Impact Theatre Co-operative
Encyclopedia
Impact Theatre Co-operative was an experimental theatre company founded in Leeds
, England
. It was active between 1979 and 1986.
The company's work was a fusion of text, music, visual and performance art
.
The company's major productions were:
The core members of the company were:
, who collaborated with Impact on The Carrier Frequency, said he had responded to a question (from Fiction Magazine
in 1983) about the best piece of fiction he had seen that year, by talking about Impact's No Weapons for Mourning. He said in part "The distinction of No Weapons for Mourning has to do with a perceptual phenomenon of our time. ... the performance, not realistic, but hyperreal, has a syntax of image and sound, speech and movement ... These young artists effectively demonstrate that the circuitry originates not with computers but with the human mind, and it is there for survival as well as annihilation."
and physical theatre
. Frances Babbage, writing about a symposium held in connection with Stan's Cafe
's recreation of The Carrier Frequency in 1999, said "Many companies since have cited Impact as a major inspiration, with The Carrier Frequency in particular achieving almost mythic status", while Alison Oddey mentions The Carrier Frequency in her book on devised theatre
, Devising Theatre: A Practical and Theoretical Handbook
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It was active between 1979 and 1986.
The company's work was a fusion of text, music, visual and performance art
Performance art
In art, performance art is a performance presented to an audience, traditionally interdisciplinary. Performance may be either scripted or unscripted, random or carefully orchestrated; spontaneous or otherwise carefully planned with or without audience participation. The performance can be live or...
.
The company's major productions were:
- Ice (1979)
- The Undersea World of Erik Satie (1980)
- Certain Scenes (1980)
- Dämmerungsstrasse 55 (1981)
- Useful Vices (1982)
- No Weapons for Mourning (1983)
- A Place in Europe (1983)
- Songs of the Clay People (1984)
- The Carrier Frequency (1986) - written with Russell HobanRussell HobanRussell Conwell Hoban is an American writer, now living in England, of fantasy, science fiction, mainstream fiction, magic realism, poetry, and children's books-Biography:...
The core members of the company were:
- Pete Brooks
- Richard Hawley
- Tyrone Huggins
- Claire MacDonald
- Graeme Miller
- Steve ShillSteve ShillSteve Shill is a British television and film director, actor, screenwriter, and television producer.-Career:He attended Keswick Grammar School in Keswick,Cumbria,England in the 70's....
- Niki Johnson
- Heather Ackroyd
Contemporary evaluations
In an interview published in 1987, Russell HobanRussell Hoban
Russell Conwell Hoban is an American writer, now living in England, of fantasy, science fiction, mainstream fiction, magic realism, poetry, and children's books-Biography:...
, who collaborated with Impact on The Carrier Frequency, said he had responded to a question (from Fiction Magazine
Fiction Magazine
Fiction is a literary magazine founded in 1972 by Mark Jay Mirsky, Donald Barthelme, and Max Frisch. It is published by the City College of New York....
in 1983) about the best piece of fiction he had seen that year, by talking about Impact's No Weapons for Mourning. He said in part "The distinction of No Weapons for Mourning has to do with a perceptual phenomenon of our time. ... the performance, not realistic, but hyperreal, has a syntax of image and sound, speech and movement ... These young artists effectively demonstrate that the circuitry originates not with computers but with the human mind, and it is there for survival as well as annihilation."
The legacy of Impact Theatre
Though Impact Theatre Cooperative disbanded in 1986, its creations - especially The Carrier Frequency - continue to be important in the history of devisedDevised theatre
Devised theatre is a form of theatre where the script originates not from a writer or writers, but from collaborative, usually improvisatory, work by a group of people...
and physical theatre
Physical theatre
Physical theatre is used to describe any mode of performance that pursues storytelling or drama through primarily and secondarily physical and mental means. There are several quite distinct but indistinct traditions of performance which all describe themselves using the term "physical theatre",...
. Frances Babbage, writing about a symposium held in connection with Stan's Cafe
Stan's Cafe
Stan's Cafe is a theatre company based in Birmingham in the UK. Established in 1991, it has become “one of Britain's major contemporary theatre exports” with an “international reputation”...
's recreation of The Carrier Frequency in 1999, said "Many companies since have cited Impact as a major inspiration, with The Carrier Frequency in particular achieving almost mythic status", while Alison Oddey mentions The Carrier Frequency in her book on devised theatre
Devised theatre
Devised theatre is a form of theatre where the script originates not from a writer or writers, but from collaborative, usually improvisatory, work by a group of people...
, Devising Theatre: A Practical and Theoretical Handbook