Written by Tim Etchells, OPENING GALA

"One of the most influential new British theatre companies of the last 20 years" - The Guardian

January 10, 2007, 6pm - midnight
Ocean Construction

Commissioned by Lois Keidan and Catherine Ugwu at ICA Live Arts & National Review of Live Art
Direction Tim Etchells
Performers Forced Entertainment
Forced Entertainment Robin Arthur, Tim Etchells (artistic director), Richard Lowdon (designer), Claire Marshall, Cathy Naden and Terry O’Connor

Developed as a text by Tim Etchells, Quizoola! was originally co-commissioned by the NRLA and ICA Live Arts in 1996. Forced Entertainment is regularly funded by Arts Council England and Sheffield City Council.

What is the capital city of Spain? Why are people afraid to die? What is a tree? Was John Wayne really brave? Are you a natural blonde?

Quizoola! is a durational performance based on a text of 2000 questions by Tim Etchells. The piece lasts six hours and - as in other durational works by the company - the public are free to arrive, depart and return at any point. Performed by a team of three performers in smeared clown makeup, Quizoola! is about the need for knowledge, certainty and definition through language. The players/performers take turns choosing questions and improvising answers, lending the piece its sense of immediacy. The shape and content of each Quizoola! performance hangs in the balance, negotiated live between players and the public. As new questions are chosen and new answers are given, the mood shifts from low comedy to personal scrutiny to harsh interrogation and intellectual hairsplitting.

Quizoola! has been staged in a series of evocative and sinister environments, ranging from cellars and basements to changing rooms of abandoned gymnasia, scenery building workshops and railway arches. Here in Vancouver, the repair shop of Ocean Construction provides the perfect site to introduce the work of a theatre company whose home is at the heart of England’s industrial past.

The Emily Carr Institute will host an opening reception called “New Medium” throughout the evening. With interactive works by students and faculty, including video installations, sculpture and computer-based pieces, as well as a live feed of Quizoola!, the exhibit addresses ideas of integration, public participation and virtuality.

Described by The Guardian newspaper as “Britain’s most brilliant experimental theatre company,” Forced Entertainment is an ensemble of six artists formed in 1984 making original work for diverse art forms from their base in Sheffield, UK. Originally focused on making and touring theatre performances, their work now spans theatre, durational performance/live art, gallery installation, video and digital media. The work grows from project to project, using text, technology, soundtracks and other elements to varying degrees. The group’s work has been presented throughout the UK and Europe as well as further afield. www.forcedentertainment.com

Free admission.
Plays at the Ocean Construction (Cement) Repair Shop, Granville Island.