https://www.encounterproductions.org Encounter Mon, 18 Jul 2022 11:39:30 +0000 https://www.encounterproductions.org en https://www.encounterproductions.org/WHAT-WE-DO Mon, 18 Jul 2022 11:39:30 +0000 Encounter https://www.encounterproductions.org/WHAT-WE-DO ENCOUNTER&nbsp; https://www.encounterproductions.org/MAM Wed, 11 Feb 2015 16:18:30 +0000 Encounter https://www.encounterproductions.org/MAM MAM Mam is suitable for a range of venues and outdoor spaces;community venues, shopping centres, parks, housing estates as well as theatre and performance venues and festivals.&nbsp; In the east end edge-lands of 1992, a pregnant woman struggles with the idea of becoming a mother. Sixteen years later a son comes to terms with the family he belongs to. This hard hitting dance work is a study of ordinary lives, extraordinary love, the gold, the rubbish and the inevitable that we pass down through the generations.&nbsp; Concept Jen Malarkey Choreographed &amp; Directed byJen Malarkey &amp; Carl Harrison Cast Mother Carl Harrison Son Carl Harrison Commissioned by Company Chameleon via UPLIFT Supported by Yorkshire Dance On MAMI really loved what I saw, loved the movement, choreography and the pathos.&nbsp; Really loved the energy, the characterisation and the music, it made me think of mums, challenges, freedom and the determination to break free. Punam Ramchurn, Talent Development Manager, Factory International On The Kids Are Alright "It’s ridiculous, absurd, infuriating and, at points, very, very sad. Which makes it an almost perfect portrayal of an attempt to navigate loss in the aftermath of an utterly unfathomable event. A jumbled-up clown dance through a blank space: that’s grief all right." ︎︎︎︎ The Stage&nbsp; Lockdown Hit: Show of 2020 Encounter’s hypnotic dance on grief was reinterpreted for digital using one long take. It captured the feeling of staring out of your window in lockdown into snippets of stranger’s lives. Director Jen Malarkey did not simply rework the show for digital – she made the medium integral to it. Francesca Peschier It is an agony to watch, and I mean that as the biggest compliment. Lyn Gardner, Stage Door&nbsp; The outdoor nature-concrete setting undeniably provides a sense of journey that a theatre space couldn’t. As the end of the day cocoons around Karen and Keith, people walk home, avoiding the invisible boundaries of grass and pavement under a darkening purple sky. Front doors open and close. The cameras keep the space open and our relationship with the couple ever evolving, even though by the end we know nothing much about them except the aching hole they share. Replaying the experience in my mind the space is imbued with meaning. Next to the tree. In the bush. In between the flats on the paving stones where they dance and talk about prawns and Asda. Place is a poignant trigger for memory. Naomi Obeng, Exeunt Magazine Jen Malarkey is a rare artist; She works cross artform – she’s interested in movement led work that has text and spoken language at the heart of the storytelling. The two forms (physical and spoken) have equity in her work and align to create an often explosive practice. Louise Blackwell Independant Producer and Co-founder of Fuel. Jen’s work really interests us. She combines text and movement with rare confidence, flair and skill. Her ideas are distinct and convincing. Christina Elliot Senior Producer, The Place I really enjoyed the complexity (Of I Heart Catherine Pistachio) - never quite finding my narrative feet or locating a physical style. This made it bizarre and rich.Eddie Nixon Artistic Director, The Place It’s not often that one encounters* work in theatre and performance that feels utterly distinctive. When you do, it leaps out. I’d heard of Jen and her work before I met her and so first I’d looked at I Heart Catherine Pistachio online and it did that - it leapt out. A rare collision of dark absurd humour with a sharp and delicate kind of honesty. It didn’t look or sound like anything I was aware of being made in the UK. The choreography