Will Dickie
White Sun
jump → access · about · artist · reviews · credits · websites · Updated 4 May 2021
Presented by Word of Warning + Contact as Works Ahead 2020
A work-in-progress performance, adapted for livestreaming.
As darkness falls…
A lo-fi solo symphony of relentless movement and words about being a white son. A sun of power and privilege, a son of divorce and addiction.
Now that it’s over, re-watch the (edited) livestream on YouTube below.
Access
Time: Friday 22 May 2020, 9pm.
Location: livestreamed online.
Tickets: book a free space on Eventbrite to receive livestream details.
Donations are welcome via PayPal.
Age Advisory: parental/guardian discretion.
Content Warnings: none.
Duration: approximately 40 minutes.
Features: live spoken English + movement.
To improve your listening experience we suggest using headphones/external speakers.
For specific access information please get in touch by emailing info@habmcr.org
About
No lights. No music. No props. Moving. And speaking. And moving and speaking. And skanking and moving and speaking. Some nodding. Pulsing. Also bopping. And shaking. And shaking shaking. Scrambling. And speaking. And pointing.
Pointing at the space when others see my face.
Pointing at addiction and how that makes us who we are.
Pointing at divorce and how that makes us who we are.
Pointing at Britain and old actors and privilege and how that makes me who I am.
Pointing at the Sun and speaking about white golden things.
Today, Britain continues to benefit from its colonial past. A nation passionately caught up with being right, being the exception to the rule, and making profit at any cost. Children of divorced parents are 50% more likely to develop mental health problems. Addiction is a primary cause of preventable death; ruining lives, and consuming vast amounts of medical resources.
Will is white, British, straight, and privately educated. He grew up in a wealthy suburb inside the M25 and now lives in a Victorian house in Liverpool. Divorced parents; addictions to food, exercise, and attention. Is there a way of coming to terms with this identity, this past, and his privilege? Any hope? Any space for a voice and moving body beyond a maelstrom of inequality?
Works Ahead is our annual sample of new performance — 2020’s edition was planned as a sited double bill from Will Dickie + Ross McCaffrey at NIAMOS in partnership with Contact on 21/22 May: Will adapted his work for livestreaming; Ross postponed sharing his work until it can be shown to a physical audience.
Artist
Liverpool-based artist Will Dickie is a self-produced independent performance maker, working across dance, theatre + live art. Using body, autobiography, and place, he creates soulful performances for site and stage.
Will’s work has extensively toured the UK + Ireland (including The Rave Space), and in 2020 made his international debut in Perth, Australia. Collaborating globally as an actor, dancer, DJ + director across art forms, he also facilitates young + professional artists, and works extensively with artists who are learning disabled.
Reviews
A brutal encounter with the self … an act which jolts you awake
— A Younger Theatre on The Rave Space
Highs, lows, energy and intimacy … a moving exploration of masculinity
— The Stage on Team of the Decades
Fiercely imaginative and stunningly original
— Adrian Howells on Memories of Suburbia
White Sun is one of Manchester Wire’s Free things to do at home this week.
Credits
Conceived + performed by Will Dickie, in collaboration with Fabiola Santana
Technical advice: Jason Crouch | Works Ahead Project Mentor: Peader Kirk
Works Ahead 2020 is co-commissioned/co-produced by hÅb + Contact