MUST the inside story

A collaboration between
Peggy Shaw and Clod Ensemble
By
Peggy Shaw and Suzy Willson 
Original Music by
Paul Clark 
Produced in association with
Fuel
Dates
5 May - 16 Feb 2012

Project History

MUST the inside story, produced in association with Fuel. 

A collaboration between Peggy Shaw and Clod Ensemble. 

Accompanied by a live band, legendary New York performer Peggy Shaw excavated the memories and images that sheltered in her joints and unearthed ancient stories embedded in layers of bone. Followed by a post-show discussion. 

Journey through the hills and valleys of one woman’s body. Adventure across the melting ice caps and the thirsty deserts. 

Medicine and theatre collided as legendary New York performance artist Peggy Shaw took us on a journey across the extraordinary landscape of her own body, accompanied by a live band. 

Must was a poetic look at what it feels like to have a body. It excavated the memories and images contained in the joints and layers of bone. 

Inspired by images from Gulliver’s Travels, Hildegarde von Bingen, The Elephant Man and everyday experiences of the medical profession, Must took a hard stare at the medical gaze and the assumptions people make about each other’s bodies. 

Supported by a Wellcome Trust People Award and Arts Council England (as part of the Performing Medicine Project) 

Creative Team 

By Peggy Shaw and Suzy Willson 

Original Music by Paul Clark 

Critical Acclaim for MUST

2009 Total Theatre Awards Special Commendation 

#MUST

"Exquisite... This is open-heart surgery of the artistic kind, performed without anaesthetic."

The Guardian 

"Shaw's obsession with bones, with origins and what lies at our core is what drives a powerful hour of deeply personal probing... I sincerely urge you to spend an hour in the hands of a genius."

Edinburgh Festival Magazine 

"Powerful, honest and life-affirming: if only all incisions to the body were this beautiful."

Time Out 

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