©2017FrançoisMatarasso(text)RoswithaChesher&DavidSlater(photographs)For‘ARestlessArt’byFrançoisMatarassohttp://arestlessart.com

‘BED’,ENTELECHYARTS

‘Sometimesyou’vegottotakerisksfortheunknown.Youdon’tknowwhatyouaregoingintobutyou’vegottotakethatrisk.’

GwenSewell,EntelechyEldersCompany

OnaBristolshoppingstreetstandsanoutsizemetalbed.On it liesanelderlywoman in

nightclothes,proppedagainstherpillows.

Peoplewalkby,hurrying,carelessorsensingsomethingweird:theydon'twanttoknow.

Othersstop,concerned.Areyoualright?Issomeonelookingafteryou?Whatareyoudoing

here?Theoldwomanrespondsbytalkingaboutherlife.Herchildrenwholivefarawayin

Leeds. The baby taken from her because she was unmarried. Her sorrows, her world.

Memories.Sheasksforsomethingtuckedinthebedclothes;shetalksaboutaphotograph.

Peoplegatherroundtolisten.Theyjoinin.Theytalkabouttheparentstheyworryfor,an

elderlyneighbourthey'venotseenfordays;theirlosses.

‘Iliveonmyown,’sayssomeone.‘I’monmyowneverynightwiththesetwodogs,andevery

day. It’s bloody lonely, you know. Nobody understands if they haven’t got family and I

haven’tgotfamily.It’sabrilliantideadoingthis.Mydogskeepmegoing.Ifitweren’tfor

them,well,I’dhavejumpedoutofthewindowagesago.’

ARESTLESSART–‘BED’

March2017

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Thisispersonal.Arealconversationistakingshape.Asitdoes,thesensecomestoothat

thisisnotlife,buttheatre.Andyetitisdeeplyreal,inthatintensewayarthasofheightening

whatwealreadyknowandfeel.Trueanduntrueatthesametime.Nowacoupleofpeople

havecomeoverand they’re talkingaboutwhat ishappening.Theyexplain that this isa

performance,streettheatre.Theyhaveleafletsaboutthecompanyandaboutlonelinessin

oldage,withcontactdetailsoforganisationswhocanhelp.Peoplenodtheirunderstanding.

Theyrelaxalittle.Onebyonetheypickupthethreadsoftheirdayandmoveondownthe

street.Buttheyarenotquitethesame.Theywillrememberthisstrangemeeting.Some

leave intending to act upon it. ‘You knowwhat? I’mgoing to visitmy grandmother this

afternoon.Idon’tseeheroftenenough.’

Theoldwomanliesbackonherpillows,aloneagain,onthestreet.Someonestops.Areyou

allright?

Thisis'Bed',astreettheatrepiecedevisedandperformedbynon-professionalactorsfrom

EntelechyArtsOlderPeople’sDramaGroup.ThelmaHunte,RosieWheatlandandtheother

actorswhoplaycharactersinthepiececametomakingtheatrelateinlife.Inretirementor

afterabereavement,thegroup’smemberswerelookingforsomethingtodo,arole,away

tomakesenseofbeingthemselves,attheagetheyare.TheyfoundEntelechyArts,asmall

participatoryartsorganisationbasedinapoorpartofSouthEastLondon.Entelechydefies

categorisation.Itsfoundationistheatrebuttosaythatrisksgivingamisleadingimpression

ofacompanywhoseartinvolvesdiversemedia,formsandaesthetics.Cabaret,teadances,

interactive performances, memory boxes, social gatherings, live art – these and other

frameshaveheldEntelechy'simaginationatdifferenttimes.

ARESTLESSART–‘BED’

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Entelechy’ssmallstaffandnetworkoffreelancersmakeartwithvulnerablepeople:those

with disabilities and the old. Consequently, its work is often low-key and intimate.

Workshopsandperformances(theboundarybetweenthemisblurred)happenindomestic

settings.Theworkisalwaysexperimentalbecauseitrespondstotheimaginationsofthose

present.Whatwillhappenisuncertain,sopeopleneedtrustandpatience.Sodooutsiders,

whocanfindithardtounderstandwhatishappeningbelowthesurface.

Relationship is the heart of Entelechy’s practice, a living connection enabled by and

expressedinart.Butthisisnotthe‘relationalaesthetics’ofcontemporaryart.Theelements

thatfusetocomposeapiece–aesthetic,practical,intellectual,narrative,physical,symbolic,

emotional–arecontributedbyeveryone.‘Bed’wasnotconceivedbyasingle,designated

artist.Itwasshapedslowlythroughtheregularactofbeingtogetherinasharedcreative

process.