shifts between a consciously awkward mawkish physicality and a fluidity that has real beauty in it. It’s tender, clever, human and humane work.Richard GregoryArtistic Director, Quarantine&nbsp; <img width="1250" height="469" width_o="1250" height_o="469" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/7b4d525fb8cf990c622e162fadd81ecba773e78071c33d09c5a6e396be91dcc0/Supported-by-Company-Chameleon_black-logo.png" data-mid="224062558" border="0" data-scale="61" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/7b4d525fb8cf990c622e162fadd81ecba773e78071c33d09c5a6e396be91dcc0/Supported-by-Company-Chameleon_black-logo.png" /> https://www.encounterproductions.org/GIRLS-NIGHT Mon, 18 Jul 2022 10:21:24 +0000 Encounter https://www.encounterproductions.org/GIRLS-NIGHT GIRLS NIGHT GIRLS NIGHT is an outdoor roving dance work that takes place at night in towns/communities.&nbsp; GIRLS NIGHT explores the fragility and ferocity of teenage girlhood. It follows a single teenage girl as she navigates her town's high street on a Saturday Night.&nbsp; As she moves through the town, what begins as a solitary journey, transforms into a convention-defying dance work between two female dancers as they navigate everything thrilling but also complex about being a young woman out on the town, at night.&nbsp; The audience observes and then follows alongside&nbsp; - implicating them interestingly into ideas around whether they act as observer, witness, protector, voyeur. The performance culminates in a local public space, (carpark, park, town square) where a group of local teenage girls join the dancers for a high-energy finale.&nbsp; GIRLS NIGHT&nbsp;celebrates the girls that tell you to go fuck yourself, the angry girls, the loud girls, the ones that dont care what you think, the ones anchored by a loyalty to each other above everything. GIRLS NIGHT explores the tender, transitional time between girlhood and womanhood and highlights how teenage girls often feel vulnerable or "watched" in public spaces at night.&nbsp; It raises questions around who gets to feel safe outside after dark and the role we all play in dismantling the damaging social scripts that limit the freedom of young women. &nbsp; GIRLS NIGHT also celebrates the magic of night and foregrounds the time after the sun goes down as a playground of possibility, imagination and fervour. These girls, these funny, intelligent girls, with all their dreams and strength, with their endless grace and with just how fucking funny they are - reclaiming something, telling us something important as they ask us to witness them as they ARE, not as we perceive them, or perhaps wish them or want them to be. In each town on our slow touring model, we will work with local young women and girls to participate in the show, making every performance connected to its community. GIRLS NIGHT is created from Jen Malarkey’s belief there is a lack of professional work for teenage audiences and her wish to address that gap. https://www.encounterproductions.org/THE-KIDS-ARE-ALRIGHT-with-kids Wed, 26 Jul 2017 11:13:12 +0000 Encounter https://www.encounterproductions.org/THE-KIDS-ARE-ALRIGHT-with-kids "It’s ridiculous, absurd, infuriating and, at points, very, very sad. Which makes it an almost perfect portrayal of an attempt to navigate loss in the aftermath of an utterly unfathomable event. A jumbled-up clown dance through a blank space: that’s grief all right." ︎︎︎︎The Stage The Kids Are Alright is a surreal and confronting new work about the extraordinary grief of losing a child.