23 As 142 de l'Ere Pataphysique
Early reports of the Wilson festival imply that it counts as an astonishing moment in time.
Our Reporter, Bogus, remains a bit inarticulate at the moment (he claims he got possessed by a Pooka) but tells us that the play previewed on Friday night, when the cast and technicians had still not completed a full run of the material, to a knowing audience of maybe 80-100 (?). He says it knocked everybody out - and a buzzing atmosphere of glee, fatigue, elation and success pervaded the later part of the evening.
Given that brilliant start the atmosphere on Saturday, with the show going on in the afternoon, felt electric - as more and more people mingled in the bar of the Camp and Furnace - old friends and new.
By the time everyone had settled themselves in, and the place felt jammed, it seemed like we would just take off. For the actors, I guess, playing it to a crowd in the preview had given it that that final edge, to go for it, and what had been a great show the night before just went through the roof - the actors excelled themselves, Scott MacPherson's
projected scenery from Amoeba blew people's minds, and the music (both recorded and live - our own
Steve Fly on drums) carried us along on a wave; the audience listened intently to catch every word, unless in the mood to participate, and the jokes lifted the roof, especially the in-jokes. And, of course, Alan Moore as F.U.C.K.U.P. turned up unexpectedly ("Come not in that form!")
Again, Saturday night (the Papal Ball) filled with celebratory moments, hilarity and new friendships.
On Sunday, for the Find The Others conferestival, the whole building opened out, with an art gallery (Doris, Ken Campbell's parrot, as artist-in-residence, with three of her pieces on display), a cinema, a big room for talks, and the main hall with interactive spaces like
the Maybe Logic Academy dome (from
Immersive Theatres), a stall from the
News From Nowhere bookshop of Liverpool, performances and workshops on both the main and side stages, Chapel Perilous, a herbalist, etc.
Sadly, our reporter failed to fill a notebook with proper cast lists, names of performers, artists, etc, so we await coherent details with interest. You will find some pics and
other great stuff on
the Facebook page for the play. Also here, on
Jonathan Greet's Flickr page, which contains hundreds (literally) of fantastic images of the play.
Here you can see the cast at the end.
Ecstatic review from the Psychedelic Press UK.
Interview with Daisy from the Psychedelic Press
Review from Liverpool Confidential
Greg Wilson's reality tunnel (Liverpool DJ)
Audio interview on Litopia, with Daisy Campbell and John Higgs...
Very funny 50 minutes.
The final, surprise event, occurred after Robin Ince's hilarious set to a packed house, when John Higgs told us that the announced talk and panel had been cancelled because he wanted to send us the the main hall, where
Daisy Eris Campbell and Greg Donaldson had impulsively decided to get married (and why not?)
You can
find the text of John's planned speech on his blog, with some wonderful new pictures of RAW.
And the party continued. By the end of it, even Harvey looked a bit overwhelmed.
And you can still catch performances in London in the coming week.
Amor et Hilaritas!
