Where worlds collide: Gandini Juggling and Jacksons Lane new commission ‘Meta’
- World premiere: Jacksons Lane, London, 21 November
- Critically acclaimed circus company Gandini Juggling to create new show ‘Meta’ as part of Jacksons Lane’s 40th anniversary celebrations
- Running from 21 – 25 November 2015
- For images and more press information please contact jacksonslane@kallaway.com or call 07867 335 285
Jacksons Lane has revealed the details of its latest commission celebrating its 40th Anniversary year. Meta, created by the internationally acclaimed Gandini Juggling, explores the company’s artistic journey and the process of making shows. It will feature the unique mix of Ballet and Circus that the Gandinis have developed over the last decade. Breaking down the concepts of entertainment, circus and performance this provocative show asks us; what is circus? Does it need danger? What is entertainment?
Known for their pioneering work that re-invents circus, the Gandinis new show Meta will feature six circus performers and three classically trained ballet dancers. The show follows on from the success of 4x4, which explored the similarities and differences between ballet and juggling. Here we see the lines between these two art forms become even more blurred to create a new hybrid that integrates beautifully. The Gandinis have once again worked with Guy Hoare (4x4) on the lighting design for the show.
Jacksons Lane – the venue that helped to launch the Gandinis more than 20 years ago – has provided them with a blank canvas for Meta. The show, which is being produced over four weeks, also builds on a series of experimental pieces created with choreographer Gill Clarke in the 90s. Expect to see juggling, ballet dancing, hammers, theatre, nudity, and the most spoken word to be seen in a Gandini show to date.
Sean Gandini, founder of Gandini Juggling said:
“Meta gathers together our recent obsessions into a self questioning whole.
Following on from our flirtatious dialogue with Ballet, we enlarge our exploratory gaze into other surrounding art forms. How does this structural gaze affect a classic comedy sketch? Taking an anatomists peek at the juggler’s body, can entertainment contemplate death? How far are erotiscism and pornography in our art forms?”
Based in a gothic church in Highgate, Jacksons Lane hosts over 250 performances a year and has revealed a comprehensive programme for its 40th year ranging from contemporary circus to moving theatre, spoken word, award-winning comedy and dance. The programme reflects the organisation’s commitment to showcasing a vibrant variety of new work that breaks down artistic boundaries.
The 40th Anniversary season also includes:
- 7 October - Silver Lining, associate Jacksons Lane artists for the 40th anniversary year, will kick off their curated series of performance nights and caberets with a one-off special fusion of live music and stunning circus by multi-talented, musical circus artists in Sound Box. Expect singers doing handstands, torch songs on cyr wheels and arias in the air.
- 31 October - Jacksons Lane present blood-curdling burlesque, macabre music, spectral circus and eerie illusion with some horrifically talented artists in a frighteningly fantastic Halloween special called Spooks!
The 40th anniversary is a year of firsts for Jacksons Lane, which opened as a cultural hub for North London in 1975. The new commission from Gandini Juggling and introduction of Silver Lining as associate artists follows the launch of Jacksons Lane’s first ever touring show The Hogwallops, co-produced with Lost in Translation touring nationally until Autumn 2016.
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About Jacksons Lane:
Jacksons Lane is a multi-arts venue in Highgate North London. Housed in a striking red-brick conversion, the building is home to a 166 capacity theatre, a large scale dance and rehearsal studio, a café and bar and four other multi-purpose spaces.
The venue has a rich history of innovative work including a wealth of experimental visual theatre companies, as well as a strong history in contemporary dance and circus.
Jacksons Lane artistic vision is in the support of emerging and established artists working within the fields of contemporary circus and performance, and the production and presentation of exciting and innovative work. As such it is one of the UK’s leading producers of new small-mid scale circus, working across a range of strategic partnerships.
Jacksons Lane supports some 100 companies and artists every year, and offers valuable resources in the form of mentoring, technical support, promotion and production. It has a growing roster of Associate Artists who become advocates for ‘North London’s Creative Space’.
The building offers a range of spaces to facilitate the diverse disciplines within circus, whilst the height and depth of the award-winning theatre space offers support to such forms as aerial theatre, German Wheel and acrobatics.
Jacksons Lane’s artistic programme of performance and participation is far-reaching, inclusive and accessible whilst constantly seeking to develop, grow and break new ground.
About Gandini Juggling:
Gandini Juggling celebrates juggling in all its facets, exploring not just what juggling is, but what juggling can be. Currently an ever-evolving ensemble made up of a virtuosic core group of jugglers, they regularly expand to include up to 20 performers for specially commissioned events and performances.
Ferociously prolific, they are constantly creating new works, which range from radical art/juggling fusions to accessible theatrical performances, from choreographic studies to commercially commissioned routines.
Since their inception the Gandinis have performed over 5,000 shows in 50 countries. They continue to perform at many of the most prestigious festivals and venues throughout the world. This has included Buenos Aires International Circus Festival, Barcelona Merce Festival and at the renowned TNT Toulouse and Wiesbaden Opera House. Closer to home the Gandinis can be seen performing at the UK’s major outdoor festivals and theatre houses including London’s Royal Opera House and The Royal National Theatre.