&nbsp; Smashing together two worlds into one radical show, two adults attempt to come to terms with their loss amongst a stage of children on the best adventure of their lives. In their unique and experimental style, Encounter lay joy and despair, loss and hope, life and death side by side. Image Credit: Chris Nash Commissioned by The Place, supported by The Albany, Quarter house Folkstone, Arts Council England, Wellcome Trust and the Peggy Ramsey Foundation. Co-created by Jen Malarkey &amp; Lee Mattinson Performed by Carl Harrison &amp; Anna Martine Freeman R&amp;D performed by Karl Fagerland Brekke &amp; Jack Condon Associate Director, Simone Coxall Associate Movement, R&amp;D, Anna Morrisey Produced by Fuel https://www.encounterproductions.org/THE-KIDS-ARE-ALRIGHT-outdoors-without-kids Wed, 26 Jul 2017 10:52:04 +0000 Encounter https://www.encounterproductions.org/THE-KIDS-ARE-ALRIGHT-outdoors-without-kids “Extraordinary and surreal”︎︎︎︎︎The Stage“It’s an exaggerated, absurdist space of juxtaposition and dream logic – funny and sad.”&nbsp;Exeunt“It is an agony to watch, and I mean that as the biggest compliment.”Lyn Gardner ‘The Kids Are Alright’ explores the extraordinarya grief of losing a child.&nbsp; Performed at dusk, for residents of local flats and houses and passers by, it’s a uniquely intimate performance which invites you to watch one broken couple explode from their home. The local audience wear headphones in order to hear the live dialogue and can watch the performance from varying distances of their choice. This might be from their balcony, outside their front door or in the outdoor community/civic space that the two performers are inhabiting. The show has been designed/written to cement the story in the specific outdoor environment it plays making it feel hyper local and connected to the community. &nbsp; The Kids Are Alright is a uniquely intimate performance about the grief of unexpectedly losing a child. It invites you to watch one broken couple explode from their home. And they couldn’t care less who's watching.Orginally co-commissioned by Fuel and The PlaceSupported by The Albany, Camden People’s Theatre, Northern Stage and Wandsworth Council. The project is funded by Arts Council England, Wellcome Trust and the Peggy Ramsay Foundation.Co-created by Jen Malarkey &amp; Lee MattinsonAssociate Director, Temitope Ajose-CuttingPerformers, Carl Harrison &amp; Janet EtukFilm by Hugo GlendinningSecond Camera, Tilly ShinerSound, Gus Collins for House of NoiseProducer, Fuel The running time for The Kids Are Alright is 55 minutes with no interval.For adults and young people aged 14+.PRESS The Stage 2020 &gt; The Stage, Lockdown Hits: Shows of 2020&gt; Lyn Gardner, Stage Door&gt;Exeunt Magazine &gt;The Wee Review&gt;iNews &gt;Interview with Maddy Costa for Exeunt &gt; Interview with Younger Theatre 2020&gt; https://www.encounterproductions.org/THE-KIDS-ARE-ALRIGHT-Film-1 Wed, 21 Jan 2015 22:14:49 +0000 Encounter https://www.encounterproductions.org/THE-KIDS-ARE-ALRIGHT-Film-1 “Extraordinary and surreal” ︎︎︎︎︎ The Stage“It’s an exaggerated, absurdist space of juxtaposition and dream logic – funny and sad.”&nbsp; ︎︎︎︎ Exeunt “It is an agony to watch, and I mean that as the biggest compliment.” Lyn Gardner The Kids Are Alright is a film shot on location in a local housing estate, in Deptford, London. Filmed over one evening and in one take, this is a uniquely intimate perormance about the grief of unexpectedly losing a child. It invites you to watch one broken couple explode from their home. And they couldn’t care less who's watching. Co-commissioned by Fuel and The Place Supported by The Albany, Camden People’s Theatre, Northern Stage and Wandsworth Council. The project is funded by Arts Council England, Wellcome Trust and the Peggy Ramsay Foundation. Co-created by Jen Malarkey &amp; Lee Mattinson Associate Director, Temitope Ajose-Cutting Performers, Carl Harrison &amp; Janet Etuk Film by Hugo Glendinning Second Camera, Tilly Shiner Sound, Gus Collins for House of Noise Producer, Fuel The running time for The Kid s Are Alright is 55 minutes with no interval. Closed captions in English are available to toggle on. For adults and young people aged 14+. The content and theme of the production may be upsetting for some audience members. The dialogue in the show contains references to self-harm, swearing and violence toward animals. Image Credit: Camilla GreenwellPRESS The Stage 2020 &gt; The Stage, Lockdown Hits: Shows of 2020&gt; Lyn Gardner, Stage Door&gt;Exeunt Magazine &gt;The Wee Review&gt;iNews &gt; Interview with Maddy Costa for Exeunt 2020 &gt; Interview with Younger The atre 2020&gt; &nbsp; https://www.encounterproductions.org/JEN-MALARKEY Tue, 12 Apr 2022 10:50:44 +0000 Encounter https://www.encounterproductions.org/JEN-MALARKEY Encounter is the company of Jen Malarkey.Jen Malarkey is an artist and practioner of movement. She creates movement for professional theatre, coaches actors and lectures in actor movement.