An English Family 2018 . History, History, History
February 17th . 10 pm + February 18th . 10 pm . mala voadora
October 23rd, 1956, a revolution started in Hungary. Hungarians fought Soviet troops on the streets, from their homes, and from the Corvin Cinema, the Revolutionary Headquarters. Deborah Pearson loosely “translates” the film that was meant to be premiered at that cinema on that day.
History History History is a multi layered, hilarious and poignant journey in which a global moment collides with a personal history. Taking as its focus a satirical comedy film ostensibly about the Hungarian football team of 1956 in which a conman is mistaken for star player, Ferenc Puskás, and poached by an overarching dictatorship determined to rule the footballing world. But of course, it’s so much more. Brilliantly weaving actual and fake subtitles, Deborah illuminates this subversive comedy response to tyranny, touching on the difficulty of the child of a diaspora connecting with history, constrained by time, family narratives and a loss of language. Thus a 1956 Hungarian Football comedy gives way to the stories of a writer who lost his name, an actor who lost his voice, and a country that lost its revolution.
Ficha
Deborah Pearson is a UK-based and Canadian-born live artist and writer. Her most recent pieces include The Filibuster (Somerset House), History History History (bit teatergarasjen and international tour), and It's All Made Up (The Royal Court). She frequently tours and premieres her work internationally and has won multiple awards as both an artist and a curator. She has done dramaturgy for over 20 shows internationally, many of which have gone on to win awards, and has a practice-based PhD in narrative in contemporary performance from Royal Holloway where she was a Reid Scholar. She is also founder and co-director of the multi-award winning organisation Forest Fringe. She is an associate artist at Somerset House Studios, a resident artist at Live Art Development Agency, and is an associate artist with Volcano.