Live Art in the UK

The National Review of Live Art, International Festival of Live Art/New Territories 10, Glasgow, Scotland, March 17–March 21, 2010.

This past March, the National Review of Live Art, the longest running international festival of performance art in the world, celebrated its thirtieth anniversary. The National Review of Live Art, or NRLA, is part of New Territories, a larger, month-long festival devoted to experimental performance work in theatre and dance. It is a celebration of the most experimental live art, whether it is dance, theatre, film/video, or site-specific/installation. This year’s NRLA paid homage to the history of the festival. For the occasion of the thirtieth anniversary, Nikki Milican, the artistic director, invited a number of artists and artists’ collectives who were involved with the NRLA from its earliest years, including Alastair Snow, Alastair MacLennan, Neil Butler, Stephen Partridge, Anne Seagrave, Anne Bean, Robert Ayers, Richard Layzell, Akademia Ruchu, Marty St. James, Forkbeard Fantasy, and Forced Entertainment. Neil Bartlett, the first emcee of the festival, donned his traditional gown and heels once more to emcee the festival on Saturday night. Younger artists who had began their careers at the NRLA in the platform program such as Curious (Helen Paris and Leslie Hill), Sam Rose, Richard Dedomenici, French-Mottershead, Kate Stannard, Francesca Steele, Sheila Ghelani, and Kira O’Reilly performed as well. International artists included Varsha Nair, Stelarc, Guillermo Gómez-Peña/La Pocha Nostra, István Kovács, Esther Ferrer, Ron Athey, Jamie MacMurray, Lee Wen, La Ribot, Monali Meher, Wladyslaw Kasmierczak and Ewa Rybska, Yann Marussich, Silke Mansholt, and Zoran Todorović.

The NRLA 2010 was a condensed and intense version of the past thirty years—a record of performances/actions from the late seventies until today. In the years since it first debuted, the NRLA has become the place to see the newest and most experimental live artists and art. It is the occasion for the meeting of the international coalition of live art programmers and organizers. The program of the NRLA is thus reflected in other live art venues, which book the same artists that have first appeared in Glasgow. Unlike previous NRLAs, there were no platform or elevator artists

LEIBNIZ, Ghost Letters, Installation/Performance. Photos: Courtesy New Moves International.

(elevator artists are slightly further along in their careers). Instead, there was a vastly expanded program of artists’ talks, workshops, and presentations. There was also more work than usual, with performances/actions taking place at the CCA, the Glasgow Film Theatre, the Arches, and Tramway from 11 a.m. to midnight. The program this year was of a particularly high quality, with nary a poorly rehearsed or ill-conceived performance in sight. What follows then, is a discussion of performances and lectures that helped to shape and expand upon the theme of the NRLA 2010.

Artists’ Talks

In the past several years, Milican has instituted the “artists’ breakfast.” Artists who had performed or were about to perform would meet with festival attendees, curators, and programmers and elaborate upon the meaning of their work. This year the artists’ talks and panel discussions served to frame the history of the NRLA and of live art/performance art in the UK. Rob La Frenais, the founding editor of Performance Magazine (1979–1992), gave a talk about the early years of that publication, writing performance criticism, and the state of the live art/performance art (there was a debate about what to call it) during the years that he served as editor. La Frenais’s performance/lecture, which was assisted by Anne Bean, provided a nice counterpoint to many of the performances that took place in the evening. Performance Magazine often reviewed the performances done by the Midlands Group, including the work of Robert Ayers and Company, and promoted the various manifestations of the NRLA. Artists and writers who were involved with or profiled in Performance Magazine in the early years such as Alastair Snow, Forkbeard Fantasy, Silvia Ziranek, and Ian Hinchliffe either lectured or performed at the NRLA. It was particularly enjoyable to see...