Will Dickie
White Sun
→ artist · ticketing · access · reviews · credits · websites · Updated 30 Nov 2022
Presented by Word of Warning + Contact in Works Ahead 2022
A lo-fi solo symphony of words and movement. See Will’s trailer below.
Conjuring the ghosts of the men who have dominated the stage before him, Will takes us on a journey — navigating the tensions of inheritance, privilege, and addiction.
Personal and political. Unsettling and humorous.
What do you see when you look at Will?
A white son.
A boy who can’t stop moving.
Can’t stop speaking.
And pointing.
Pointing at old actors and being successful.
Pointing at sugar and the milky bar kid.
Pointing at the sun.
Set against a backdrop of a nation that continues to bask in the light of its colonial legacy, hooked on profits despite the costs, White Sun collides with the past in the here and now of a human nervous system.
Now that it’s over, listen to his podcast conversation with author & psychotherapist Judy Ryde.
Artist
A Liverpool-based performance maker, Will works across several artforms which support liveness including theatre, dance, live art, sound, and film.
He makes material by listening and responding to spaces — in the environment, within the body, and from his past. He then creates experiences for audiences from these spaces using choreography, spoken text, audience participation, and sound design/DJing.
His previous live touring works include The Rave Space (shown in SS19), Team of the Decades, and Memories of Suburbia. His recent dance film Canning Town, created with Fabiola Santana, has screened internationally — winning best film awards in Bucharest, Lisbon, and Glasgow. Listen to his DJ mix series The Wayz at his mixcloud.
Ticketing
Pay What You Decide: £10/£5/£0 · Book for Thursday or Friday via Contact
Times: Thursday 26 + Friday 27 May 2022, 7pm
Show duration: about 55 mins · Works Ahead 2022 duration: about 2¼ hrs
Location: Contact, Oxford Rd, Manchester, M15 6JA
Access
Age Advisory: 16+ (parental/guardian discretion).
Content Warnings: may disturb, please click here for specific warnings.
Features: live + recorded speech, projected visuals, choreographed movement.
Covid measures: taking place in Space 1, we anticipate there will be plenty of room, so please feel free to sit where you feel most comfortable. We encourage audience members to wear masks within Contact unless exempt; please get in touch if you have any queries.
Queries: please call Contact on 0161 274 0600 or email BoxOffice@contactmcr.com
Reviews
★★★★ A self-conscious rejection of perfectionism, a critique of overconsumption and the all-consuming expectations of middle-class life, an anti-theatrical experience.
— Buzz Magazine
Hugely engaged, moved and actually (and lingeringly) harrowed by it… Bit by bit, the strands come together in a meaningful confrontation with how the past still haunts and shapes our present existence, our moral compass and our sense of who we are.
— Audience Feedback
Credits
Created + performed by Will Dickie
Direction: Peader Kirk
Dramaturgy: Kaite O’Reilly
Movement direction: Fabiola Santana
Sound + LX design: Ethan Hudson
With consultation by Amy Lawrence + Laila Diallo
Photography: Diego Ferrari
Image design: Neils Dielen
Co-commissioned by hÅb + Contact.
Supported by CPT + Tramway.
Supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England.
Works Ahead 2022 co-commissioned/co-produced by hÅb + Contact.
Project Mentor: Peader Kirk