Within systems which require us to squeeze into boxes - what space is left for humanity?
Live this May, come and experience a multimedia live portal into the joy, humour, and resilience of the disabled community. yet something lurks under the fabric, a dark entity waiting to smother identity and shrink us into one directional objects. together can we overcome the eerie waiting room, or is it safer to stay here as what is to come is…
A multisensory, one-off experience, join us at The Barnfield Theatre, Exeter
Current creative team: Hugh Malyon and Tim Dollimore
Performed with BSL by: Emma Jane Mansfield
Produced by: Sophia Knox-Miller
Creative input and outside eye support from the Pelican Project, Exeter
Sound
Outside
Artistic Support and Access Consultant by: Clair Sargeant
Access Lead: Jade Ward
‘A brave and generous glimpse of the kaleidoscope of being alive’
“Wow, it was the best Friday night I’ve had for a long time […] that energy, power, amazing” - Audience Members
Or explore The Squeeze Box journey further
2021 -2024 (what is Squeeze Box, write up of radical R&D in a corn barn and the creativity behind the work)
Digital Achieve (Video and photos of the performances, info/tour packs and exploration of our relaxed methodology/workshops)
The growing collaboration behind Squeeze Box (from core artists to makers in residence)
An experimental, live sound and projection installation about the disabled experience - witness artists battling against oppressive systems and celebrating the collective power of humanity.
This unique event brings together radical tech, lo-fi instruments and the voice of the artist, to create space for audiences to play, engage and reflect on the all-encompassing emotional rollercoaster of a care package assessment – where faceless names & nameless panels decide the worth of an individual – who ‘deserves’ to be able to get up this morning, who shall we allow to eat today? Squeeze Box takes audiences through the almost out-of-body experience of seeing your life decided for you. Everyone can relate to an experience of their life being controlled or shifted away from where they long to go.
Funders, Partners, Supportive Organisations and people to say thank you too
Instrumental to SqBx/embedded collaborators
October 2024-January 2025 – building on a year long associate of support and partnership from Exeter Northcott Theatre, Squeeze Box platform a 4-day takeover pilot in the Barnfield Theatre. Allowing audiences to be fully immersed in sound, projection and performance exploring care, empathy and what happens when these fundamental building blocks of humanity taken away, we engage community groups and artists/thinkers in new ways of working together. Ambition of the core artistic team, audiences, partners and Northcott is to expand this platform for 5 days takeover in January 2025, having the essence of Squeeze Box ooze through the walls of Barnfield, creating a fully immersive experience in multiple spaces that is open to the public.
2023 - with an Arts Council England Project Grant, Squeeze Box took over the MakeTank creative space, Exeter, with performance, workshop and live public spaces durationals. As part of this project, we collaborated with Longsight Arts Space/ Proforma to develop disability as positive identity workshops in Manchester. The resilience, structure and power of Squeeze Box came to fruition, with embedded relationship with Far Flung/a meaningful focus on access throughout our process, a dedicated producer and weaving a BSL interpreter into the performance and wider work.
The success of the MakeTank takeover led to a week residency at Battersea Arts Centre, supported by Another Route and Jerwood Arts.
2021 - during the limbo time of easing Covid restrictions but caution around social distance, and how we best care for each other, Squeeze Box was given time and space to play at Cockington Court. This R&D marked the first time Steve, Tim and Hugh came together to play and experiment. ACE supported, an emergence of sound, performance and projection materialised, depicting a 3-dimensional view of disability to capture the essence of being human - care, emotion, community and celebration of identity. Having free-range of Cockington Court saw the foundation of this work being realised from, large scale projections on a manor house to a full bloodied jam in a converted corn barn.
March 2024 – Squeeze Box artist undertook a week-long residency to build on the momentum of MakeTank and BAC, learn more about how we work together, deepen our care centred practise and create a springboard for feature tours. This was supported as part of Wide Open, a new creative and cultural programme in Paignton, Torbay. Please click on the Wide Open badge to see all partners who make this work possible.