&nbsp;As the recipient of the 2026 Artist Takeover Commission, choreographer Jen Malarkey will bring large-scale experimental dance to Aviva Studios' North Warehouse in Autumn 2026. Jen is currently in residency with FABRIC for her new solo show. Originally seed supported by Company Chameleon through the UPLIFT dance artist in residency programme in Manchester, and supported by Yorkshire Dance - MAM is a metamorphic solo exploring the complexities of motherhood in three movements: The Mother, A Mythical Cowboy and The Son.In 2024 she was selected for the Headlong Theatre Origins Scheme - which “celebrates and nurtures exceptional theatre directors outside of London”.&nbsp; She runs Encounter, through which she makes new dance theatre performance. Encounter has partnered, collaborated with and toured to Northern Stage, Soho Theatre, The Yard, The Lowry, The Place, Albany, Deptford, Live Theatre, Newcastle, Sophiensale, Berlin, Traverse Theatre, Paines Plough and Fuel Theatre. Jen developed “LABS” a project working with The Royal Court and The Place to support choreographers and writers to explore new work together.&nbsp; Jen Malarkey is a rare artist; She works cross artform – she’s interested in movement led work that has text and spoken language at the heart of the storytelling. The two forms (physical and spoken) have equity in her work and align to create an often explosive practice. Louise Blackwell, Co-founder of Fuel Jen’s work really interests us. She combines text and movement with rare confidence, flair and skill. Her ideas are distinct and convincing. Christina Elliot, Senior Producer, The Place SCHOOLJen holds an MA with&nbsp; Distinction in Movement: Directing and Teaching from Royal Central School of Speech and Drama (2009/10) as well as a BA Hons Devised Theatre from Dartington College of Arts (2000/03) She also attended The BRIT School, where her study of movement and its application to theatre began. &nbsp;MOVEMENT DIRECTION Jen’s skills and interest in bringing the physical world of a performance to life range from larger ensemble movement to characterisation&nbsp; to specific choreography.&nbsp; Jen is interested in inclusive spaces that celebrate difference, working 1:1 with actors on character embdoiment, working with large casts and ensembles, creating crowd scenes and choreographic movement scores and devising orginal movement with text.&nbsp; Jen has created choreography and movement directed on both her own and other’s work; recent/current work includes:&nbsp; R’Lady’s R&amp;D, directed by Emma Baggot (Royal Exchange Theatre), To Kill A Mockingbird - specific work on child physicality (Leeds Playhouse), We’re In Love, Actually (Darkhorse Theatre/Lawrence Batley),&nbsp; Frankenstein, directed by Charlie Westenra (Leeds Playhouse/Leeds Conservatoire), Jekyll and Hyde, (Leeds Playhouse/Leeds Conservatoire), Northern Broadsides R&amp;D, Hamlet, directed by Laurie Sansom (Shakespeare North Playhouse/National Theatre Studio), Northern Broadsides, Iron People: a community production inspired by Ted Hughes’ The Iron Man and The Iron Woman stories, The Kids Are Alright: A Film (Northern Stage, Albany, CPT, Fuel Theatre) The Kids Are Alright (The Place/Albany/Touring), I Heart Catherine Pistcahio (Soho Theatre/The Lowry/The Yard/Paines Plough Roundabout/LIVE Theatre), Choir (Northern Stage/Traverse Theatre/ARC, Stockton.)Previous productions include: Lagan (Oval House, Dir. Jane Fallowfield), Vincent River (The Pleasence, Dir. Rae McKen), Twelfth Night (Lion and Unicorn, Dir. Rae McKen), Earthquakes in London (Italia Conti, Dir. Rae