BRIGHT BLACK

Written, directed and designed by
Jamie Harrison and Candice Edmunds

Combining new writing, black art illusion, original composition, choreography and digital media Bright Black took audiences on a visceral journey through one woman's tale of love, loss and hope.

Alone in the crumbling shell of a dilapidated flat she once called home, Claire mourns her dead lover. Demons appear and disappear from the depthless black void that quite literally surrounds her. Pictures of her lover fly unaided through the space, demons climb the walls, bin-bags full of memories drop from the sky...and all the while friendship and redemption lie just beyond her reach through a skeletal door she cannot bring herself to open.

We began the creative development of Bright Black nearly three years before the production made it to the stage. Creatively our objective was to fuse illusion and story: for the 'magic' to be an integral part of the story-telling. Black art illusion allowed us to create the depthless black void from which Claire's inner demons could appear and disappear, and to create a gravity-defying environment that showed her world steadily unravelling.

We set out to tell a story that also allowed the space for audiences to find or reflect on their own stories. Alongside the new writing wanted to create a beautiful non-verbal language through original music, choreography and visual storytelling. Composer Michael John McCarthy's score was written alongside the rehearsal process in response to the improvisations and choreography.

Bright Black toured to ten venues across Scotland.

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The Herald

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The Guardian

Credits