Camera Lucida

Camera Lucida

Set in the limbo of a haunting soundscape, ‘Camera Lucida’ is an ode to the perennial impermanence of personhood, the human impulse for meaning, and the presence of absence in the digital age. The players here do not occupy characters, but are rather processes, possessed by voices of the dead, the living and the non-living, and portals for the memories of a Motherboard.

Taking inspiration from funereal rituals, spiritualism and the history of image-making Dickie Beau builds on his shtick of “playback” performance: by dissecting, then re-membering, found sound artefacts in the creation of a virtual script, he conducts a kind of psychedelic cyber-seance in his directorial debut. The result is an eerie on-stage archive comprising salvaged recordings of those who might be lost, or are no longer living.

‘Camera Lucida’ was the outcome of Dickie winning The Oxford Samuel Beckett Theatre Trust Award (OSBTTA). The OSBTTA supports the development of emerging practitioners engaged in bold, challenging and innovative performance. Since 2007, the Barbican and the OSBTTA have worked together annually to stage the prize-winning performances in The Pit or at a site-specific location. Previous winners include Davy & Kristin McGuire, You Me Bum Bum Train and Slung Low.

Dickie’s creative mentor for ‘Camera Lucida’ was Fiona Shaw.

Written & directed by Dickie Beau

Designed by Simon Vincenzi

Lighting Design by Marty Langthorne

Sound Design by Will Saunders

Cast: Mason Ball, Dickie Beau, Miranda Floy, Matthew Floyd Jones and Paddy Glynn.

Producer: Dicky Eton

Production Assistant: Robert Beck

‘Camera Lucida’ was presented at the Barbican’s Pit Theatre from 28 October to 8 November 2014.