McKen) Alexander Supertramp (Roundhouse, Dir. Camille Litalien), Dandy Dick (Italia Conti), Gut Girls (Chelsea Theatre, Dir. Johnny Humprhies), Phaedra (Birmingham School of Acting, Dir. Rae McKen), Othello (Italia Conti, Dir. John Gillet), On The Razzle, (Sheriden Theatre, Dir. Aoife Smyth), Tis’Pity Shes a Whore, (Italia Conti, Dir. John Gillet), Sing Yer Heart Out For The Lads, (Italia Conti,&nbsp; Dir. Kate Williams), Gormenghast, (Edinburgh Festival, Dir, Lawrence Evans) TEACHING &nbsp;Jen’s committment to education and training as led to her contributing to and leading modules across BA and MA Degree programmes across the UK. Teaching includes,&nbsp;Lecturer in Movement at Leeds Conservatoire across BA Acting and BA Actor Musicianship, Rose Bruford, Mountview, Italia Conti, Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, Identity Drama School, British American Drama Academy, Theatre Arts London/University of Conneticut, ALRA and Middlesex University.Jen is experienced in teaching across the actor movement curriculum; specifically Animal Study, Viewpoints, Laban Efforts, Ensemble Skills, Contact Improvisation, Somatic Practice and Historical Dance. Jen has trained in the DanceAbility Method, an inclusive approach to teaching and choreographing that works to dissolve barriers and connect disabled and non disabled people through dance and movement.&nbsp; https://www.encounterproductions.org/I-HEART-CATHERINE-PISTACHIO Wed, 30 Apr 2014 15:25:13 +0000 Encounter https://www.encounterproductions.org/I-HEART-CATHERINE-PISTACHIO “Crushing sentimentality through a meat-grinder and spewing it over crusty, vicious suburbia, I Heart Catherine Pistachio hits out of nowhere and hits hard. It’s a comic atrocity determined to throw its audience wildly off kilter, and it succeeds with harrowing aplomb.” Stewart Pringle, Exeunt Magazine A breathless assault of weirdness, ‘I Heart Catherine Pistachio’ is a theatrical unicorn: unimaginable until you’ve seen it, unforgettable once you have. ︎︎︎︎ Three Weeks “This company make it their mission to open the doors of exposure on normal people”&nbsp; Rebecca Jones, Younger Theatre “Cult show”&nbsp; Lyn Gardiner, The Guardian Catherine Pistachio spent twenty-six years dancing at a nineties-themed nightmare disco, where dogs run away with the circus, ponies become party piñatas and acid-attacks are as throwaway as prawn cocktail crisp packets.&nbsp;But despite the isolation inflicted by her swinging parents and a Jesus-themed assault to episode ten of Thundercats, she is determined to find the strength to swim out of her suburban sinkhole of abuse. I Heart Catherine Pistachio has presented at Soho Theatre, Paine's Plough, Roundabout at Summerhall, Edinburgh, The Lowry and The Yard, Hackney. Co-created by Jen Malarkey &amp; Lee Mattinson Performers Carl Harrison &amp; Nick Blakeley Associate Director, Simone Coxall Images by Chris Nash The running time for I Heart Catherine Pistachio is 55 mins with no interval For adults and young people ages 14+ Supported by LIVE Theatre, Newcastle Funded by Arts Council England Press The Guardian &gt; Exeunt Magazine 2015 &gt; Exeunt Magazine 2016&gt; A Younger Theatre &gt; The Upcoming &gt; TW Edinburgh &gt; Rebecca Jacobson Blog &gt; NorthWestEnd&gt; https://www.encounterproductions.org/MAM-Venue-Pack Mon, 18 Jul 2022 10:59:41 +0000 Encounter https://www.encounterproductions.org/MAM-Venue-Pack MAM Watch it here -&nbsp; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIRarexalmA MAM is suitable for a range of spaces; both indoor and public realm spaces, theatre stages, performance festivals, community centres, parks and shopping centres. The solo is approx 55 mins long MAM explores an experience of working-class motherhood with political candour and convention-defying dance.