BULLYACHE: WHO HURT YOU?
Find yourself in a dystopian reality where the theatres have closed, no money is left, but people still drag themselves to perform.
WHO HURT YOU? stages the final performance of an aged musician, hosted by a drag icon, alongside her embittered ensemble, all figures in fading glory.
The piece is a collage of influences, ranging from the 1995 film Showgirls to the later life of boxing legend Jake LaMotta, dragged back onstage in a chaotic off-Broadway show, barely conscious and being made to regurgitate lines that made him a star decades earlier.
Blending hyper-theatre and pop culture with a stark, sculptural approach to dance, BULLYACHE conjures a maximalist vision teetering on the edge of chaos and collapse.
Interwoven with pop songs and haunting ballads, the work explores queerness, class, exploitation, and community, testing the means of survival available within the spectacle of contemporary commercial culture.
Performed by Deyn and Samuel (BULLYACHE), alongside legendary drag pianist Barbs, dancers Sam Dilkes and Frank Yang, and composer-performer Magnus Westwell, the piece is a heady mix of biographical and autobiographical material, platforming BULLYACHE’s signature blurring of character and self, audience and participant.
Need to know
Haze and strobe are used in this performance.
Queen Elizabeth Hall Foyer, 9.30pm – 10.30pm: KUNSTY Opening Party
Join us after the performance for a free party to celebrate the opening night of our new series of rad, queer and uncategorisable performances from some of the most exciting interdisciplinary artists around.
Direction & Choreography: BULLYACHE (Courtney Deyn & Jacob Samuel)
Music: Original score and music by BULLYACHE
Featuring: Dmitri Shostakovich – Piano Concerto No 2, II ‘Andante’; John Williams – Theme from Schindler’s List
Rehearsal Director: Lewis Walker
Latin Co-ordinator: Carla Garratt
Costume: La Maskarade & Lambdog 1066
Lighting: Bianca Peruzzi (previously developed by Laurie Loads)
Set Design: Fredrik Tjærandsen
Performed by: Barbs, Sam Dilkes, Frank Yang, Courtney Deyn (singer), Jacob Samuel (music), Magnus Westwell (violin, string arrangement/composition), Raphael Papo (violin), Ramilda [Kirke Gross] (cello), Isaac Burland (double bass)
Developed with: Oscar Li & Connor Scott
Previously supported by: Fabric, Bold Tendencies & University of Birmingham
Access Coordinator: CompanyZe
Supported by: Arts Council England, Bold Tendencies, Studio Wayne McGregor, European Network Opera Academy, Britten Pears, FABRIC
Artist Bio:
BULLYACHE is an artist duo creating interdisciplinary, music and dance performance works. They create original works that merge choreography, live music, and pop culture spectacle—think Pina Bausch cosplaying as Dua Lipa.
Courtney Deyn, whose roots trace back to ballroom dance halls and Latin-American dances, trained at the Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance, and was the winner of the first prize at the International Diaghilev Competition of Choreographic Art. He is also an established musician and filmmaker. Jacob Samuels is a multidisciplinary artist with an academic background in visual anthropology from Goldsmiths, University of London. Their work looks into representations of class through the re-staging of pop culture iconography. Together they founded the multidisciplinary project BULLYACHE in 2020 to create works that are an exploration of the emotional and visual overload of contemporary life, through the lens of queer and working-class identity.
Reviews
‘a live music video crossed with avant-garde dance theatre’
The Guardian
For your visit
This event is held at the Queen Elizabeth Hall Southbank Centre
The Queen Elizabeth Hall is open from 90 minutes before events start until they finish. It’s closed at all other times.
Plan your visit
The Queen Elizabeth Hall is home to both our second-largest auditorium and the Purcell Room.
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