In a room somewhere, two people are locked in an endless, gory fight. Blood Show fearlessly takes control of violence in a raw, euphoric performance.
A non-verbal confrontation, Ocean Chillingworth is joined by sparring partner Craig Hambling. Together they embark on a visceral cycle of combat as the ghostly apparition and haunting melodies of Tim Bromage punctuate the punches.
Blood Show is a choreography between 3 performers and 75 litres of fake blood. It’s a call to action to put what’s inside on the outside, to allow the mess, defend against a violent gaze and subvert narratives of victimhood.
A testament to endurance, the skilled bouts and blows morph into a triumphant release, heightened by elements of humour in the grand tradition of performative horror. As the audience sees red, Blood Show questions rebirth and how we carry our ghosts with us.
Blood Show is the largest performance work to date by Ocean Chillingworth, rooted in their lived experience of being non-binary. The second part of The Extinction Trilogy, which Chillingworth describes as “A post-human laugh in the face of impending Armageddon”, three works: Monster Show, Blood Show and Nature Show, explore the human body and its limits for representation.
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Ocean Chillingworth said: ”Blood Show is (almost literally) a dream come true for me. Many years ago, the image of the show arrived in my head – the sort of thing we might see in film but not so much in theatre. To bring this vision to life at this moment in the world – which can seem to be a time of shrinking possibilities – and for it to have grown to be so much more within the deeply collaborative making process, feels like a triumph. You could say that Blood Show has been under my skin for a while now – not anymore! Now it’s out and flowing”.
Blood Show is at BAC 12th to 23rd November 2024. More information can be found here.
