Michael Pinchbeck

Presented by Word of Warning

####In Brief
A slideshow exploring absence + presence, flying + falling, and the power of the artist to fail or be free; a specially commissioned work-in-progress.

####Venue + Booking Details
ALL PERFORMANCES ARE SOLD-OUT
(Date: Friday 28 November 2014, repeats at 6/7/8pm)
Venue: Z-arts, 335 Stretford Road, Manchester, M15 5ZA
Tickets: free booking essential (limited capacities), donations welcome on door.
Box Office Tel: 0161 232 6089

####Access Information
In the Gallery at Z-arts, these works-in-progress will last approximately 35 minutes each (with no interval). Age advisory 16+.

####More
There is a room with Soviet propaganda on the walls. In the corner of the room is a diorama of the city with a wire shooting out of it. There is a catapult-like device in the centre of the room. On the floor there are shards of plaster and a pair of shoes. There is a hole in the ceiling. The room has been sealed by the authorities with hazard tape. This is ‘The man who flew into space from his apartment’. This is an installation viewed through a crack in an old wooden door in a gallery like this one.

Michael Pinchbeck takes inspiration from an installation by Russian artist Ilya Kabakov, to make a performance for a gallery space; originally part of a series of installations called Ten Characters, The Man Who Flew Into Space From His Apartment was only exhibited when Kabakov emigrated to the West. The piece explores themes of utopia and dystopia, optimism and pessimism, absence and presence — weaving together historical and autobiographical narratives. Michael creates a multi-layered performance that responds to the artwork and the gallery in which it is shown.

A powerful and moving biography of an installation that talks of the world in which it was made; at the same time, it questions an understanding of space by relating outer space to the gallery space, the journey of the man with that of the audience involved, taking a leap of faith and heading into the unknown. Drawing on notions of escape, it makes a journey (like Kabakov) between east and west, flying and falling, attempt and failure. Using found text and an old slide projector, Michael presents a gallery tour for an empty gallery, to be performed by a guest performer (Anna Fenemore, Nicki Hobday or Ollie Smith) in front of an audience of ten: the audience becomes the Ten Characters in Kabakov’s work.

####Who are they?
Michael Pinchbeck is a Nottingham-based writer and artist. He co-founded Metro-Boulot-Dodo in 1997 after studying Theatre and Creative Writing at Lancaster University. He was commissioned by Nottingham Playhouse to write The White Album (2006) and The Ashes (2011), and was awarded funding by the British Council to write and direct a new play — Bolero — which premiered at Nottingham Playhouse in 2014 before touring to Sarajevo, Mostar, Tusla and Zenica. He recently toured a trilogy of devised performances — The Beginning (launched WoW, Feb 2012), The Middle (commissioned by hÅb, May 2013) and The End (closed greenroom, May 2011) — and his work has been selected three times for the British Council’s Edinburgh Showcase.

He has a Masters in Performance and Live Art from Nottingham Trent University, lectures at the University of Lincoln and is completing a PhD at Loughborough University exploring the role of dramaturg; he is also co-director of Hatch, the East Midlands’ “theatre without a building”.

Michael’s guest performers are Anna Fenemore (6pm), Ollie Smith (7pm), Nicki Hobday (8pm).

####What people have said about him

Pinchbeck is such an interesting theatre-maker
The Guardian
An individual practice that is powerful and compelling
ArtArtArt magazine

####Credits
A hÅb commission.

####Websites
www.michaelpinchbeck.co.uk ¦ @mdpinchbeck