Arts

Gallery exhibits unknown world

An exhibition due to open at the Gallery this month hopes to shed some light on a collection of slides, all taken in the 1970s, by an anonymous photographer.

The exhibition, entitled Anonymous, is made up of slides, featuring an unknown world inhabited by nuns and children, which have been re-worked by internationally renowned artist Daphne Wright. The collection of over 800 Kodak coloured slides were brought by the artist in a second-hand shop in Manchester and have been re-made and re-photographed, many as black and white negatives.

Image from Anonymous

The images on display feature locations in Ireland, America and England and have a varied range of subjects including a nun playing a piano, another looking at curtains, children dressed as angels and Humpty Dumpty, and an old lady in a coffin. Wright suspects the slides were taken by a nun who photographed her surroundings and companions over a period of seven years. The locations appear to be children's homes but anonymity ripples throughout the images and the original photographer, the homes and the inhabitants remain unknown.

Image from Anonymous

Jessica Kenny, Director of the University Gallery said: 'Although it may seem unlikely, there is every possibility that this collection of slides might be recognisable to one of the many who we hope will visit the exhibition. They have been beautifully re-worked by the artist but the faces and places remain visible and, although they feature locations across Europe, the slides were discovered in Manchester which isn't a million miles away.'

Accompanied by a sound track of softly intoned Country and Western songs, Daphne Wright has made a powerful expression of a glimpsed, but unknown world.

Anonymous opens at the University Gallery on 14 January and will run until 15 February. Admission is free and opening times are as follows: Monday to Friday 11am to 5pm, and Saturday 1pm to 4.30pm.

Alternative Macbeth

An 'alternative' performance of Shakespeare's Macbeth is the subject of MA Drama and Theatre student Yolanda Romero dissertation.

Yolanda is producing all aspects of the production along with the Theatre Arts Society. The production will focus on a Freudian reading of Shakespeare's famous tragedy and explore what goes on in Macbeth's head, following the process by which Macbeths' perturbed mind and his ambitions lead him to the killing of King Duncan.

In order to achieve as much dramatic pathos as possible Yolanda will be using some unusual directorial techniques, as she explained: 'I will be filming some of the scenes from the play which will then be played to the audience during the performance. In addition, the audience will stand throughout the performance allowing the actors to mingle in amongst them to help them actually experience Macbeth's inner conflicts more closely.' Through this Yolanda hopes to convey the feeling of anxiety that Macbeth increasingly feels.

Yolanda is appealing for anyone who can help her with the production - from musicians to a film crew, and would particularly would like a multicultural cast. If you would like to take part in any aspect of the production please contact Yolanda on yromer@essex.ac.uk

French drama at Lakeside

This week will see the opening performance of Le Voyageur Sans Bagage at the Lakeside Theatre.

Performed by students from the French Drama Group and supported by the Modern Languages Unit, the play will be staged entirely in French. Set in mid-1930s France, it follows the story of Gaston, an amnesic, liberated prisoner of the First World War and his attempts to retrieve his identity. As various families try to claim the re-named Gaston as their own one family, the Renauds are narrowed down as his most likely kin. However, the past life of Gaston that the Renauds remember differs greatly from his own perception of himself. Is Gaston really Jacques Renaud?

This is a gripping play, full of dramatic suspense, which offers an insight into the class based French society of the 1930s.

Le Voyageur Sans Bagage will be at the Lakeside Theatre from Wednesday 29 to Friday 31 January. For more information and tickets please contact the Arts Office on 01206 873261 or e-mail arts@essex.ac.uk.