curating Revisions of Excess at the Fierce closing party.
There are a number of other events occurring on Saturday which I could list here but instead I’ll just point you towards the listings. (I’m quite keen to check out Haircuts by Children myself, even though I have very little hair.)
Animation © Franko B – used for promotional purposes.
Love FRANKO B events..Please Tell me more about upcoming events via email..Cheers from lucy