&nbsp; On the margins and in the thick of austerity, a pregnant woman struggles with the idea of becoming a mother. Decades later a son comes to terms with the family he belongs to. This hard hitting and epic solo work embodies both mother, son and the multiple persona’s of an entire community; it is a study of ordinary lives, extraordinary love, the gold, the rubbish and the inevitable shadows that lengthen across generations. Concept Jen MalarkeyChoreographed &amp; Directed by Jen Malarkey &amp; Carl HarrisonMam and Son Carl Harrison Commissioned by Company Chameleon via UPLIFT, originally supported by Yorkshire Dance and Punchdrunk TheatreResearch from the National Institute of Health shows that motherhood is seen as both a gender-based obligation and a defining aspect of identity. Motherhood ideology is linked to lower self-efficacy, high stress levels, parental exhaustion, depression, reduced life satisfaction, low perceived family support and anxiety.&nbsp; MAM will draw on this research to deliver compelling work for all of us who “mother.”&nbsp; I really loved what I saw, loved the movement, choreography and the pathos.&nbsp; Really loved the energy, the characterisation and the music, it made me think of mums, challenges, freedom and the determination to break free. Punam Ramchurn, Talent Development Manager, Factory International Through the characterisation you created a really engaging world. It was hard to look away even though sometimes you felt you should! There was humour but also a lot of sadness and anger bubbling under the surface. It could exist brilliantly in the public realm.Louisa Borg-Costanzi Potts, Head of Programme, Artsadmin My biggest take away was the use of sound and the absence of spoken text. I didn’t feel like anything was missing, &nbsp;Carl’s emoting and physicality were so strong that they told us everything we needed to know. It worked.Gerrard Headley, Dancer with OD WorksI was at the Aerowaves meeting recently. Whilst MAM didn’t get into the top selection, it was discussed in the group stage and there was good interest in it - it was one of the top scoring UK applications. Christina Elliot, Head of Programming &amp; Producing, The Place, London On Jen MalarkeyThere is a real respect for the audience evidenced by Jen’s ability to reach out personally to engage with a community: knock on doors, get to know people, run workshops, create with children, handle the fragile and the intimidating with equal dexterity. Jen has a readiness to own all aspects of her practice. No detail is too trivial: she cares as much about how the work is sold and shared as how it is made. She exhibits a palpable moral core in how she conducts her processes and manages working relationships. Stuart Heyes, Associate Director, Fuel Theatre Jen Malarkey is a rare artist; She works cross artform – she’s interested in movement led work that has text and spoken language at the heart of the storytelling. The two forms (physical and spoken) have equity in her work and align to create an often explosive practice. Louise Blackwell, Co-founder of Fuel. Jen’s work really interests us. She combines text and movement with rare confidence, flair and skill. Her ideas are distinct and convincing. Christina Elliot, Senior Producer, The Place It’s not often that one encounters* work in theatre and performance that feels utterly distinctive. When you do, it leaps out. It didn’t look or sound like anything I was aware of being made in the UK. The choreography shifts between a consciously awkward mawkish physicality and a fluidity that has real beauty in it. It’s tender, clever, human and humane work. Richard Gregory, Artistic Director, Quarantine https://www.encounterproductions.org/MEET-EAT-MAKE Tue, 12 Apr 2022 10:32:08 +0000 Encounter https://www.encounterproductions.org/MEET-EAT-MAKE Research commissioned by Lancaster Arts and Z-Arts, Manchester In Autumn 2022&nbsp; we met local people living in Hulme, Manchester and Lancaster/Morecambe Bay to talk about how they liked spending their time. Different generations came together to explore what ‘play’ means, sharing their talents and interests and trying out different ways of being creative together. We captured the conversations, connections and performances in several short films.&nbsp;