‘I’mcuriousabouthowyoucandeveloprelationshipswithpeoplesothatyoucangetlosttogetherandthenfindeachother–andfindaslightlydifferentpartofyourselfinthecompanyofotherpeople.’

DavidSlater1

Thisrelationshipisrootedincontinuity,commitmentandopenness.Peoplespeakfromthe

heartbecausewhattheyaretalkingaboutisimportantandtimeisshort.Here,'vulnerable'

canbeamatteroflifeanddeath,notfeelings.WhentheEntelechyArtsEldersCompany

toursitswork,everyoneinvolvedknowsthattheeffortmaybetoomuch.Ageandfrailty

arereal.Thegrouphashadtoconductitsownritualstomarkthelossofitsmembers.

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Sometimes, the creative work done in community centres and care homes demands a

biggerforum.Thereissomethingthatwantstocommunicatemorewidelyandthenideas

developedinworkshopsemerge,blinkingintheglareofpublicspace.'Bed'isoneofthose.

Firstpresentedin2016atastreetartfestival,thepiecehadbeenevolvingforfiveorsix

yearsbeforefindingitscurrentform.Theeldersfirstgainedexperienceofsemi-improvised

performanceonLondon’sSouthBankduringtheCapitalAgeFestivalwhentheyengaged

visitors in structured conversations. Thegroupwerebecomingawareof thepower that

silent attention can have in the interaction of performer and audience, something that

DavidSlater,Entelechy’sdirector,hadexperienced insomesessionshe’dparticipated in

withtheRajniShahcompany.Thegroupstartedexploringhowtoenablepeopletosense

thespacebetweenthemandchooseifandhowtoenterit.

These formal ideas connectedwith the sense of invisibility thatmembers of the elders

company often talked about. They felt that old age had simply erased them from the

consciousnessofyoungerpeoplewho,seeingthemasofnointerest,didn’tseethematall.

Theywereveryconsciousoftheburdenoflonelinessthisinvisibilityplacedonmillionsof

people,evenif–orperhapsbecause–theirownlivesareenrichedbythefriendshipsand

supportthatcomefromworkingwithEntelechyArts.

Forseveralmonthstheelderscompanyworkedontheseideas,sharingsomeoftheirown

life experiences, andusing a bed as focus for their ideas. Theyexplored theparadoxof

treatingthisintimatehumanspaceasaplatform.Itsteepedasmallsteptousethebedas

astageandtake it into thestreetmarketbesidethecommunityartscentrewherethey

ARESTLESSART–‘BED’

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meet.Theyveryquicklydiscoveredhowdisturbingthatcouldbe.Withinanhourthey’dhad

to explain to the police and social services that this was theatre, and that nobody had

actuallybeenabandonedonthestreet.Later,whentwoteenagerscameintothebuilding

wantingtoreportacrime,thedramagroupbegantoappreciatethepoweroftheirwork.

Afterall,thelonelinesstowhichsomanypeopleareabandonedisakindofcrime.

‘Ithasquiteanimpact,doesn’tit?It’ssortofshocking.’

Audiencemember

Ithas takenthecompanyawhile toworkouthowtohandlesensitively theconfronting

natureofthisperformance.Itlosesitsmuchofitspowerwhenitispresentedasatheatre

spectacle,yetitisessentialnotmerelytomanipulateandupsetpassers-bywhocomeacross

anelderlywomanlyinginthestreet.Muchoftheresponsibilityformanagingthatlieswith

theperformersbecausetheyaretheartists:theyknowwhatisgoingon.Sotheymuststay

incharacterwhilerespondingtothefeelingsofthepeopletalkingtothem.Itwouldbealot

toaskofprofessionalactors.Itisremarkablethatpeoplewhohavebecomeartistslatein

lifeareabletonegotiatethesefineedgessowell.Butperhapsit isbecausetheyarenot

hiredhandsrelayingsomeoneelse’sexperiencebutpeopleenactingwhattheyknowthat

theygetitright,mostofthetime.‘Bed’demonstratesthatparticipatoryartcanbenotjust

artistically powerful and unsettling, or that non-professional artists can be innovative,

rigorousandbraveintheirwork.Itshowsthatwhenpeoplehavetheopportunitytomake

artforthemselves,theyenlargeboththelanguageofartandwhatithastosay.

ARESTLESSART–‘BED’

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Colophon

Visit 15June2016(Bristol)

Interview DavidSlater,12January2016and9January2017

Checkedby DavidSlaterandEntelechyArtsEldersGroup

Photographs RoswithaChesherexceptDavidSlater(p.4)andFrancoisMatarasso(p.1)

Date 27January2017

Published 1March2017

Website http://www.entelechyarts.org

1 DavidSlaterinconversationwithFM,12January2016

Notes