Humetheus and The Quest for The Bronze Cloak

BUT ON THE PIER

WE CAN FIND A GROTTO

WHERE THE HOPE-LUCK-LADY LIVES

A LARGE, LUMINOUS CRAB UNDER TINSEL

SHE SENDS DRUID LUCK TO ALL THE MACHINES

On the fringes of a long-forgotten community, near sandy beaches teeming with siren-gulls, past crumbling beach huts, empty deck chairs, sleeping sandstone spirits and marketised nostalgia, Humetheus begins a legendary quest on Paignton Pier.

The Quest for the Bronze Cloak will see Humetheus in jeopardy, encountering mayhem and myths. Which way to turn, which challenge to conquer next, seems so binary. Our hero’s insatiable desire to prove worth may be the downfall that prevents him from ever seeing home again. What if Hugh & Steve get stuck in the loop of trying?

Hugh & Steve’s fourth collaboration promises to take the mundane to the theatrical, inviting audiences into arrestive dialogue, laced with discomfort, humour and commonality.

We use aerial and conventional filming techniques, capturing experimental performance and highs and lows of artists in the English Riviera. Determined to beat capitalist algorithms, we go guerilla, inviting audiences to reclaim creative narratives

As part of ongoing development process, we Scratched this experimental work with Barrel Organ's LIVE programme, who provided resource, dramaturgical advice and hosted a hybrid evening of original work. Our Greek heroes have been laid to rest for now - in slumber with the gods, ready to awaken as the quest to find truth, community and belonging never ceases.

Special thanks to Erin Walcon, Jennifer Noice, Sandy Akerman and South Devon College

Core creative team: Hugh Malyon, Steve Sowden and Mair George and the drone

This work is on Eventotron and we are actively looking for digital festivaal/events and hybrid platforms to present this work

Humetheus and the Quest for the Bronze Cloak is a timely and resonant digital performance growing from a fruitful collaboration between disabled artist Hugh Malyon and neurodivergent artist Steve Sowden.

Our island nation may be unwell; our politics is a quicksand, and our communities grow rife with discord and disillusionment.

Torbay, where Hugh and Steve make their work, is a southwest holiday destination synonymous with the classic iconography of deckchairs, seagulls, beach huts, ice cream and slot machines. In this performed postcard, as memories of holidays fade, a story of human connection and meaningful homecoming unfolds.

Layering personal narrative with experimental aerial filming, reclaiming the English seaside with classical myth, subverting the hero’s journey to the dreamlike sounds of sampled arcade machine riffs, this immersive and emotive experience takes us to the end of the pier and back again, asking: have we been here before?

Humetheus (&TBC) is a 20-minute performance for projection, streaming, hybrid platforms & digital theatre festival audiences. Additional to the central video component it can be augmented with live performance and physical materials, depending on the venue/platform. Please do get in contact if your venue/festival would be interested in supporting this work.