Trajal Harrell, Porca Miseria, Barbican Theatre
The experimental American performer Trajal Harrell returns to the Barbican for the UK premiere of his trilogy Porca Miseria
Trajal Harrell, Porca Miseria. Photo: Tristram Kenton
This one is for those who positively relish being challenged. The American performer Trajal Harrell, whom the description 'experimental' doesn't even begin to describe, returns to the Barbican following his meandering 2017 show Hoochie Koochie.
That was a combination of live performance and filmed installations set in the Barbican Art Gallery, where the only option for viewers was to stand or sit on the hard floor. The good news this time around is that his new show, Porca Miseria, has its UK premiere in the comfort of the Barbican Theatre.
'Porca miseria' is a popular Italian expression that translates as exasperation at the state of things or life in general. We can assume that Harrell chose it for this sprawling trilogy because it deals with the intricacies of life and marginality.
The show will make for a very long evening. The first part, entitled Deathbed, is both installation and performance – if you book a 5pm slot, you'll be able to step onto the stage and come up close and personal with the installation. The piece is inspired by a meeting between Harrell and African American choreographer and civil rights activist Katherine Dunham(1909–2006).
After a one-hour interval (taking a picnic is perhaps advisable), there will be a short film of a dance performance inspired (loosely, surely) by the Greek myth of Medea, appropriately named O Medea; and finally a live performance of Maggie the Cat, a piece alluding to the central character of Tennessee Williams's play Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.
If you can't make the early start, you can book just for the second half of the evening, starting at 8.30pm.
Trajal Harrell's style of performance is eclectic, camp and provocative, drawing on all manner of movement influences, as well as theatre, cinema and visual arts. His themes are explorations of identity, gender, sexuality and power.
Harell is credited with choreography, direction, costume and sound design. As well, he himself will perform alongside his cast of a dozen or so.
Porca Miseria unlikely to be like anything you've seen before, unless you attended his Hoochie Coochie seven years ago. You'll either love it or hate it.
That was a combination of live performance and filmed installations set in the Barbican Art Gallery, where the only option for viewers was to stand or sit on the hard floor. The good news this time around is that his new show, Porca Miseria, has its UK premiere in the comfort of the Barbican Theatre.
'Porca miseria' is a popular Italian expression that translates as exasperation at the state of things or life in general. We can assume that Harrell chose it for this sprawling trilogy because it deals with the intricacies of life and marginality.
The show will make for a very long evening. The first part, entitled Deathbed, is both installation and performance – if you book a 5pm slot, you'll be able to step onto the stage and come up close and personal with the installation. The piece is inspired by a meeting between Harrell and African American choreographer and civil rights activist Katherine Dunham(1909–2006).
After a one-hour interval (taking a picnic is perhaps advisable), there will be a short film of a dance performance inspired (loosely, surely) by the Greek myth of Medea, appropriately named O Medea; and finally a live performance of Maggie the Cat, a piece alluding to the central character of Tennessee Williams's play Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.
If you can't make the early start, you can book just for the second half of the evening, starting at 8.30pm.
Trajal Harrell's style of performance is eclectic, camp and provocative, drawing on all manner of movement influences, as well as theatre, cinema and visual arts. His themes are explorations of identity, gender, sexuality and power.
Harell is credited with choreography, direction, costume and sound design. As well, he himself will perform alongside his cast of a dozen or so.
Porca Miseria unlikely to be like anything you've seen before, unless you attended his Hoochie Coochie seven years ago. You'll either love it or hate it.
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| What | Trajal Harrell, Porca Miseria, Barbican Theatre |
| Where | Barbican Theatre, Barbican Centre, Silk Street, London, E2CY 8DS | MAP |
| Nearest tube | Barbican (underground) |
| When |
12 May 23 – 14 May 23, 18:15 Dur.: 3 hours and 45 mins inc a one-hour interval |
| Price | £35 (+booking fee, concessions available) |
| Website | Click here to book |