Three days of performance.
Showcasing regional and nationally acclaimed artists whose work is bold, touching, personal and political.
Performances that are asking who and how do we own identity and what is cultural presence, who is seen, heard and who gets to speak.
Including one to one performance, dance, theatre, live art and cabaret.
If you like to laugh, to be moved, inspired and surprised; the SLAP weekender is the alternative performance event for you.
SLAP presents 3 days of distinctive performance and dance in an eclectic range of venues across York. Events taking place from 21st-23rd of September include a selection of artists creating fearless performance for and with older women with a public exhibition in the streets of York; a series of unique dance and theatre works at the York Theatre Royal and York St John University; a performance on a public bench; and bold queer cabaret performances at The Crescent community venue.
The Artists
Old wives’ tales -
GRACE
GRACE will lead ten women who (like us) identify as being older through a process resulting in a piece which will address question of power and visibility, with a focus on perceptions of gender and age.
As a collective of women who identify as older, and who perform ageing and feminism, it is important to GRACE to initiate wider networks throughout the country, to redefine social perceptions of being an older woman: experiencing our power and daring as amplified through collective exploits.
600 People - Third Angel
Somewhere between stand-up comedy and an astrophysics lecture, Third Angel brings you a simple show about huge ideas: the story of how a three-hour conversation with an astrophysicist changed the way Alex understands the way the Universe works.
600 People explores how we think about evolution and intelligence, belief and invention, communication and space travel. A show that explores the stories we tell in order to understand our place in the cosmos. A show that asks if there are extra terrestrials in our galaxy. A show that asks what it means to be human.
What if I Told You? -
Pauline Mayers
Throughout Pauline’s life, people have made assumptions about her based on her gender, background and race. She’s defied these expectations at every turn, tearing up the narrative that society tried to impose on her.
Now, Pauline is finally ready to tell the world her story.
Carefully balancing dance and theatre, What If I Told You immerses us in Pauline’s world as she invites us to pause, breathe and reconsider the stories we tell about our past and the history on which we build our futures.
DRYHUMP -
Live Art Bistro
Live Art Bistro gyrates its way to York for one night only of dancing shamelessly and in irregular angles topped to the brim with queer performance, grimy games and gratuitous dry humping.
Your bodies are welcome and your sprits will be wrangled sexily into the night.
We gonn slam, slap, pound and pump… Forget the heritage. This is YORK GODAMIT.
Learning How to Die -
Luca Rutherford
This is a show about death. It’s not a show about being sad. Or about grief. Or pity. This is a show about the actuality of dying and how an acceptance of mortality can drive a passion for life.
Learning How To Die asks what scares us about dying, and how can we use that fear to drive our living actions. Can we stop being scared of talking about dying?
Join Luca in Learning How to Die and it might just change the way you live
Non Existent Activity -
Hamish MacPherson with Paul Hughes
Doors open every 30 minutes welcoming each person for an hour long stay, hovering between a hangout, a one-to-one performance, and the last place on earth.
Guests becomes hosts, for guests who become hosts, in a three hour chain of holding and caring.Nothing needs to happen. But something certainly will.
The work involves lying (or sitting if this is not possible), stillness and touch. Participants will be encouraged to remain in control of their experience including levels of contact.
The venue is wheelchair accessible and there are accessible toilets on site.
Everything You Ever Wanted to Say But Didn’t - Part 1 -
Rhiannon Armstrong
Ever had a moment in your life when you wanted to say something, but didn’t?
The International Archive of Things Left Unsaid is an evolving collection of anonymous testimonies gathered from members of the public.
You are invited to experience one of these testimonies in this short, intimate performance.
In The Shadow Of The Penis -
Christopher Owen
In The Shadow Of The Penis is a live performance looking at the male relationship to the penis and the impact of this relationship on mental health and the wider male experience.
Using movement and voice to initiate candid and honest interactions between men, the work aims to depict male genitalia outside of power and humilation narratives.
Castle Rock -
Massive Owl
As flashing neon lights descend upon the tracks, a boxing-gloved boy with a death wish comes head to head with a white suited locomotive and a deer in black patent stilettos.
Castle Rock is a new story inspired by three of the voiceless characters in Stephen King’s novella The Body and its 1986 cult film adaptation, Stand By Me.
Expect distorted sound, movement and projection as Massive Owl contort the book’s characters and twist the film’s soundtrack into a reimagined story about loss and acceptance.
Welcome to Castle Rock…